Watson Twins Kick Off Tour, Cover Sade in Chicago

Los Angeles-based duo Chandra and Leigh Watson, aka the Watson Twins, announced to the intimate, seated crowd at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music Sunday night that they'd been awake since 3AM traveling for the first night of their tour. Despite the jet lag, the girls, accompanied by a four-piece backup band, brimmed with a lot of soul.

Of the 13 songs they performed, 10 were from their latest endeavor, 'Talking to You, Talking to Me,' and only one, 'How Am I To Be,' came from their debut full-length, 'Fire Songs.' They opened with 'Modern Man,' the first track off the new record. The twins chimed in together and traded off vocal duties and danced in place a little to the groovy beats before announcing that the second song, the bluesy 'Harpeth River,' had been requested by a fan who couldn't get the song out of her head.

Near the end of jazzy 'Midnight,' the twins walked offstage to allow the keyboardist, bassist, drummer and guitarist to take center stage and let it rip. The Watsons later told the audience they were showing off 'Talking to You' as if it was a new baby. "Isn't it cute?" they referred to the album. Acknowledging that it was Easter Sunday, they also joked that they wanted to dress up in a bunny costume or bunny ears, but that might have given the wrong impression.

A few song into their set, they started into a familiar song that turned out to be R&B hit 'The Sweetest Taboo' by Sade. A shaker, bass and keys generated some head bobbing from the audience and swaying back and forth from the twins. "We can't take credit for it," they confessed to the audience. They said their new record came out the same day as Sade's long anticipated 'Solider of Love,' so they had to pay respect to her.

For the encore, the twins played the title track from their 'Southern Manners' EP, introducing it with an anecdote about bringing their southern hospitality from Kentucky to L.A, where they'd smile at people who didn't reciprocate. Even though the song was about being homesick, the twins didn't seem to be feeling that way as they closed out their first show of the tour.