Because the Night - in praise of impromptu gigs

There is something to be said for spur of the moment gig going. Yeah it's great the anticipation of a gig weeks or months away, the build up, listening the artists in preparation, finding out if friends are going. But just going out and catching live music must be one of the greatest thrills for music lovers. It is for me anyway.

So last night with nothing planned I'm scrolling Facebook and spot a post from my gig buddy Stewart saying Humbird and Luke Callen are playing a popup gig at the Pianodrome in the Old Royal High School in Edinburgh. 

I'd missed Humbird when she played the Waverley Bar in July - like last night finding out a few short hours before the gig. I was not going to miss her a second time. 

Bit of background, I'd seen Humbird (the stage name of Siri Undlin) when she was part of Rachel Ries 'Her Crooked Heart' project, a super group of talented female performers a few years ago in a packed bar in Leith. I'd been following her on Bandcamp ever since thanks to hand written cards they handed out that night with their socials and music links.

I arrived at the 'Resonancy Bar' ordered a refreshing pint of Bellfield IPA and bumped into Stewart, quick catch-up and then we met Siri and Luke who were friendly, easy company. then it was show time.

The set was short, just twenty minutes. A traditional folk song, a Dolly Parton cover then one original apiece - Minneapolis for Luke and North Country Girl for Siri (inspired by the Dylan, but from the North Country Girl's perspective) finishing with a Blaze Foley cover. It was the distillation of a popup gig - this is what we do, here are our influences. If indie folk Americana were manifested in a punk gig this would be it. Here we are.

All too soon it was over.

Postscript: Luke and Siri had tickets for the main show next door in the Pianodrome and said they'd pop out and tell us what it was like. Siri was as good as her word and we joined a packed house as standing latecomers to catch part of the set by the Brothers Gillespie from Northumbria - high English folk harmonies that were a revelation for me. The headliner was Kate in the Kettle a fiddle, viola and cello trio whose take on folk was mesmerising in its scope verging on classical and jazz to these ears.

There should always be room in your life for impromptu gigs, be open to the possibilities and be prepared to be startled.

humbirdmusic.com/ 

lukecallen.com/

pianodrome.org/

A Saturday afternoon with Sierra Ferrell, Assai Records, Edinburgh

Music in a room, what can be better. A crowd of strangers, mainly, joined in the communal appreciation of an artist a performer sharing their songs, their music.

So it was on Saturday when I ventured out to Assai Records in Edinburgh to catch an instore performance from Sierra Ferrell a rising star of new old country (ok I've coined that myself). Her songs sound like they have always been in existence. They haven't, they are new and come from this sparky West Virginian and conjure up a country sound that is not Nashville, now or I would contend then.

I turned up early and a summer downpour saw me take shelter in the Blue Blazer, a howf with many memories. I wasn't alone with my thought for long. My music buddy Stewart arrived, like me sheltering from the summer rain. We shared our pints and talked music.

And then it was the priority queue for Assai and the wonder that is Sierra Ferrell, playing as a trio with fiddle/mandolin, her guitar, and double bass, beautiful harmonies. Perfect for this small space. The appreciative audience enjoying every precious minute, gamely joining in in the audience participation on 'At the End of the Rainbow'. The show was everything is needed to be, an intimate audience with a wonderful new artist far from home in Scotland (enjoying the beer) finding a warm enthusiastic welcome.

For me it was a bonus to be there - I was going to miss her show in Glasgow the next night. If you haven't heard Sierra's music don't miss out. A packed record shop in Edinburgh will testify to that.

Gina Villalobos - Rock'n'Roll Pony revisited

 

Over the Christmas break I rediscovered my iPod and scrolling through the music contained there I found a few artists that to some extent I'd forgotten about. One that really caught my attention was Gina Villalobos a California based singer/songwriter and her album 'Rock'n'Roll Pony'.

I can't quite remember how I first found her - possibly a suggestion on iTunes or searching the internet somewhere. However I'd found her doesn't really matter. It's the music that matters and when I clicked on play the tracks I'd downloaded 'Why', 'Faded' and the cover of World Party's 'Put the Message in the Box' the sound was so fresh and immediate. Gina has a voice for which the word ache was created. These world weary songs, delivered with that soulful ache and a full band rock Americana sound had me in it's spell again. I remembered how excited I was when I first found her music. 

What had happened to her and this wonderful sound?  Was she still recording? Within minutes I was googling to find out. What I found told me that yes, she still produces music intermittently, an album 'Sola' in 2014 (check it out on Spotify) and a single in 2016. It also turns out that she works in the film industry providing sound effects and scores.

I'm glad to have become reacquainted with Gina Villalobos. The music is, to my ear, life affirming and joy to hear. I'd say if you're a fan of Lucinda Williams and Lilly Hiatt you could do yourself a favour and add Gina Villalobos to your playlist.

https://ginavillalobos.com/     

Rock'n'Roll Pony

Waxahatchee 1 year Anniversary St Cloud livestream - 'live' in Kansas

To mark the 1 year anniversary of the release of St Cloud Waxahatchee performed the album 'live' from La Villa, Kansas City.

 

I've been listening to Waxahatchee for some time now and it was the album St Cloud that really caught my attention. For me Katie Crutchfield has hit her stride. By that I mean that her vision and its realisation, the reason I've been an on and off listener for a few years now, has with St Cloud hit that sweet spot where I fully get and appreciate what she is doing.

The album was released a year ago and has been a favourite of mine since even naming a Spotify playlist after one of its stand out tracks 'Can't Do Much'. Released around the time that the world as we know it went into the rolling Covid lockdowns that have defined our existence since. The album was never toured. This aniversary gig was to present a band performance to a worldwide audience to say thank you for your support. It was worth the wait.

Filmed inside La Villa, Kansas City the airy white space with arched windows and a mix of dried and fresh flowers provided an open and bright, hopeful space to explore these songs.

This was a track by track run through of the album. That statement downplays the presentation - this was a band playing live with heart and sublety allowing the space for these songs to flow and connect with the audience.The band filled the space with a nod to the venue's bright and airy tones all washed out denims and flowers. It seems in these troubled times we need to keep hope, life and beauty to the fore. The band made it seem effortless and what they created was truly beautiful.

 

Those yearning melodic tunes with evocative lyrics -  we leave love behind /without a tear or a long goodbye or Swallow my pride/it's mine to quell/ I'll put you through hell/illput you through hell/ I - release a ramble of a sigh.

 

The mix of venue, band, lyrics and the sheer quality of this set of songs creates a mood at once light and hopeful but with a biting undercurrent that suggests an indie intelligence informing a natural and true americana heartbeat. This is a music that dwells in that cosmic american terrain explored by Gram Parsons where country, folk and rock cross paths. If this was the 1990s Micheal Stipe would be popping up on harmony vocals. He doesn't and those aching harmonies are left to the band members and hit the mark every time.

There are glimpses of the joy of this live set from the band - from Katie herself as the the main focus of the camera, but catch the sheer unbridled joy of the bass player as she delivers her harmonies and delivers her bass lines. This must have been a release for band members on ice for a year and now able to do what they do and do it so well.

 

In a blur of georgeous melodies and subtle playing we're onto the last song and the realisation that the show is nearing its end. What a blessing it is that once the album is complete the show continues with a cover of Dolly Parton's 'Light of a Clear Blue Morning' which starts tender and reflective before gradually building in intensity to a driving cathartic end everthing is going to be alright/it's gonna be ok.

With a bow to the audience and a nod to the band Katie vacates the stage as the band bring the show to an end.

Thank you Katie Crutchfield and Waxahatchee for your time, your beauty and your hope. It's gonna be ok.

Dram Shop Gal - Carson McHone at the Hug & Pint 8/02/2019

Carson McHone is a native of Austin Texas and already a veteran of the city's honky tonk scene. As such you might expect her to be a purveyor of straight ahead four to the floor honky tonk music. Maybe she is with a full band behind her. Tonight she is solo, just her and her acoustic guitar and the songs while showing classic country and honky tonk influences also have a subtlety and quality that mark her as a songwriter to watch.

The songs stripped back in this intimate setting show a spare, stark quality and a lyrical deftness that marks them out. Musically she is steeped in the Texas honk tonk tradition and possesses a voice that can yelp like a best rockabilly girl when she needs it to but can also be gentle and reflective on the likes of 'Dram Shop Gal'.

It's 'Dram Shop Gal' that stands out for me as it shows the quality of her writing offering a tale of a woman working bars with a lyricism that puts her with the best of singer songwriters coming out of the US today. There is also something about the melodies she creates which while based on the classic country she's grown up with is laced with echoes of old time Scots and Irish music which form a key root of country.

Carson McHone did not disappoint and had the audience in the palm of her hand entertaining them between songs with tales of the life and the road. I expected the country honky tonk feel of her songs and she delivered that but what I'd not expected was the references to classic American literature that peppered her show and informed the one new song she sang 'Hawks Do Not Share' which takes its title from a chapter of Hemingway's 'A Movable Feast' about the relationship of the two iconic creative impulses that were Zelda and F.Scott Fitzgerald. She also referenced Thomas Wolfe's 'Look Homeward Angel' and Langston Hughes 'Suicide's Note'.

Recently signed to Loose Records this is Carson's first tour of the UK showcasing her album 'Carousel'. She promises to be back later this year hopefully with her band. I'm looking forward to it already - this is a new talent on the rise.

Roselit Bone - Tales from the Psychotic side of Country

Roselit Bone residency at the Phoenix Bar Edinburgh

💀💀💀💀💀💀 Review

Roselit Bone, a band who tout a gothic country punk sound peppered with raw rockabilly and  mariachi rhythms are like a band from a fever dream infused with the nightmarish world of David Lynch. Yes that intriguing and startlingly good!

My route to finding them was that modern and slightly bizarre way I imagine lots of folk find new music these days -  though social media in a kind of accidental way. A friend sent me a request to like a bar back in April and instead of liking I clicked events and found Roselit Bone. I clicked interested for a gig in August and thought no more. Until August when an alert told an event I was interested in was coming up.

That was when I discovered that they were playing eighteen nights during the annual Edinburgh Fringe as part of the Free Festival. No pre-bought tickets, audiences just show up on the night....or don't. It took me a while to show my face to be true.

I finally made it along on the penultimate night of their run. My god. Why, oh why had I not made it along earlier in their run? The stripped down acoustic iteration of the band were both seriously odd and exceptionally powerful. Led by Josh McCaslin on vocals and guitar, aided and amply abetted by Faith Grossnicklaus on fiddle and Nate Lown on bass they had stage presence and then some. Josh and Nate's pale faces were highlighted with make-up which gave them the otherworldly demeanour of 1920s silent western actors and Faith, similarly pale skinned, channelling Rose Maddox, pulled off a glamourous cowgirl look with the twist of her own bird skull bolo and ear-rings.

They looked like the forlorn god children of The Panther Burns crossed with the Gun Club. The music was intense and evocative punctuated with yelps, howls and lonesome whines. The songs are sharply drawn tales of degradation, violence, lust, love, sex, murder and death. Cheery it ain't but  it is compellingly captivating. The sound and delivery, not to mention the presentation, pulls the susceptible into its vortex and beguiles like a siren song.

That siren song twisted into me and pulled me to the rocks not only that night but also the next night when I found myself making a journey back into that web of hopped up psychotic rock'n'roll deranged country that is Roselit Bone.

The band's first sojourn to Scotland was an epic run of gigs and my fear and joy is the realisation that had I made it along earlier in the run I may well have found the siren pulling me into the basement room at the Phoenix Bar on a nightly basis. Which would've been no bad thing. No bad thing at all.

https://www.roselitbone.com/

Albums 'Blister Steel' and 'Blacken and Curl' available here https://roselitbone.bandcamp.com/