[ATTENDED: December 14, 2018] Petal
Petal is the creation of Kiley Lotz from Scranton, PA. She has released a few albums and an EP (all on bandcamp). Her recorded output has a somewhat heavier alternapop sound–there’s some great bass on her records.
She plays quite a lot and I have almost seen her a few times. I believe that most of her concerts are with a band, although this one was solo.
It turns out that she is also good friends with Carly Comando and Tom Patterson from Slingshot Dakota–Kiley has a special connection to the Lehigh Valley, too. And she was very happy to support Lehigh Valley Girl Rock.
Lehigh Valley Girls Rock is dedicated to empowering girls and women + trans and nonbinary folks through music and art
We build self-confidence and foster a sense of belonging.
We nurture an inclusive, supportive environment.
We connect people who then develop meaningful friendships.
We inspire community involvement.
We teach acceptance.
There was a raffle before the show and she donated a bunch of stuff to one of the baskets (I didn’t win any of the baskets).
As Kiley was setting up, Tom was setting up his drums for Slingshot Dakota. I thought that maybe he was going to play drums for her. But no, it was just Kiley. Normally I like to hear a band as close to the recorded output before seeing them in a solo or acoustic setting. But Kiley was great as a solo artist (especially since I hadn’t listened to a lot of her music ahead of time, I had no real expectations).
She played about ten songs, switching back and forth from guitar to keyboards. Her voice is deceptively powerful since most of the time she is singing rather quietly. But she can hold a note and hit some powerful moments as needed.
Since this was a benefit for Girls Rock, it seemed to make sense that Kiley was solo. It really showcased her voice, especially on songs like “Tommy.”
One of the funnier moments came before a very unfunny song. During the Small Mess set, Becca kept saying how one of the mottos for LVGR is never saying “I’m Sorry.” You mess up a chord, you take time to tune, you forget to do something, don’t say “I’m sorry,” just move on. It happens to everyone. Don’t feel bad about yourself. Kiley also reiterated the importance of not feeling the need to say you’re sorry all the time. And then proceeded to introduce her keyboard ballad called “I’m Sorry.” (On record the song totally rocks out at the end, but her, she keep it all quietly passionate).
I had been hearing of Petal for a while now, but I didn’t know all that much about her. Then she told us about how she made friends with Kevin Devine and even made a split 7″ with him. They both recorded Tom Petty covers. Kevin made “Into the Great Wide Open” and Petal recorded “You Got Lucky,” which she played for us. Her version was great–not a direct cover, but her own take on the song.
Since the show I have listened to a bunch of her recorded output and I have to say that I love the production and warmth of her records. I feel lucky to have seen her solo in such an intimate setting, but I’ll bet a full band show is amazing.
After her set she was selling her merch. She was super nice to talk to and we chatted about Scranton a bit, too.
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