Sharon Van Etten is winding her way across the U.S. on her way to the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, April 15th. She made a lot of new fans in San Francisco if this Crawdaddy review of her show at Bottom of the Hill is any indication.

 Sharon Van Etten is winding her way across the U.S. on her way to the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, April 15th at 10PM. She made a lot of new fans in San Francisco if this Crawdaddy review of her show at Bottom of the Hill is any indication. Make sure you listen to the song at the bottom of the post. "One Day" is one of our favorites from her new EP "Epic."

Clutching our new Sharon Van Etten vinyl on the drive home, I found these quotes stickered to package:

“I can’t recall hearing anything more beautiful in all my life.”–Robin Hilton, NPR

“I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with Sharon Van Etten.”–Tom Ravenscroft

Those two sentences pretty much sum up my feelings about Ms. Van Etten’s show at Bottom of the Hill on Saturday night. Sweet. Heart-wrenching. Beautiful.

Van Etten is a tiny woman, lovely, with a porcelain face and a jet black, shingled bob. Her giant red guitar strapped to her shoulder like a signal that she is a force to be reckoned with. The moment she sang, the crowd hushed. Her voice is one of those that gets under your skin, into your bloodstream, and commands your attention. Not a mote of chit-chat hung in the air. She moved from sweet near-lullabies, to the bouncy folk-like “One Day”, to the soulful “Peace Signs”, to the utterly hypnotizing “Love More.” Embedded in this wonderful range, lies the root of raw emotion and vulnerability that makes her music not only gorgeous, but human.

Van Etten’s charm extends well beyond her musical talent. Her personality is irresistible. She would lift her head after a breathtaking song with the sweetest smile and say, “Thank you,” as if she couldn’t believe that people were listening to her. She told us about her dislike of fruit-flavored things, which song reminded her mom of Fleetwood Mac, and asked for requests. These details, though small, were generous. As if she was there with us, not on stage in front of us.

Maybe that’s what makes her music so infectious—the deeply personal undercurrent. You can see it when she sings: She closes her eyes and goes to that place, that memory, wherever it came from, and you go to your own. It’s almost as if she’s singing your song, your story, your love, your heartbreak. Something about the way her songs make you feel makes you want to remain forever in the space of her voice.

As such, I was grateful my husband had the foresight to bring the cash for the record. I pulled it tight to my chest and followed this trail of words out the door:

Incredible.
Stunning.
I think I am in love with her.
So. Damn. Beautiful.

Article by Skiles Hornig from Crawdaddy, March 29, 2011

Tickets for Sharon Van Etten plus Lady Lamb The Beekeeper at the Iron Horse on Friday, April 15th at 10PM are  available at Northampton Box Office- 76 Main Streeet, 413-586-8686 and online at IHEG.com