Vickie PapageorgeSingers are just like you and me, at least Rebecca Loebe is. At 19 she worked at Whole Foods where she dealt with a male employee, Dan, whom she just could not get to like her no matter how nice she was or how hard she tried. Then again she did graduate high school at 16 and college at 20 and then dropped her first album at the ripe old age of 21, when most are in their junior year of college.
Loebe, the self proclaimed vagabond, made her way to Cabrini’s campus Thursday, Oct. 25 where she enlightened the crowd with her perky upbeat attitude and self-composed songs which all tell a story.
“I’d rather make them familiar with my song,” said Loebe, the singer/songwriter who graced Grace Hall with her monumental voice and stories in between songs.
Loebe and her opening act, Tiff Jimber, were supposed to be appearing at Jazzman’s café, but due to lectures near by, the performers were moved to Grace Hall where the offbeat activity of “human bowling” was taking place. This didn’t distract performers too much, although Jimber did decide to take a test drive in the large metal ball as Loebe started her set.
The opener started off with a song entitled “City Life,” which was about her life when she was in Boston. She then proclaimed her hatred for various old roommates and sang a few odes towards them. She discreetly named the songs after these non-beloved, like “Amanda.”
Then Loebe took the stage. The rosy full cheeked girl from Atlanta, who happens to have an apartment there has only lived in it no more than six days at a time, started off with a chipper, friendly voice welcoming the sparse crowd.
“I really enjoyed her songs. They’re relatable,” Michaela Enriquez, a sophomore elementary education major, said.
Loebe likes that people can relate to her songs. “I find people receive it [songs] a lot better,” Loebe said.
Her songs are inspiration based; she can’t merely pick a set time to write. Disliking the same routine, Loebe switches it up with where she performs, as well. Colleges, clubs and nationally known quiet acoustic venues make up her journeys. “I try to keep it varied,” Loebe said.
Take a look at her hands, they’re all calloused and one hand has short nubs for nails while the other has longer nails that she uses while playing. The singer/songwriter often loses guitar picks so the nails come in handy, literally.
She’s now 24 and is working on her third album. “Music was always what I was driven towards,” Loebe said.
This coming from a Berklee College of Music graduate, she admits the reason she went to school before making a CD was because she had seen too many VH1 episodes of “Behind the Music” where the artists were forced to sell out.
Loebe’s not selling out. She wrapped up the show with her folky style, she kiddingly refers to as “Post-Brontosaurus Indie Folk,” and belt out true stories, like “Grace,” about her car breaking down and “Big Wayne’s Towing” picking her up in a town named, you guessed it, Grace. The large tow truck driver named, Dwayne came to pick her up and it was a long drive, she informed the audience. “No lie about the Wayne and Dwayne thing either,” Loebe said.
