Artist:Gretchen Peters
Venue:The Arc
Town:Stockton
Website:http://www.gretchenpeters.com
Whilst admittedly disappointed that Gretchen would not be playing The Sage, Gateshead , as she usually does, I was excited to see a venue I haven’t previously. I was actually quite surprised how much the interior of the Arc Theatre reminded me of Hall 2 of the Sage, at least in size and atmosphere.
The opening act, Joanne Louise Parker, hails from the Fens, as she told us before singing the song she wrote about her father and the Fens . She proceeded to sing a selection of her own material, including Moviestar, her take on celebrity and one inspired by a book she read in Vancouver , called Swantula, accompanying herself on guitar. A touching moment came in the form of Something to Aim For, written when a friend had cancer and they were aiming to go to the folk festival together. There were moments, especially when singing a capella, or a capella with a drum (which was unusual) that there was a distinctive quality in this lady’s voice; sadly, though, it seemed she couldn’t maintain it.
After a break, Gretchen Peters and longtime pianist, Barry Walsh, took to the stage, to huge applause. I think that to see how many regulars from Gateshead/ Newcastle were present in Stockton , is testament to Gretchen’s appeal. Opening with a new song, The Woman on The Wheel, or Circus Girl Part 2, as she jokingly referred to it, Gretchen started as she meant to go on. It is a fabulous song and I particularly loved the line ‘It isn’t your fears so much as what your fears reveal..’
With Barry leading on piano, a great version of Prarie in The Sky followed. Talking then about the CD from which it comes; her recent project with Tom Russell, One to The Heart, One to the Head, Gretchen told us that she was initially unsure about the project, but gives full credit to Tom Russell for talking her into it, especially the next song; Guadalupe. What followed was, quite literally, musical perfection, from Barry’s piano and accordion, to Gretchen’s flawless vocals. Any doubt in anyone’s mind that Gretchen could interpret anyone else’s lyrics would surely be dispelled on hearing her sing this song and it is never more apparent why she and Tom Russell work so well together; to hear Gretchen sing this song, you would never believe she hadn't written it.
Catching sight of someone’s tshirt in the front row, she joked, ‘Nice tshirt – where did you get that from? www.gretchenpeters.com?’ before telling us that, having been on the road a while, anything could, and probably would, happen. They’d been driving in Ireland, but the roads were, they assured us, safe now! This pretty much set the scene for the evening, with a completely relaxed atmosphere between artist and audience. As she told us they were happy to be back in the North East, I think we all knew it was genuine, this being the 13th year since she played the little back room of The Ropery - how things have changed!
Next came Circus Girl, as Gretchen told us that at the time of writing this song, after taking her then young daughter to the circus, she had no idea that, in writing about this character from the circus, she was actually writing about herself. It was only later that she realised how stongly she identified with her.
Introducing Tommorow Morning, it was pointed out that the first line is about a dog and that they are missing their dog, an English Labrador called Nigel. That ‘our’ was the first clue in the news that was to come, that Gretchen and Barry will have been playing together for 20 years next year and ‘have decided to celebrate by getting married.’ They make a lovely couple, too, congratulations Gretchen and Barry! Gretchen continued by talking about her work with other musicians, such as Barry, and how having the opportunity to work with them has been a gift which has made her a better musician, too.
A beautiful version of Breakfast at our House followed, during which you could have heard a pin drop, then a comment was made about healthcare being available soon in the USA, to great applause, This gave Gretchen a segue to say it had been a somewhat contentious election and we may have heard of a woman called Sarah Palin, ‘who defies explanation, really.’ She went on to tell us how Palin used Independence Day totally inappropriately, so Gretchen’s response was, for the duration of the campaign, to donate all proceeds from Independence Day to Planned Parenthood in Palin’s name. Cue more applause. It was fascinating to hear her speak so protectively of her song, and to see how aggrieved her fans were at its misuse, also.
Exiting the stage, Gretchen made way for Barry to play us a piece from his wonderful CD, The Crossing, and as we were in the North East, he chose to play ‘our’ song, Leaving Newcastle, for us, since he wrote it about their ‘favourite place to visit in the UK.’ What followed was maybe four minutes of beautiful piano music, which made the entire process appear effortless.
Gretchen returned to the stage and played Picasso’s Cat, with some playful ribbing as it was my request and is apparently tricky to play. I still marvel that the song is from the perspective of the cat, watching Picasso. Genius. Then followed another of my favourites, Germantown, from the Halcyon album,again enhanced by the beautiful open sequence courtesy of Barry, who seems to play intuitively, led simply by instinct.
Pointing out how many days it is until Christmas, Barry this time left the stage and Gretchen took to the piano to play Northern Lights, from her Christmas CD of the same title. As she sang, ‘under the lights, so ethereal,’ it struck me that that same word could also describe the atmosphere in the room at that moment.
Returning carrying a broom – we won’t go there – Barry resumed his seat for Billy, again from the One to The Heart, One to the Head, a great song about Billy The Kid. As Barry began to play the opening chords of the next song, an expectant hush fell around the room as everyone realised it was Bus To St Cloud, clearly still one of UK Audience’s favourites.
Ending, very appropriately, with To Say Goodbye, it was clear that neither they, nor we, were ‘ready to say goodbye,’ as they were called back for an encore. Calling for audience participation, we all thought Gretchen was planning Imogene, but it turned out she had other plans as she taught us the chorus to Sweet and Shiny Eyes. Between all of our singing and Barry’s ace accordion playing, it literally felt like we had all been in a bar on Gretchen’s birthday (which was only a few days away!) drinking salty margaritas with Fernando. What and awesome song, and Gretchen even made the line about eyes looking like meat and potatoes work! Finally, slowing the pace down, the night was brought to a close with one of Gretchen’s most requested songs, When You Are Old.
I am really not sure there are words to describe Gretchen’s talent, or how magical it is to hear her sing live, but I am confident that all present would agree it was one of her best performances to date and that we had spent the evening listening to the best of the best. Maybe that is all there is to say. There is already talk of Gretchen’s return in 2010 and a possible tour of Wine Women and Song, somewhere between USA dates and a wedding! I guess that means we will all be eagerly awaiting the return of the singing circus girl...2010 looks like being a good year already.
Helen Mitchell
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