Spencer, 34, was witty and charming as he weaved stories throughout his performance about his troubled childhood (dyeing his hair blue at 17 and pretending to be a heroin addict to get attention!), his eventual move to California to "find himself," and the emotional roller coaster of a more recent relationship gone bad, which inspired this latest CD. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, he revealed details that illustrate the depth of his despair and his personal journey that led to the writing of these songs that document the stages of the relationship, from newfound love to a painful break up, to clinical depression to finally, finding peace within himself.
After announcing that this CD was written “three years and two therapists later,” Spencer started out both evenings standing at the microphone performing “Here I Go.” This song, about the realization that he is falling in love again, like it or not, really emphasizes his velvety baritone voice. After the first song, Spencer moved to the piano where he seems most comfortable and started telling his tales of growing up in a small town in Utah, his parents unhappy marriage, (a cross between “Brokeback Mountain,” “Sleeping With the Enemy,” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”), being uncomfortable with his Mormon faith, and his decision to pack up and move to California. Spencer enjoyed connecting with the audience through his memories of being a newcomer to the LA scene and not feeling like he fit in. He played “Joe,” about his move to California, and a few songs about his early days there, including the title track from his second CD, Movie of Your Life, which has a bit of a Broadway show tune feel to it, and “Lost in Los Angeles.” His set also included “Something Wicked,” the heartbreaking and beautiful “I Don’t Want to Know,” which emphasizes his higher register (he’s a baritone, but he can hit the high notes), “Love and War,” “Shadow Man” and “Nevermind,” all from The Mystery of You, and of course the title track, with an intro by Paul Cartwright on violin. Cartwright is impressive on both violin and mandolin throughout the show. “The Mystery of You” is about the fact that you never really know who you are falling in love with. It’s a catchy tune that sounds like it could be a theme song for a James Bond movie.
One of my favorite moments of the evening was when Spencer performed the as yet unrecorded new song “You Don’t Know You’re Lonely.” It’s written with a hopeful tone that your ex is missing you and just doesn’t realize it. It includes lines like “you don’t even know that you want me” and “why do you lie to yourself?” It has a bit of a 1960’s feel to it. Hopefully this song will be included on Spencer’s next CD, because it was really beautiful, slightly sad and somewhat witty at the same time. He ended the set with the very poignant “I’m Going Home” from The Mystery of You, with soft guitar picking by John Storie and lovely mandolin by Paul Cartwright. He did an encore performance of “Till You Come to Me,” his hit song from Vagabond, which hit #2 on the Smooth Jazz Songs chart and #3 on the national jazz charts.
On the second evening, he mixed things up a bit and played a few songs that he hadn’t played the night before. He included a wonderful soft and jazzy cover of the early 1980’s hit “Tainted Love,” the Oscar Hammerstein song “Bali Hai,” “Caravan” by Duke Ellington and one of his own humorous songs that he has written about women in history called “Poor Marie” (about Marie Antoinette). He also performed the bluesy “How Did You Do It” as well as “Ernie's Hollywood Party” from his Movie of Your Life CD, the story of a party he attended where it was discovered he was wearing Payless shoes and he was promptly shown the door.
After having a kind of “emotional re-birth,” Spencer has come out the other side a changed and better man. He experienced a lot of personal growth through intense self-reflection, and has a more enlightened view of life. In an online interview with Dianna Rose of www.smoothinseattle.com, an online streaming station serving the Seattle area, Spencer mentioned that he hopes to be a part of enriching people’s lives by being involved with The Art of Elysium, a group that brings art, music and education to hospitals for in-patients and often terminally ill or special needs children. Also, all profits from MP3 downloads of the song Better Way (Vagabond) support Feeding America, a group that helps battle hunger in the United States.
The Mystery of You is an evocative, bittersweet and moody CD. Spencer’s live performances of these songs give you an insight into how he survived a difficult break up and how he found the strength to move on. I wish I’d known about Spencer Day sooner, as I’ve missed a lot of his performances at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley before I knew of him. I won’t be missing any more of them. His shows are extremely entertaining because of his charming personality and brilliant self-penned music, as well as his covers of songs written by artists he’s been influenced by over the years. If you hear Spencer Day is coming to a venue near you, I urge you to attend the show. He’s a blast!