"I'm digging a hole/ I ended up in Beijing/ Stole me a bike/ Joined up with the monks/ Because silence is worth more these days/ Oh, than AOL Time Warner/ Or Martha Stewart stocks."
With this anecdote from "Beijing," off her latest album, "The Other Side," Melissa Ferrick kicked off a divisive performance at Nietzsche's Friday. When Ferrick took the stage after singer/guitarist Amy Steinberg, her loud, deep, powerful voice impressed. Ferrick's outspoken and intense nature endears her to her fans, as evidenced by the folk rock/indie singer's 11 albums.
"Of all the artists I've seen, she's the most personable. She's really down to earth. Her lyrics hit home for me," said junior Stephanie Spinella, a psychology and women's studies major.
Ferrick tours consistently throughout the year. At any given moment, she's writing songs, composing music, or playing for her fans.
Ferrick runs her own record label, Right On Records, as an alternative to signing on with a major corporate label, so that she can have artistic and financial control over her work. Ferrick primarily performed songs off "The Other Side," such as "Street Light," "Nebraska" and "I Give Up". She takes a form of folk and blends it with strong guitar accompaniment. Her lyrics are like entries out of a journal that she's sharing with the crowd, as most of her songs deal with love and personal experiences. The large female population at Nietzsche's also signified Ferrick's tough, feminist side; one that resonates in "Nebraska."
"Just leave myself to me/ Cause I got where I am/ By getting back on my feet/ Look at me I'm tough as nails/ And sure I can stand up and sing back the wind."
A positive, friendly woman, she shouted, "It's great to be back in Buffalo! It's been too long, eh?"
Not everyone in the crowd was swept away, though.
"This sort of music gets old fast. Her power has been dwindling since the first song, and there is no variation from one mellow song to another," said undecided major sophomore Mike Schwinger.
Of course, one of the problems with being a female singer with an acoustic guitar is being lumped into one general category and being looked over.
"I would compare her to Ani DiFranco in her earlier years. I think Ani got too political. Melissa touches on the everyday aspects of life," said Spot Coffee employee Rachel Borowski.
This similarity seems to detract from the impression Ferrick makes in some instances. Some might say the sound borrows to the point of being contrived.
Whether or not she's original is subject to debate, but one cannot question her experience. Ferrick was playing the violin, bass and trumpet by junior year in high school, and took 12 years of classical training that she finished off at the Berkelee College of Music. On one hand, Ferrick is touchingly genuine and emotional in the way she draws people into her private world with her talented musicianship.
She is one of the few skilled female singers in a society full of Jessica Simpsons who get more attention and, arguably, respect than women like Ferrick. On the other hand, the acoustic riffs in one song sound like the riffs in another song, and the lyrics about love and loss start to become expected.
She played about 15 songs in all, with excited fans cheering when they heard their favorite soulful lyrics. Ferrick is best suited to play in a smaller, more intimate venue like Nietzsche's. She has a small group of Buffalo fans, but those fans are extremely supportive of her.
She finished off the night on a good note, with fans ready for more.
"You have given me fuel and I'm gonna burn," Ferrick sings. "This bridge we built, I don't need it anymore/ Cause I'm a wicked good swimmer/ Watch me dive."
