Nanci Griffith: a remembrance

The news that Nanci Griffith had died came to me via a friend's post on Facebook. Like me he was heartbroken to learn that Nanci is no longer with us.

I saw Nanci Griffith and her Blue Moon Orchestra many times over the late 1980s and into the mid 1990s. Her songs were as much a soundtrack to my life then as R.E.M. or Huskerdu but the music she played was not rock but a literate folk country that she sometimes called 'folkabilly'. 

She was a performer who engaged her audience - she connected with folk on that human level. People identified with the characters and observations in her songs sure but a major factor in her appeal was the way she built a rapport with her audience. Her folksy song intro, stories that had you laugh and, at times, shed a tear. Her intro to 'Love at the 5 and dime' is legendary and one that I never tired of hearing. 

I remember going to see her at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow and finding myself very nervously perched in the 'gods' feeling I would fall forward at any point. Nanci came on stage looked up at the top of the theatre and said something like 'are you alright up there?' Instead of tipping me over the edge I was reassured and the tension left - she knew we were up there and now she was going to sing to us.

I'm glad I was able to share the room with her and share communion with with her audience over those years and see the mix of people touched by her music, yes there were punks, there were families and there were always sad eyed dreamers.

Thank you Nanci for sharing your time and your songs with us. Rest easy.

The Staves, Edinburgh International Festival

 And just like we were back occupying a space watching a live band. Part of it was like it had never been away and the other part was the odd part of strange. The venue a huge temporary tent structure like a giant long gazebo with a stage at one end and socially distanced seating 'bubbles'. There was app ordered waiter service for drinks - that could catch on. It was both comforting and strange to be back in a space with other people and a live band in the same space.

It was great to see the Staves on stage again singing those gorgeous harmonies and touring their wonderful new album 'Good Woman'. they did reach back to songs like 'Mexico' and the non-album gem 'Tired as Fuck'. That song perhaps voiced what we were all thinking after the 18 month long haul of Covid 19 restrictions, setbacks and anxiety. We are all tired as fuck. The Staves got there first unintendedly but the song now .

Performing as a duo - eldest sister Emily is at home with her baby- the Staves sound as strong as ever  thanks to well placed harmonies by replacement Rob you'd hardly know. Welcome back.

Memphis '69

Fat Possum Records have posted  'Memphis 69' on YouTube - a film of the 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival and you'd be well advised to give it a watch. Including performances by country blues masters Fred McDowall, Sleepy John Estes, Bukka White and Furry Lewis along with the Bar-Keys backing Rufus Thomas the film catches the time when the confluence of the the roots of black blues and r&b met the white blues wave with appearances from John Fahey, Johnny Winter, Jo Ann Kelly, Sid Selvedge and the Insect Trust. 

It shows a coming together, a shared communion through music of different races and cultures that could have signified a new American. The venue used had hosted a Ku Klux Klan rally only weeks before so came loaded with that racist view of America. The young white faces in the audience evidence a freshness and hope. Filmed over 3 days and two nights in June 1969 it captures a time long lost but one well worth revisiting to reflect on that opportunity and what was lost. 

'Baseball' by Dusted

From time to time a record comes along that just strikes you as absolutely sublime. A song you can't get enough of, that you'll play at every opportunity? That's the case with Baseball by Dusted. It's been on repeat on my Spotify and on YouTube since I first heard it. 

This is a record of beauty perfectly balanced between ache and a pop sensibility that shares its beauty on repeated listens. That's my take. 

Check out the 'official video' for the song too. Seemingly made in secret as a back up by Brian Borcherdt's wife Anna when she thought the original video concept was going south. It too is a thing of beauty with a few unexpected turns - no spoilers, give it a watch. https://youtu.be/iFOMQ0rIBjs

Baseball is taken from the third Dusted album the appropriately titled III. I'm diving into the album now - it may be some time before I come up for air.

 https://totallydusted.bandcamp.com/