March 18, 2007
When Dallas native Nayrok Udab took the stage at Austin's Club 115 after midnight on Sunday, the crowd was thin and spread out. Three songs into her set, she was still trying to find her groove.
Not that she and her band didn't sound great with tunes that included "Cry Me a River." Her voice is tremendous, and her band's sound equally so. But she hadn't quite connected with the small crowd, and she knew that. So she stopped the band, and coaxed folks to come in closer (including stagehands hanging out in the back). "Feed me some energy. Feed us some love," she pleaded.
They obeyed, and she delivered a electrifying blend of hip-hop and alternative rock that she calls "hoodrok." Yes, Eryka Badu's little sister can hold her own. Except for the resemblence, and hints of Badu when Nayrok slows it down, their styles are miles apart.
By the time Nayrok (it's her birth named Koryan spelled backward) closed her set one song early because of time, she clearly had seduced a few new hungry fans.
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