Photos By: Phil Reed

There is something magical about events that occur at the midnight hour. In Cinderella’s case, it was the moment that her night transformed from royalty and romance back to servitude and rags. Every year on December 31st, we gather with friends and family to celebrate at midnight the coming of a new year. Why should we expect anything less from J*Davey? They graced the Roxy’s stage just after midnight and commenced our Thursday morning with the fervent strumming of bass guitar and Jack Davey’s warbling, seductive vocals.

Jack Davey, vocalist of the genre-bending duo, is adorned in an ostentatious feathered top hat and a renaissance-inspired mask. The rest of her stage are similarly befitted, her partner in crime and music, Brook D’Leau, wears Star trek style sunglasses and a vintage military cap, while their bassist, Thundercat, has his entire face painted with black and gold glitter and sports an Indian headdress. The crowd reacts enthusiastically to their theatrics, shouting proclamations of love and admiration for the duo. For about a minute, Brook tinkers on his laptop and produces a teasing chord of melody, leaving the crowd anticipatory of what their introductory song will be. Jack uses the mic stand as a prop and we watch in awe as she expertly moves her limbs around the makeshift pole, her lips, the only part of her face that remains visible through her costume, curve up in a self-satisfying, devious grin. Suddenly, the band launches into song, Jack grips the mic and brings it to her mouth, expertly crooning the notes with an eager audience singing along with her.

A J*Davey concert, like most truly magnificent events, is best experienced rather than relayed. It’s difficult to capture in words the palpable energy that the pair emitted, their interaction with the audience, nearly infeasible to describe how passionately Jack sang to us, at one point dedicating the suggestive song “No More” to the audience. She falls to her knees seductively, seemingly worshipping her fans as she murmurs, “You can have whatever you want, Baby, I don’t even care…”

As with most of their live shows, Jack invites the attendees to swarm the stage for their closing song. Immediately, bodies pile on top of one another in a mad dash to be near the artists. One girl deftly grabs Brook sunglasses while another climbs onto a speaker and throws her arms up in delight, some grab at the tambourines and drumsticks, while the more ambitious fans vie to dance with Jack herself, spinning her out onstage. I recognize Zoe Kravitz (Lenny Kravitz’s daughter) dancing back to back with Brook and can’t help, but wonder how often fans are given the privilege of dancing alongside their favorite musicians? As the song comes to a close, Brook says good-naturedly, “Alright, you guys have to get off the stage now,” and both members end the show with a solid salute which the J*Davey Navy willfully reciprocates.