November 21, 2008

Too country for rock and too blues for country, singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams toiled for nearly two decades before finding acclaim in 1994 with a Grammy for songwriting – only to have commercial success continue to elude her.  1998 saw an end to all that with the release of Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, which finally won the mainstream market’s appreciation of her as an artist and performer in her own right.  Though undoubtedly not predetermined, Car Wheels was in effect a perfectly timed coup in a zeitgeist which was clamoring for all things alt.country.  And while the crossover airplay and sales would eventually wane, that album ensured if nothing else, Williams’ fan base would permanently include the NPR set going forward.

Touring in support of her latest release, Little Honey, Williams performed Saturday night at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.  Effectively an alternative country doyenne at this point, Williams’ trademark is a drawl two packs deep and full of regret, yet Little Honey contains what is arguably some of her most spirited and light-hearted work to date.  And though her set leaned heavily on selections from that album (including “Well Well Well,” “Honey Bee,” Tears Of Joy,” “Real Love” and “Little Rock Star” – the latter two of which featured Matthew Sweet and Susana Hoffs onstage supplying backing vocals), she offered highlights from her entire catalogue, including a smoldering take on “Essence” from her 2001 album of the same name.

An enthusiastic, hootin’-and-hollerin’ crowd made certain Williams knew she was among friends, and she replied in kind with performances that didn’t leave them wanting.  But after repeatedly topping herself with stops at “Can’t Let Go,” “Changed The Locks,” “Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings” and a show-stopping “Unsuffer Me,” she unfortunately seemed to run out of steam.  The show decelerated to the close of the main set and through the bulk of the encore, which contained a somewhat limp pass at Buffalo Springfield’s “Stop, Hey What’s That Sound.”  A dedication to President-elect Barack Obama of a cover of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” was somewhat redeeming – if only because that’s a bit of advice Williams, who’s hewn a career from a long road of her own, is definitely qualified to give.

Tags: ac/dc, airplay, alt-country, barack obama, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, changed the locks, commercial success, country singer songwriter, crossover, decades, Essence, fan base, grammy, honey bee, it's a long way to the top (if you wanna rock 'n' roll, Little Honey, little rock star, live review, Los Angeles, Lucinda Williams, mainstream market, matthew sweet, musiczeitgeist.com, NPR, real live bleeding fingers and broken guitar strings, real love, songwriting, stop hey what's that sound, susanna hoffs, tears of joy, unsuffer me, well well well, wiltern theatre, Zeitgeist

November 13, 2008

It seemed like an incongruous pairing — weathered, elder punk statesman John Doe joining arms with young singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards for an evening twang-heavy duets and solo performances — yet when the two brought their “Hurtin’ & Flurtin’” tour to the El Rey Theater last night, what looked potentially ridiculous on paper was in fact blissful in execution.

Far from "Failer" : Kathleen Edwards shines at the El Rey Theater (photo by the author).

Playing to a seated audience in a vastly undersold room, it’s clear that the majority of the ticket-buying public of Los Angeles didn’t get it either, but that didn’t stop the duo from bringing their A-game to the stage.  Doe — poet, actor, political commentator and, most notably, bassist for the legendary L.A. punk group X — has been steeped in the folk-country milieu for years with a number of solo releases to that effect, including last year’s A Year In The Wilderness, which featured a duet with Edwards in “Golden State.”

The two Canadians met previously at a Gram Parsons’ tribute concert, covering his “We’ll Sweep The Ashes Out In The Morning” — which they elegantly ran through last night after starting the show with a take on Edwards’ “Asking For Flowers” from this year’s album of the same name.  Though Doe has a distinctive, weathered voice and Edwards’ is more singularly impressive, the two married together created something wonderful that repeatedly delighted throughout the evening.  They further kept the show filled with numerous innuendos as well as jokes at each others’ expense, including pot-shots during the middle of songs.  While they referenced Sonny and Cher more than once, their on-stage interaction more closely resembled Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff, given the environment.  Whatever the case, the end result was hilarious (when discussing the tour name, Edwards mentioned that Doe disapproved of her idea to misspell flirtin’ with a “u,” suggesting instead they call it the “We’re Not Fucking Tour”).

Joining them intermittently on stage was guitar virtuoso Greg Leisz, who primarily played lap steel and slide guitar, accenting the headliners’ spare performances.  Edwards commented early in her first solo set how she used to see Leisz’s name among others in liner notes on albums she liked, hoping one day just to meet him.  “Then you’re making an album and you’re in a room with [him] and all you can think is “I hope I have the fucking budget.”

Though nice-guy Doe is more accomplished and better-known, the charismatic Edwards was the evening’s true star.  Pretty, funny and incredibly talented (in addition to being a proficient vocalist, guitarist and violinist, Edwards added mandolin, harmonica and foot tambourine to the mix) she would make the perfect dinner party guest.  Shining presentations of “In State,” “Copied Keys” and “Back To Me,” among others, made it clear she’s operating in a field of her own.  Her material is distinctive in that the poignancy of her songwriting, frequently wrought with blue-collar sensibilities, aligns her more with Springsteen at his most sincere and least anthemic than the likes of  Neko Case or Patty Griffin, or as a female incarnation of alt-country icon Ryan Adams.  A rare breed of artist who followed her well-heralded (official) 2003 debut, Failer, with an even more accomplished effort in 2005’s Back To Me, she defied the old music biz platitude that sophomore slumps are expected since artists have their whole life to make their first album but only 10 months to make their second — and set the stage for her current release, which should be expected for inclusion in many critics’ year-end best-of lists.  The entire female population of the Hotel Café Tour would do well to take notes on all aspects of Edwards’ career to date.

After nearly two hours, Doe and Edwards wound things down with a politically relevant “Are The Good Times Really Over” by Merle Haggard, before which Doe, referencing the recent Presidential election, offered “not just yet.”  Doe and Edwards closed the show shortly thereafter by unplugging their instruments, stepping away from their mics and standing at the edge of the stage for a truly acoustic rendition of the Everly Brothers classic “When Will I Be Loved.”

Judging from the response of the audience, they needn’t have asked the question.

Tags: A Year In The Wilderness, alt-country, Are The Good Times Really Over, Asking For Flowers, Back To Me, El Rey Theatre, Everly Brothers, Exene Cervenka, Failer, folk-country, Golden State, Gram Parsons, Greg, Hotel Cafe Tour, Hurtin' & Flurtin', In State, John Doe, Kathleen Edwards, Leisz, live review, Los Angeles, Merle Haggard, Minnie Pearl, musiczeitgeist.com, Neko Case, Patty Griffin, punk, Roy Acuff, singer/songwriter, Sonny and Cher, We'll Sweep The Ashes Out In The Morning, When Will I Be Loved, X

With fire in her belly, Lykke Li toured the bulk of her album with refined delivery and interpretation. Gone were the reverb-sauced vocals, and her backing trio of cute indie rock boys, tighter now than newly minted Velcro, provided choir-like vocals and an onslaught of pulsating, dance-insistent beats with minimal electronic manipulation.

Tags: African Anteater Ritual, Amoeba Records, backdrop, Can't Buy Me Love, current release, dance dance dance, Ed Macfarlane, El Rey Theatre, electronic manipulation, Franz Ferdinand, Friendly Fires, goosebumps, Ian Curtis, indie rock, LCD Soundsystem, live review, Los Angeles, lykke, Lykke Li, Mick Jagger, musiczeitgeist.com, New Order, Obama, onslaught, Patrick Dempsey, songstress, Swedish pop, Vampire Weekend, Wendy Rene, Youth Novels