During my gig-life of 2019 there are many other bands and singer-songwriters who I caught during the year but for reasons of time I haven't written about. My partial silence (there are often brif reactions on twitter @leithnotes) doesn't mean that they failed to leave a mark, just that I didn't find the time to jot down my impressions. And impressions they all made. I thank them here for their music and the colour, light and shade they brought to my year in music.
Amber Cross
Sneaky Pete's
When I first heard Amber's voice the directness of her delivery struck me and the ensuing songs that pulled me in were compelling. I thought, then, that I'd be lucky to see her live. I thought her audience too small to pull her across the Atlantic Ocean and these shores.
I was surprised and excited when news reached me of a UK tour with an Edinburgh date. She did not disappoint.
Performing as a duo with husband James on second guitar and harmonies her music was stark and affecting in its sincerity. These are songs of directness and deeply wrought from her life and experience. Take 'Savage on the Downhill' a song about hunting as it turns out uses lyricism that transcends the subject the matter or 'Echoes' a song about the stresses of maintaining a relationship while raising a family and making a living (this one moved me to tears). These are honest songs from an honest and unvarnished performer and all the better for that.
https://www.ambercrossmusic.com/music
Kristin Hersh
Summerhall
Way back in the early 1990s I caught Kristin's band Throwing Muses when they played Edinburgh's Calton Studios. I got a review printed in the TLN (Tennents Live News) music magazine. I caught her again a few years later when she toured her first solo album 'Hips and Makers'. She's one of those singers whose voice and songs captivate mesmerise and pull you in. To be fair I'd not been pulled in for a long time.
A packed Summerhall awaited her return and I wondered if after all this time she'd still have the power to pull me in. She made it seem effortless. My twitter
review - Two words fierce and mesmerising. It stands.
https://www.kristinhersh.com/
Her Crooked Heart
Leith Depot
What kind of wonderful is this? Not just the fabulous Rachel Ries in concert but an incredible band of women all of whom are worth more attention.
Rachel Ries is one of those wonderful singer songwriters who defies genres. Think a small-town American take on Kate Bush crossed with Mary Margaret O'Hara. Moments of musical and lyrical magic tumble across the room and stretch beyond the venue. On her own Rachel would be outstanding but in this ensemble setting with these musicians her songs become wonderfully layered explorations of life and the heart that reach a higher place and the whole becomes something that is very, very special.
I felt humbled to be part of the audience at this show and to experience this wonderful evening.
Also check out the band,
If you like all that check out,
Anais Mitchell
The Queens Hall
My third Anais Mitchell experience and one that spoke of the journey she's been on since I first saw her at the Pleasance a few years back. Since then she's started a family and had incredible but extremely well deserved success with Hadestown her song cycle based on the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice now a successful stage show.
It's an intimate performance tonight which covers a range of her songs including the stand out songs from 'Young Man in America' her examination of the history of modern America through the life of her father. Also included tonight is a song from her 'Bonny Light Horseman' project a super group of sorts that will be performing at Celtic Connections.
https://www.anaismitchell.com/
Orange Claw Hammer
Henry's Cellar Bar
The Captain Beefheart fans will have spotted the name of this band as a Beefheart song title. OCH are a band who maintain that they are not a cover band but a band that interprets the music of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band.
And interpret it they do in the most powerful way weaving jazz, blues and other influences into a whole that is uplifting, powerful and quite incredible.
Now regulars during the Fringe Festival when they regularly play sold out gigs they can also be caught playing at the Click Clack club which frontman Steve Kettley hosts. Catch these zig-zag wanderers and be amazed.
https://www.orangeclawhammer.net/
The Howl and the Hum supported by Naomi Munn
Pianodrome at Leith Theatre
Some gigs just appear and are special and this was one of them. To be fair I have to ask my daughter Naomi for this one. She's ben writing and performing her own music for the past few years and out of the blue sent me a text saying she'd been offered a support slot for The Howl and the Hum at Leith Theatre as part of the Pianodrome installation.
Set in the middle of the theatre Pianodrome creates an intimate and unique setting for a performance in the round with seating created from old pianos.
Naomi commanded the space for her set of originals of voice and guitar and gained the audience's attention effortlessly building a rapport with the audience. An emerging talent even from my obviously slightly biased perspective.
The Howl and the Hum are a young band on the cusp of breaking through. They have all the components including strong and distinctive lead vocals and a group of songs that suggest that this is only the beginning for them and there is much more to come. My advice is catch them now to experience the raw intimacy of their performance as I think they'll be moving up to bigger venues soon. This was stripped back set minus the drummer which gave them an acoustic sound that matched the venue.
Thanks to Edinburgh Music Lovers for curating and promoting this gig and to both Pianodrome and Leith Theatre for providing the setting and venue.
Naomi Munn
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PhYCEcCArdZ6ErqURnwiC?si=LeUPUWx9SnKC-0rypdnsMw
The Howl and the Hum
https://www.thehowlandthehum.com/about
Pianodrome
https://pianodrome.org/
Leith Theatre
https://www.leiththeatretrust.org/
Andrew Combs
Pleasance Bar
This guy is something special - a singer songwriter with a sound that recalls the Laurel canyon countrypolitan sounds of the 70s and updates that lyrically creating a feel that is weirdly contemporary.
This is my second time seeing him and like the first time I am blown away by how effortless he makes it sound and just how good these songs are live. Playing with a full band (stuck on a stage the size of a proverbial postage stamp) he brings to life his recent 'Ideal Man' album and throws in a smattering of the best from his previous albums. The crowd lap it up. while it's great to see him in such an intimate venue I can't help but feel he should be commanding larger stages. Have a listen and spread the word.
Shout out too to Kirby Brown for providing a lovely support set and some very witty between song guitar tuning chat. Look out for him in the future - http://www.kirbybrownmusic.com/home
https://www.andrewcombsmusic.com/
Vetiver
Sneaky Pete's
This was to be my last gig of the year and was one of exceptional beauty. Vetiver are a band but tonight and for this tour it was a solo show by band leader Andy Cabic.
In the intimate surroundings of Sneaky Pete's the songs of Vetiver enveloped the audience in a hypnotic lyricism. In a nod to this being an Edinburgh date Andy snuck in an Incredible String Band cover.
And with that the curtain came down on my live music odyssey of 2019.
http://www.vetiverse.com/
