2012 OC Music Awards Showcase Series Night 6 Review: Mandie & Ruby, FoxxHound, Danny Maika, Parker Macy Blues, & Tully James Wilkinson

[Photos] OC Music Awards Showcase Series…

Celebrating its 11th anniversary, the OC Music Awards kicks off on January 3rd with seven weeks of free showcases at different venues across the county. 35 local artists will compete for the titles of Best Live Band or Best Live Acoustic and a performance slot at the 2012 OC Music Awards, March 3 at the Grove of Anaheim. And, the voting is open now!

At what could best be described as a French bordello meets the Rat Pack, The Continental Room in Fullerton was packed for Night Six of the OC Music Awards Showcase Series which included great shows put on by Mandie & Ruby, Foxxhound, Danny Maika, Parker Macy,  and Tully James Wilkinson.

Clad in a retro dress (most likely from her store), Heartbreaker Fashion, Mandie of Mandie & Ruby is a vocal talent akin to Ella Fitzgerald.

The closest modern vocal equivalent for Mandie is Lily Allen because while Mandie’s voice is jazzy and rich, it’s bright rather than smokey, a refreshing rarity in these days of Adele/Lana Del Rey style smokiness. Ruby does a great job of intuitively following Mandie’s lead and we hope that these two come out with some recordings in the near future that really highlight their talents.

Foxxhound is no sweet, sunshine-y, simpering acoustic band. Both Daniel Morones and Lizzi Murtough give off an intense air when they play which, with their filled-out sound thanks to a kick drum, give them a more garage-rock-meets-classical-music feel.

Murtough, who is singing more than just back-up on some songs, really is a multi-talented creature and her melancholic timbre is a perfect accompaniment to her near-flawless cello playing.

There is no doubt that Danny Maika is a crowd-pleaser who attracts people of all different ages and musical genres to his shows.

Maika transforms onstage into a warm, entertaining showman and this last year of constant gigging has made him a well-oiled machine able to anticipate his audience’s every intake of breath in response to his happy-go-lucky acoustic music.

Parker Macy has one of the most interesting modern voices I’ve ever heard and a voice that needs to be heard by way more people. Like a blues-great resurrected and backed by just his guitar, Macy kept it simple without losing the raw grit of his talent.

Just like a naturally-beautiful woman, the “make-up” of a backing band would have made his show seem inauthentic. A voice like Macy’s could ostensibly bring Delta-style blues back if filtered out into the “mainstream” the right way, but something tells us that Macy would never go mainstream, and for that, we commend him and will definitely track his career beyond the OC Music Awards.

My favorite of the night: Tully James Wilkinson. Wilkinson, who seemed unassuming in his interview, has a certain all-around star quality that makes him not just pleasurable to listen to, but pleasurable to watch.

When he did a moody rendition of Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It” that hasn’t showing off or taking away from the song in a parody-form, it was obvious, that as a singer and songwriter, Wilkinson has a high emotional awareness of exactly how to convey the lyrics of songs, whether they be his own or others.

Check out the last showcase  on February 14th for rockin’ artists like Ethan Hulse,Robert Jon & The Wreck,Italian Japanese, The Devious Means, & MPhase at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana.

The 2012 Showcase Series runs every Tuesday night, January 3 -February 14 with stops at:

Jan 3 – Detroit Bar

Jan 10- The District at Tustin Legacy

Jan 17 – The Slide Bar

Jan 24 -Malones

Jan 31 – Tiki Bar

Feb 7 – The Continental Room

Feb 14 -Constellation Room

Five Showcase Series finalists in each live category will then move on to the Showcase Series Finals.

Feb 24 – Best Live Acoustic Finals

Feb 25 – Best Live Band Finals

2012 Best Live Band winner will receive a performance slot on the four Southern Califonia Vans Warped Tour stops!

VOTING:

You have the power to send one Showcase artist to the Best Live Acoustic Finals and Best Live Band Finals.

Cast your vote and enter to win a massive prize pack from the OC Music Awards partners (To be Announced). Voting will begin on December 27 and will be open through the last Showcase on February 14. The votes will be tallied and the band with highest score will automatically move on to their Series Finals! Click here to vote

LEARN MORE AT: OCMUSICAWARDS.COM