Tristan Prettyman
Mosaic Music Festival concert
In keeping with the laid-back casual vibe of her gig, it was entirely appropriate that Tristan Prettyman performed in her bare feet.
You could almost imagine the surfer singer-songwriter strumming the guitar on a quiet darkened beach while the waves crashed rhythmically in the background.
The mellow crowd at the sold-out 220-seater recital studio was content to sit back and lap it all up.
It was after the set opener, Breathe, that Prettyman told the audience that her luggage and guitar got lost in transit. Still, it gave the 24-year-old a compelling reason to shop.“Good thing there’s a mall on every corner,” she said.
She then went on to preface most of her songs with tidbits about her life.Before launching into Guest Check, she revealed that she used to work at a pizza place in her native San Diego. Then she deadpanned that the song had nothing to do with pizzas.
The genial singer, performing here as part of the Esplanade’s Mosaic festival,also took requests.There were calls for Shy That Way, a duet with her ex-boyfriend, American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, but she pointed out that “Jason’s not here”.
She obliged the crowd with Lindsay Goes To Rehab instead, a song about out-of-control Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan, written “after a drunken evening”.
Live, Prettyman’s acoustic folk-pop ditties sounded more muscular, thanks to her back-up bassist and drummer.But it wasn’t until Just In Case that the band cut loose. “This is where we go crazy and rock out. Like Metallica,” she added helpfully.
The wildest thing that happened though was when a besotted female fan yelled out, “Tristan, you’re beautiful”. To which the unruffled Prettyman said right back “You’re beautiful too”.
The amiable singer even invited the audience to hang out with her if they were ever in San Diego.
Just as they hung out with her on Saturday night.
(ST)