Rachel Loshak - live at the Living Room 8/31/01 and the Postscrypt Cafe, Columbia University Chapel, 10/13/01. In August, as brushes swept softly across minimalist drums, Rachel caressed the audience with songs from the new “Firefly” CD, and chatted up the crowd with a story of her brother’s impending wedding in a chapel made of ice. When she sings the words “My only comfort is your voice on the phone, waiting to hear the words I’m coming home,” you’d be crazy not with it was written for you. I am unfailingly impressed with her voice, songs, and presentation. A chapel of a different sort, than ice, was the scene of the only CMJ-week show I looked forward to. With the madness of a month before, an intimate, solo (!) performance was on my very short list of things to see the week of the rescheduled convention (of which this was not a featured show - go figure) With an acoustic bass and unamplified bass, Rachel was in the hot seat of this cool basement venue. But her voice resonated off the massive stone walls. Using her regular haunt, the Living Room, as a base, you would think a show couldn’t get more intimate – save a set played on your moonlit back porch, but the Postscrypt with a newly fire-marshal-enforced capacity of 25 pulled it off. When she played “Comfort is Cold,” from her debut CD, the room was still enough to hear the buzz from a loosely fretted string. In a lighter moment, Rachel said she might play for a big, “then do a little question and answer” as though on a talk show. Between cups of warmed apple cider fresh popcorn, I requested a surprise and received what I think she introduced as a Pat Methaney tune. Toward the end came “Watching Your Eyes,” seemingly written as much for a singer-songwriter as for a full band. - So serene. www.rachelloshak.com - Ment