"Peter Terry" Review
Wed, July 14, 2010 From Cruise Ship to Chicago
If you were to put Mat Kearney or Pete Yorn in your Pandora station, there's a good chance you would stumble upon Chicago’s Peter Terry. The 24-year-old singer, song writer has a soulful voice and catchy tunes about, what else, love and life. To me, he sounds a bit like Tracey Chapman, but you know, a guy. Others in the crowd said he reminded them of Gavin DeGraw, with pleasing pop notes of Eric Hutchinson and a soothing tone like Chris Martin, Rush of Blood to the head. Terry keeps thing interesting by switching up his tune a bit every song. Regardless, one thing is sure, this guy is good. He is engaging on stage and his captivating lyrics and pop riffs keep you listening.
The Indiana native and Northwestern theater grad has a folk-pop-soul mix performing with just his acoustic guitar and his friend and classically trained bassist, Andrew Goodlett, on double bass. Terry has played at Evanston’s Space, Cubby Bear and a number of other places around the Chicago area. He also performed all over the world while singing in an a cappella group on a cruise ship for six months. Along with his polished and fine tuned vocals, his sound is also raw, explorative and fresh.
Tonight, Terry entertained the posh, pretentious and pretty crowd of the rooftop at Market. The venue overlooks the skyline of Chicago from the West Loop, but the sound system of Market needed some work. Still, Terry belted out his songs that kept the crowd’s attention for two, forty minute sets. One of his most popular originals, She Loved, got the crowd clapping along. Other crowd favorites included the upbeat cover of Coldplay’s Yellow and a cool classic acoustic version of Etta James At Last. I personally liked the song Elizabeth Shue, dedicated to the Leaving Las Vegas actress. Terry said he feel in love with her while watching the movie and had to turn off the flick because he could not bear to watch all the bad things that happened to her character. He still has not seen the end.
Terry’s influences include folk and blues music like Little Walter and Muddy Waters, and legends like The Beatles and Etta James.
Double Bass player, Andrew Goodlett, said the Chicago music scene has not influenced the duo. “We have a unique sound, something new and fresh,” Goodlett said.
“I’m just trying to be myself,” Terry said.
Like most singer-songwriters, he writes about love and life. But his unbelievable voice and upbeat yet chill tune is what sets him apart from other Chicago artists. Well worth you time to check him out, drop his name and look cooler.
Songs to check out: She Loved and Elizabeth Shue.
