Also this issue: In iPod He Trusts DJ Botany 500 inserts his brain into a little white box and rents it out. -Patrick Rapa Angelo Cho -Peter Burwasser Best to read it every week -Patrick Rapa Ed Harcourt -Andrew Parks Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra -Peter Burwasser Electric Six -Paul Burress Tiësto -Sean O’Neal Kathleen Edwards -Nicole Pensiero

June 12-18, 2003

musicpicks

Erin McKeown

by Nancy Armstrong

When you see Erin McKeown on stage, the cliché about good things in small packages comes to mind. On disc, it's impossible to tell how tiny the woman is, as her voice is a huge, crystal-clear phenomenon. She uses it to lull, excite, tickle and taunt with a range that dips and soars throughout each album, as well as in the course of a single song: Note the titular two parts on "Love in 2 Parts," from 2000's expansive and eclectic Distillation (TVP). The 25-year-old Virginian started out in a high-school cover band and is growing up, branching out and continuing to delight on the brand-new Grand (Nettwerk), with songs like "Cosmopolitans," whose inspiration was Judy Garland's audio diary, and "Born to Hum," in which the lady laments having to listen to her own voice all the time. McKeown's voice is no chore for the listener, but she will make you work at her show. Don't expect to sit and sip your coffee silently this weekend at The Point; you'll be required to stand and participate heartily. But do not fear -- there's nothing gets you over being shy like shouting "Estelle!" at the top of your voice during the chorus of "La Petite Mort," and when, during "Fast as I Can," McKeown repeats, "You're gonna make it, girl," you'll sing it with her, feeling like she already has.

Sat., June 14, 7 and 10 p.m., with Casey Holford and Sun., June 15, 7:30 p.m., with Teitur, $14, The Point, 880 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-527-0988.