Artists: Beth Nielsen Chapman with Marcus Hummon
Venue: The Journal Tyne Theatre
Town: Newcastle
Date: 28th February
Website: http://www.bethnielsenchapman.com
Confession time – my first thought on hearing Beth would be playing the Tyne Theatre again, was to hope that it would be warmer than last time. I was upstairs in the Grand Circle (good view, too) and am pleased to report that I found it warmer, although I heard afterwards that people in the stalls had found it cold.
I had been excited from the first time I heard that Marcus Hummon would be support and part of the trio, having heard his voice back in the days of CMT Europe (still sadly missed.) Looking very casual and relaxed, Marcus took to the stage and dove straight into Born to Fly, which I has forgotten he wrote for Sara Evans.
Telling us the story of how Beth Nielsen Chapman had persuaded him to come out on the road with her (he’d last played in the UK ten years ago with Alison Krauss), thus bringing him out of semi retirement. It was obvious that they hold each other in high esteem.
Marcus took us through a selection of songs from his new CD, Rosanna; the personal highlight being his brilliant version of The Dixie Chicks’ Cowboy Take Me Away, which he wrote with Marti Webb. Despite the perspective being a little different it is a great song. He demonstrated his laid back nature when, on picking up Beth’s guitar to play, teasing ‘This is a beautiful guitar, it’s Beth’s, he got it all tangled in the wires; thus he had to switch back, quipping, ‘This isn’t going well...moving on...’
My favourite moment of his set came in the form of Bless The Broken Road, which I remembered from those CMT days. He told us he wrote it with Jeff Hanna of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Matraca Berg’s husband) and that it has been recorded by a few different folks, (including Melodie Crittenden and Rascall Flatts) That may be so, but hearing him sing it was another magical reminder of how special it is to hear a songwriter sing their own song.
He closed his too short set with the Rosanna, the heart wrenching true story of a friend. His feelings of injustice were palpable, adding to the emotion of the song, which evoked a response in me, very similar to Tom Russell’s California Snow. I think it is safe to say that Marcus Hummon has a lot of fans now in Newcastle, and I can only thank Beth for giving me the chance to hear Bless the Broken Road live after all these years! I hope the ‘broken road’ which led him to the North East brings him back very soon.
Beth entered the stage, flanked by Marcus and Maart Alcock of Fairport Convention fame, with the notable absence of John Ragusa, who was in New York. Beth looked amazing in sparkly blank trousers and I had to laugh when after greeting us she said, ‘Didn’t I play here before and wasn’t it freezing?’ before promising us some new songs and some old favourites.
Telling us that she learned to play the bazouki 2 years ago, she informed us that she wrote Hallelujah (not the Leonard Cohen song of the same name!) with Darrell Scott, using all four chords she has learned. It worked really well live. As Marcus moved across to the keyboard, Beth started teasing him about ghosts in the building, and what followed showed how at ease the three are together, laughing and joking with each other. Then came a beautiful keyboard solo from Marcus, which set up a stunning version of Sand and Water (sadly minus John’s conch shell) I don’t know whether it was the song fitting life, the acoustics of a beautiful room, Beth’s voice, or all three, but this was one of the most beautiful versions of this song I have heard. She told the story afterwards, of Sand and Water, written after her husband’s death from cancer, then shared how, in 2000, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, announcing, to great applause, that 2010 is her ten year anniversary. She began writing Happiness the day her hair started falling out, as she needed to remind herself ‘what happiness would look like if it walked through the door.’ It remained unfinished until 2009, beth believes, because she needed to collect enough examples of happiness first. Never was a truer word spoken than the line ‘The future cannot be controlled, the only moment we can hold is this one going by.’ Beth’s undeniable gift lies in that she can find words to get straight to the heart of the matter and tell it like life is.
Making us all laugh with tales of her train journeys, including gluing her nails to her bag and forgetting to change trains en route to Terry Wogan, she then played his favourite song, All I Have. Beth was obviously in good spirits, laughing and joking with the audience throughout the evening. She is obviously in her comfort zone over here after so many visits!
A happy song, I Can See Me Loving You, was up next, before she told us of finally moving in with her fiancé (Congratulations, Beth!) and the havoc he has had to adjust to. Thus, she write him a song titled I Need You Love; he no longer tells her to ‘talk to the hand, but to listen to the song!’ I’ll give my Heart, written with Ben Montack followed and we all laughed as Beth divulged that is hard not to sing it in a voice like Ben’s as ‘...it just sounds right that way.’
Shake My Soul, from the Deeper Still CD, followed, with less distractions than in the film Where the Heart is, was a treat, as I had never heard it live before. Other highlights came in the form of Free, Even As it All Goes By (completed after a recent brain tumour) and the best version of This Kiss I have heard, with great backing vocals from Marcus, as well as us in the audience, of course! Our role continued into Happy Girl, which saw Beth show off her latest skill – playing the mouth organ. Do her talents never stop?!
A much deserved standing ovation preceded an encore which saw us being asked for requests, and as it happens, it turned out to be a fantastic encore. A truly moving version of Emily sent ripples of emotion around the room, and you could tell some present were meeting Emily for the first time. Every December Sky is one of my favourite songs of Beth’s and this was the best I have ever heard it.
In all honesty, it was one of those nights of music you wish didn’t have to end. Sadly it did, but at least we were all left knowing, to quote one of Beth’s songs, that we would ‘...say goodnight, not good bye,’ with the certain knowledge that she meant it when she said she would be back soon. I for one can’t wait, but for now I left this show a very Happy Girl!
Helen Mitchell
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