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| Sissel performs in San Francisco. |
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| Folks line up to get Sissel's autograph. |
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| Sissel signing autographs. |
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| Sissel poses with fans. |
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| Photos 1-3 by Robert A Jones. Photos 4 & 5 by Janel Wilsey. |
Sissel in the City by the Bay
by Robert A Jones
SAN FRANCISCO (The Sissel Website): Sissel's performance at the San Francisco Borders Bookstore was even more magical than a Sissel fan might expect.
About 50 people were on hand to hear her sing, many of whom were just discovering Sissel for the first time. A few were already fans or were Norwegian and aware of her in that way.
The audience was able to sit five feet away from her, which is a real treat for a Sissel fan, as Sissel is traditionally seen in venues with hundreds and thousands of people in attendance. It is a rare and wonderful opportunity to experience Sissel live in such an intimate setting.
The USA version of her album sounds rushed, as though they quickly threw together the arrangements and Sissel ran through the songs. Sissel's manager, Arne Svare, said the album was recorded in the course of three weeks over the summer. Unfortunately, it shows. Not that the album is horrible, but it does not sound as though they carefully crafted the album.
Sissel's voice is much better on this album than the original because her voice is too amazing to need filtering, which they used extensively on the original All Good Things album. But the musical arrangements of this new album leave a lot to be desired. They are too simplistic and almost sound like cheezy karaoke instrumentals.
However, when Sissel performs live, it's simply magic. She expresses so much more emotion live than on the album. Or perhaps, the emotion simply comes across more readily in a live, intimate setting than on a CD.
She not only won over the entire audience, Sissel later told us that she made a Universal Music record exec. cry when she performed in New York. And that's truly amazing. Record execs tend to be jaded and the least likely folks to cry while listening to a musical artist.
Sissel opened up the showcase by performing All Good Things. At the end of the song, a woman in the audience blurted out, "So, are you from Sweden or something?" Those who knew better groaned. Sissel is Norwegian, of course! Sissel politely corrected the woman and went on to sing Can't Go Back. One person in the audience commented after the performance that she became an instant fan when she heard Sissel sing that song.
Sissel rounded out the showcase with We Both Know, Solitaire, Sarah's Song and Carrier Of A Secret.
Sissel was on the verge of a standing ovation at the end of the set and there were calls for an encore, but a woman who worked at the bookstore, who must have been eager for her working day to end, marched up to the front and thanked Sissel and everyone for coming, stated the CD was available for sale and that Sissel would be happy to sign them.
Sissel later said she had planned two songs for encore: Shenandoah and Should It Matter, but was unable to sing them because the woman ended the show abruptly.
Even without the encore, it was a truly wonderful performance. And Sissel is a truly wonderful, sweet, sincere person who deserves all the recognition and accolades she receives.
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