Star Tribune music reviewer Jon Bream put in a good word for Victoria Victoria last week and prompted me to buy tickets for the show this past Sunday at the Dakota. Victoria Victoria is the name of the band — Victoria Elliott on lead vocal, Charlie Hunter on guitar, Noah Elliott on electric piano and backing vocals, Carter McClean on drums, and Maia Kamil on backing vocals.
Jon tagged Victoria — she goes by “Tory” — as “a beguilingly jazzy alt-folk singer, pair[ed] with adventurous guitarist Charlie Hunter.” I can hear the influence of Norah Jones in her singing, but she has a wider dynamic range. She can belt it out.
Charlie Hunter is beyond “adventurous.” He is a phenomenal guitarist. He plays a hybrid electric guitar that lets him thump out a bass line while playing lead. I have never seen that before. I think he was playing one of his own Hybrid Six guitar models — smiling all the while. (I wrote his agent yesterday to ask but haven’t heard back.)
Carter McLean rounds out the rhythm section on drums. Victoria’s brother, Noah Elliott, plays piano and acoustic guitar and sings harmony. Maia Kamil is a singer-songwriter who supports Victoria on the vocals.
Elliott writes or collaborates on her own songs. She could use some help with the lyrics, but she has created a beautiful sound. The video below provides an acoustic take on her song “Over My Shoulder” (written with Hunter and Stephen Lee Price) with both brother Noah and sister Halle joining on the vocals along with Kamil. She winds up her current tour in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
You can catch a glimpse of Hunter playing the Hybrid in the video of Elliott’s “Sanctuary” below.
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