ZZ Ward at House of Blues on October 15, 2013

The third time's the charm!  My third time seeing ZZ was not disappointing.  If you are not worried about spending on parking, you can valet park for $26.  Otherwise I suggest taking the train down for sure.   I took my friend Joanne to see her for her 30y plus 20 birthday.  A nice bite at the Crossroads  Restaurant downstairs started our evening off on the right foot.  Don't forget to have the bread pudding, well worth calories and carbs (if you are counting).  House of Blues is a great venue because you can get to a sold out show and still carve your way to the front of the stage.  This was a big show for ZZ and her bandmates.  They have been playing at increasingly bigger venues in the past 2 years.  I prefer Schubas and Lincoln Hall, but then again I am a sucker for an intimate venue.  House of Blues is big yet small though, so really the 3rd best option.  ZZ is a bit more polished than prior shows and has become progressively more confident with her performances.   I took one video and it happens to be the same song that I previously posted from her Schubas show.  We can compare and contrast her polish!

ZZ Ward at Lincoln Hall on February 25, 2013

ZZ Ward was once again flawless at Lincoln Hall.  Please take a dramamine before viewing ZZ singing Etta James if you are prone to queasiness.  The video was a bit shaky from being held high and the videographer (moi) had a couple of pre-concert with dinner glasses of wine...



For more details on ZZ, please view my previous post.  You should grab tickets next time she is in your town or this town, before you will have no choice but to pay scalper prices at a bigger sold out venue.

ZZ Ward at Schubas on 6/16/12

Having heard ZZ (Zsuzsana) Ward for the first time 4 weeks ago on satellite radio I was immediately hooked by her song "Put the Gun Down".  I googled her  name for info on her tour in hopes of a Chicago gig. Turned out she would be playing in my back yard at Schubas. How happy was I to find the tickets cost a mere $10?  To be honest, this was the price to see Adele at Martyrs a few years back. I predict the same potential rise to fame for this newcomer. She writes her own songs and performs like a pro with confidence, raspy sexy tones and sass. She is described as hip/hop/R & B.   ZZ is easily ranked with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Adele, and KT Tunstall and has a sound that blends the three of them. She does in fact "steal" KT's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" vocal intro. My 9 year old daughter even caught that similarity. All artists do it to a degree so whatevs.  Her look is simple yet cool.  She wears a signature hat, not too tight leather pants, short moto boots, and tonight a long tie with her white button down t-shirt.  Her blond long locks let you know she has a feminine side but she has a decided edge that works well with her vocals and lyrics.   Disappointingly, she only had a two song EP for sale at her show (there is a 4 song EP available online) but both of these wcould be hits. I had the chance to meet her at the merchandise table and said "You are going to climb to the top right?". Her response was that she hopes so because she is "busting her ass".   In my opinion, her hard work deserves pay off.  She was amazing and we were lucky to see her in such a small venue.

ZZ Ward is from Pennsylvania and was raised in Oregon.  She performed with her dad who wrote and sang the blues and she has been influenced by Etta, the soul of Muddy and the power of Big Mama.  She later spent time with local rappers from Eugene Oregon and fell in love with hip-hop helping to define her style.

ZZ Ward sings "Move Like U Stole It":




Admittedly we had another commitment before the show, a friend's wedding shower.  Also a nice event so we left later than planned and managed to miss the first 20 minutes of ZZ's show.  From what we saw and heard, we wanted much more.  Next time no double booking for me.  Regardless of our tardiness, she gets a 5 out of 5 guitar rating.  Can you argue?

Take a listen to this:

Put The Gun Down by ZZWard