by Moses Namkung

Dressed in blue skinny jeans and hot red shoes with high heels, playing in front of an adoring audience at Slim's, Martha Wainwright walked around the stage looking for a beer and found a half-consumed Corona behind a speaker. She took a few gulps and set it down, then burped coyly into the mic. It was hard not to love her - and her periodic hip gyrations were hypnotic.

Opening for Martha were locals Karina Denike and Ryan Auffenberg, as well as A.A. Bondy, who recently released his first solo album, American Hearts. Folk rock-y, with a harmonica encircling his neck, Bondy was at times reminiscent of Deer Tick or a Nebraska-era Springsteen. Your SFist correspondent was pleasantly surprised.

But back to Ms. Wainwright. While it doesn't hurt being the younger sister of Rufus, Martha quite legitimately holds her own as a solo artist. She just released her second album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, and has quite a set of pipes. Last night, she sang a mix of songs from both of her albums, with a few others sprinkled in; highlights included, upon requests from the crowd, "Factory" as well as the theatrical "Stormy Weather".

When discussing a love song she was about to play, "Niger River", she spoke of her recent marriage to bassist/producer Brad Albetta, who shared the stage with her. "I was in Africa recently", she said. And while there, "I saw the Niger River and it reminded me of my love and relationship with Brad"... the river, in her words, was "swollen and fast-moving". Oh, turgid fluids. How romantic.