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"Nicely bridges
the gap between Cole Porter and Elvis Costello"
- Toronto Sun
"Micah Barnes eludes all the musical cliches. His lyrics, often dryly comic, are a product of his quick intelligience, a mischevious sense of humour, and a bubbling show biz savvy."
- Globe and Mail
"Lyrically biting
and musically exciting"
- Billboard.
..has
real life and wit"
- NY
Times
"Barnes' vocals
combine the dramatics of Freddie Mercury, the passion of Eddie
Vedder, the mournfulness of Morrissey with the sweetness of Micheal
Stipe."
- Bay Area Reporter
"Swoonworthy!"
- LA Weekly
"Following his time with the a cappella act The Nylons, Micah Barnes has found his own voice, that of a highly personal singer/songwriter with a strong jazz sensibility."
- Montreal Mirror
FAB MAGAZINE Concert Review by Daniel
Paquette
Micah Barnes, Hugh's Room
At the launch party for his self-titled
CD, an outstanding collection of jazzy Cabaret Noir songs, Barnes
delivered the best vocal performance I've seen this year. The
musician's latest disc is about his journey, geographical and
personal, that stretched from California (where he lived for
several years) back to his hometown of Toronto. During his US
stay, Barnes achieved a #1 single on the highly-coveted Billboard
dance charts - a collaboration with Toronto super-producer/DJ
Barry Harris. He played at all the top gay parties in the US
and was on every circuit compilation from here to South Beach.
I've followed Barnes' career since the '80s and without a doubt
I consider him one of the best male vocalists in the world. In
fact, he runs a vocal school called Singers Playground. He told
fab recently that being a vocal coach is endlessly challenging
because "you're helping people face their fears and anxiety,
especially about being in front of an audience." Barnes
admits that he's had to teach some pretty bad singers at times
but stresses that this is really about a mode of expression.
He can get anyone to a point where they can hold a tune and sing
"Happy Birthday" comfortably. Barnes' own vocal technique
is perfection. This singer can express such a wide variety of
emotions that he can take you on a fascinating trip with just
one song. At his launch, Barnes acknowledged that he wouldn't
be here without the past struggles of queer legends like Carole
Pope. And he delivered a powerhouse performance for a who's who
of Canadian pop, including Molly Johnson, John Alcorn, Billy
Newton Davis, Laura Hubert and Lorraine Segato.
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