Fringe Fest 2013 Reviews: Mikaela Davis 

I'm right almost all of the time; just ask me. I'm wrong plenty, too; just ask my wife. But I know I'm right in saying Mikaela Davis is going to be a big sensation from this jerkwater burg as soon as she quits wasting time at SUNY Potsdam and hits the road.

Davis and her harp and her band -- one cat on keys, sitar, and guitar duty, and a well-versed drummer -- served up a light and airy set of psychedelic splendor and whimsy on Gibbs Street Saturday as part of the Fringe Festival. Her coquettish voice in concert with the dreamy wash of her giant instrument's strings is engaging, enthralling, enticing, and entirely beautiful.

Other than a quick sitar-driven nod to the Fab Four, Davis performed her own strong compositions. Her song "I'm just Tryin' To Be Your Friend" is permanently drilled into my brain, what with all its hooks and oooh's and oh's. The band had some in the large crowd slack-jawed and somewhat relieved to discover that indie rock doesn't need to be abstract or obtuse or rendered by geeks to be good.

It's a quirky line-up to be sure, but Davis' band is more there for punctuation and spice, leaving the harp and its master's dainty digits to drive the whole affair to the sky. It's absolutely gorgeous. I know I'm right, dammit.