Artist:Kimmie Rhodes
Venue:The Cluny
Town:Newcastle
Date:01/05/09
Website:http://www.kimmierhodes.com
Edinburgh native, Steph MacLeod, opened the evening with a variety of self penned songs including a very pleasant song called the very pleasant Innocence written for his stepson, about the legacies we leave our children. He ended his set with a tongue in cheek song called Goodbye EMI. Whilst the tone was a bit loud for my taste, I had to laugh at the humour, in that in was written when Steph heard that EMI was unable to keep up with piracy and digital downloads. His first thought was that it was funny as they'd been conning people for years!
I was a little disappointed there wasn't a better turn out for Kimmie Rhodes, especially as she had last played in Newcastle in support of Emmylou Harris at the City Hall. It didn't seem to perturb Kimmie, though as she breezed onto the stage announcing' It's great to be back; it's good to be anywhere, right?!' and launched into Just One Love. Clearly at ease in front of an audience and enjoying what she does, Kimmie set out to take us all on a musical journey to her native Texas. A notable absence was Kimmie's husband, Joe Gracey and son, Gabe Rhodes, back home this trip, although she was this time touring with long time friend Brendan Emmett, who proved to be not only a wonderful guitarist but a spectacular mandolin player.
Hard Promises to Keep and her 'Lubbocky' song inspired by Buddy Holly, I've Been Loved by You, followed. As she tuned she joked that her guitar had no idea which country it was in, which could perhaps be forgiven after she divulged that it is older than her mother!
A multicultural moment came when the majority requested French, thus we heard Les Roses Sauvages, ending with Wild Roses when she effortlessly switched back to English. She joked that this was the prettiest song she ever wrote when someone has P*d her off in Nashville - apparently this happened a lot in the early days - but as she was driving home to Texas from Nashville, along rose lined roads, her frame of mind improved, and so did the song. Such is Kimmie's Texas drawl; she hails from Lubbock - home of Buddy Holly, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore among others - but now resides in Austin, I think most of us present were as captivated listening to her speak as hearing her sing!
Another Lubbock song came in the form of West Texas Heaven, inspired by a remark Kimmie overheard one day that Heaven must be the most beautiful place you can imagine. In that case, she decided, Heaven must be Texas. Ostensibly a love song to the home she loves, it is also the song David Letterman invited her to sing on his show.
Turning gospel for a segment of the set, and demonstrating Kimmie's church and gospel band roots, we were treated to wonderful renditions of God's Acre, written about a cemetery of the same name in North Carolina and The Bells of Joy, where Brendan had the chance to demonstrate his true mandolin prowess.
Highlights for me came in the form of Love Me Like a Song, a co write with long time friend Gary Nicholson, and Contrabandistas, a wonderfully upbeat Tex-Mex tinged song which her husband wrote after losing his voice to cancer thirty years previously. In a poignant moment, Kimmie also shared the amazing news that after another recent brush with the illness, he may be getting his voice back due to the miracle of modern medical science. Here's hoping. I Just Drove By, which Kimmie told us is her mother's favourite of her songs, is a beautiful song about revisiting the past and is an achingly beautiful piece of writing.
Affectionately referring to Rodney Crowell as 'a piece of work,' she introduced his beautiful song, 'Til I Can take Control Again, then jumped straight into Big Ol' Train, which she told us her grandson Louis sings as he loves trains. Initially missing Gabe's train sounds on the guitar fret, Brendan took charge with the mandolin and played faster than most trains travel. Coupled with an impromptu tapping of feet on the wooden floor to create the 'clickety clack', I suspect it was one of the most enjoyed songs of the evening.
Kimmie asked Brendan to play us a mandolin solo, in which his fingers moved so fast it was a wonder they stayed on the frets at all. Clapping and tapping her toes, she was clearly enjoying watching him as much as we were.
Encouraging people to sing along if they knew the words, Kimmie and Brendan harmonised to produce a gorgeous version of the classic Townes Van Zandt song, If You Needed Me, as she joked 'I used to sing it at every show and finally thought to record it - duh!'
Asking if anyone had ever been to see George Jones and then if he had shown up, she told us she had been to see him and was delighted that he did show up. He'd announced he was having so much fun they'd still until three or four in the morning. Then he sang one more song and left. With that she said with a laugh 'So, we'll be here until three or four in the morning,' and ending the evening with Windblown, a song which she says insisted she write it rather than go to sleep. With that, Kimmie and Brendan took their bows and left the stage to rapturous applause.
Something about Kimmie Rhodes draws you in and leaves you wanting more. I am sure this was the case for all in The Cluny tonight and that everyone was sad to see her go. However, until she returns in the Autumn (hopefully with Joe and Gabe), through her songs and her stories, she left something behind for us to take away with us - a piece of her beloved West Texas Heaven.
Helen Mitchell
Pictures CJ Holley
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