‘I am deeply sorry, I am pulling a Morrissey’ said Nina Diaz just after two songs while laughing. The Girl in a Coma frontgirl was supposed to play a free concert at Levitt Pavilion on Friday night, but when she arrived on stage I saw her sucking on her small bottle of honey, sipping on a cup of tea and even using a sore throat spray… may be a new ritual I thought? But soon I realized it was not the case, Nina had some severe case of laryngitis and she was feeling miserable despite the large smile and the tough attitude.
I have seen Nina Diaz before, with her act Girl in a Coma, and I know how impressive she can be on stage despite her petite size, I know what a strong and scary rock goddess’s voice she can have… On Friday night, she really, really tried, like a little soldier, trying to fulfill her mission, ‘let’s just do it’ she said after another shot of spray right in her throat, but I don’t think she was able to finish her second song, she completely lost her voice and it was over
She apologized many times, was visibly extremely sorry, saying she was so excited to share her new songs, but feeling so worry this was not the way they were intended to sound. A lot of love was coming from the crowd, genuine and super encouraging and this sure had to be some real consolation for her.
Although Nina was struggling with her vocals, the little I have heard of the songs sounded dynamic and melodic with a big dance-y-rocking tempo as she was backed up by a full boy band… Nina is in fact taking a break from Girl in a Coma (although I don’t think the band has split up) and she is releasing her solo project, recorded in Sonic Ranch Studios in West Texas, produced by Manuel Calderon and backed up by musicians David Garza and Patricio Davila… ‘The album will come soon’, she said after she has stopped singing, eager to answer the crowd’s questions probably to compensate for her missing voice. The album has been described here as ‘a melting pot of indie and rock influences, including PJ Harvey and Björk’, and Diaz, who hit rock bottom a few months ago when struggling with a drug addiction, realized the most important thing ever: ‘I finally figured out after 13 years why I’m doing this, and it’s to help people’…. ‘I needed to express myself in another way besides Girl in a Coma,’ she has said in an interview, ‘I just let my mind go free. It’s like a rebirth’. She didn’t explain much at the Levitt Pavilion, she couldn’t speak for long, but someone asked her if she could give her a hug, and she received a warm one. I could read a bit of what was written on the setlist, just words not real song titles, but one line was saying ‘Tear Us Apart’, and I don’t know if it was one of her new songs or if she intended to cover the famous Joy Division’s one.
Here are a few pictures of the show (with Elsten Torres who was opening). Also watch poor Nina courageously struggling and finally losing her voice below:
