Kim DiVine doesn't have a gimmick. There are no bells or whistles or even a Macbook on stage with her. She is straight up, straight forward, folk rock. She's a girl on stage with nothing but a guitar, her voice, and two great supporting musicians. With just this and her heartfelt music, she turned the Hotel Café all warm and cozy on an especially chilly Thursday night.
Mixing acoustic and electric guitar (and sometimes doing a little dance while switching between the two) Kim DiVine was at her strongest when she was at her simplest. "Blue Skies", her self-professed "breakup song", showcased her rich and clear vocals. Then, while introducing "All Night" (a fragile song off of her latest album) she told us, "On the album, this is all crazy and produced with strings and everything. But tonight, I'm going to give you the stripped down version." There was something so refreshing about how honestly she said that. Her frankness was often the source of a lot of good-natured humor, too. Especially when she took a sip of her drink and said, "Sorry guys, this is my whiskey break."
During her short but sweet set, Kim DiVine made us all feel as if we were her close friends. In fact, many of her close friends were there to support her that night! Again, it was so nice to hear some simple and honest music without any pretense. Los Angeles has a lot of pretension, but none of it was there last night. In fact, her music made me desperately wish that the Hotel Café had a fireplace surrounded by big couches and trays of hot cocoa. That's exactly how I would describe Kim DiVine's music: It's the audio equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate. Her sound is warm, sweet, and perfect for a cold night.
-Rachel K. www.loudvine.comTags: divine, Hotel, Hotel Cafe, Kim, kim divine, LA Music, Live Music, Live Music Community, Loudvine, Music Network
