WAITING FOR GARDOT. I'm not sure this topic is even TAPPropriate, but since it's August, what the hell: On Sunday night, my wife and I caught Melody Gardot -- whom we recently discovered on XM Radio -- in concert at World Live Café in Philly. Of the hundreds of live concerts I've seen -- from the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" tour 20 years ago to the Old 97's 20 days ago -- this was the best. (The Café is also a superb venue.) Forget Dido or even Norah Jones: If there's any justice, Gardot's stirring, soulful voice will become the female voice of the decade. Her first album, Worrisome Heart, is fantastic, and the songs she performed from it Sunday night, including the title track and "Goodnite," were surpassed only by her moving covers of "Summertime" from Porgy & Bess, and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Judy Garland's got nothing on her. And what a stage presence Gardot has -- not to mention a compelling personal story. (At 19, she survived getting hit by a car while riding a bike, and still uses a cane.) Trust me when I say that if you're in Manhattan this Saturday you'll never spend a better $11 than seeing her at Joe's Pub. --Tom Schaller
