BUTTERFLY BOUCHER

6/11/09 I had a doubly excellent night last night. I was blessed to reconnect with another one of my long lost dear friends, Kelly Winn, with whom I shared so many wonderfully wacky and fantastically fun nights during my days producing Rockline. Kelly worked with me there and she was always so much fun to hang out with. We'd lost touch for years and years, but through our mutual friend, April Gowdy, we got back in touch and I'm so happy we did. So Kelly went with me last night to see this wonderful artist, Butterfly Boucher, at my favorite L.A. Venue, the Hotel Café. But before I hooked up with Kelly for the show, I had a wonderful conversation with Butterfly, where we spoke in depth about her just released album, Scary Fragile. Her music is so hard to describe – and in this case, that's a VERY good thing – and yet so well, scarily familiar. Case in point: the very first line you hear on "I Found Out," the first song on the album, is: "I found out I can only be who I am." Sound familiar? I thought so. As engaging and fun as she was during our conversation, Butterfly was twice that later on stage. As I told her, the album's first single, "Gun For a Tongue," is as funky as it is spunky, and that just about sums up Butterfly Boucher herself. By the way, if you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy," you've probably already heard Butterfly. Some of her songs, including "A Bitter Song," have been played on the show, and she plays drums on Mat Kerney's "Breathe In, Breathe Out." Here's my review of last night's show:

SCARY GOOD: BUTTERFLY BOUCHER HAUNTS HOTEL CAFE!

Australian-born and now Nashville-based Butterfly Boucher last night played the second of her three-night residency at the Hotel Café in Hollywood, performing songs from her recently released second CD, Scary Fragile as well as her - as she called it – "old album," Flutterby. Highlights included "I Found Out," which features the profoundly personal yet unmistakably universal opening line, "I found out I can only be who I am," the album's first single, "Gun For a Tongue," which is as musically funky as it is lyrically spunky, "A Bitter Song" (featured on the ABC TV hit Grey's Anatomy), and the title track to Scary Fragile, which was produced by David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, The Strokes). Performing solo, using occasional backing tracks triggered by a foot pedal (no easy well, feat) Boucher commanded the stage and captivated the audience as if she were performing for 20,000 in an arena, something she already has experience at, having opened for Sarah McLachlan on her 2004 Afterglow tour. In a conversation before her set, Boucher, one of seven sisters, confessed she'd dreamed early in her life she would be performing in front of a lot of people some day. I pointed out that having been raised in a family of seven kids, anything she ever did she did in front of a lot of people! Whether she's in front of a house full of siblings, a club full of converts or an arena full of future fans, Boucher holds people's attention with her passionate songs and engaging personality. Last night was no exception…or so I found out. For more on Butterfly Boucher, visit www.myspace.com/butterflyboucher.