Artist:Gateshead Americana Festival
Venue:The Sage
Town:Gateshead
Date:25-26/07/09
Website:http://www.jumpinhot.com/
Saturday
It is incredible to think that The Sage Gateshead celebrates its fifth birthday this year. In some ways it feels like five minutes and in other ways I find it hard to belive this amazing venue was ever not on the banks of the River Tyne. Equally amazing then, is the fact that this weekend marked the fourth year that The Sage, in partnership with The Jumpin’ Hot Club, have run this the Americana weekend as part of the ongoing annual Summer Tyne Festival.
Loudon Wainright III ( a late substitute for Taj Mahal) plus Baby Gramps and Gary Louris and Mark Olsen (The Jayhawks) had kicked things off on Friday night in Hall 1 and Hall 2, respectively. I didn’t attend but heard from numerous people that both were excellent shows.
On Saturday, events seemed to be happening all over! From 12 until 5pm there were various screenings and guest performances by artists performing over the weekend, in the Americana Lounge, as well as a Bluegrass Boat Cruise which included Devon Sproule (pronounced Sprole) and an event called Playing The Building took place in the concourse during the afternoon. Also on the bill was a performance from Baby Gramps supported by Lisa Mills in Hall 2 at 2pm. Then of course there was the free stage outside on Performance Square, overlooking the River Tyne and its bridges. where I spent most of the afternoon.
The 12pm special guest to begin the outdoor festivities was Baby Gramps; an old school bluesman whose gravelly voice and steel guitar took us back to a bygone age. I have heard people remark that he seems defy time and space and to watch him play that certainly seems to be true.
Yet again we couldn’t have asked for better weather; the sun shone and next up were the Barker Band whom I hadn’t heard of previously. Comprising 4 members, they had a great sound, enhanced I am sure by the addition of a banjo in their band. Playing an excellent set, they played songs from their new album as well as some older tracks. They had the audience tapping their toes from the off and despite hailing from London, could easily be mistaken for an American band.
The Fortunate Sons from Glasgow followed and really rocked the outdoor stage. With lots of banter in between songs, we heard old and new tracks from the band, the highlights for me being Walk on Fire and Queen of Hearts, the latter of which they were offering festival goers as a free download from their website.
I have been hearing Two Fingers of Firewater raved about everywhere recently, so was looking forward to their turn on stage. They were good and had a pleasant sound, but I have to admit to expecting more than they delivered.
Grammy nominated Ryan Shaw was a late replacement on the outdoor stage for someone else and clearly nobody had heard of him. However, as soon as he began to sing Many Rivers to Cross, the whole crowd fell silent. This was followed with a rendition of Bobby Womack’s Lookin’ For a Love as well as some self penned material from his current CD and upcoming EP. He just oozed confidence and had the audience in the palm of his hand for the duration of his set.
Eliza Gilkyson, from Austin, Texas, was the highlight for me of Saturday afternoon. Backed by her son, Cisco Ryder on drums and Mike Hardwick on guitar, she took us through a selection of songs old and new; The Party’s Over, Rose of Sharon (recorded by Joan Baez), Little Darlin,’ among them. She has a really beautiful voice, never more evident than in her closing song, Beautiful World, the title track of her newest CD. All too soon it seemed her set was over but I am glad I finally got to see her play live, hopefully not for the last time, either.
The final performers of the evening were Hot Club of Cowtown, who livened things up to end the evening on a high, with their toe tapping music, including some of the best fiddle playing I have ever seen.
Saturday
I heard that Hall 2s evening show of James Hunter with Ryan Shaw was well received, whilst the first of the ticketed events I had chosen to attend was Saturday evening in Hall 1; Lucinda Williams with Buick 6 and Devon Sproule. Devon did around a twenty minute slot, and having not seen her play live before I really enjoyed her set. Only 27, she is already four albums into her career and there is something very unusual, almost quirky about her delivery, which belies her years. From Ontario, it seems she is attuned to an older style of country-folk which is refreshing to say the least; this was certainly the case as she sang such songs as Don’t Hurry for Heaven, and Ain’t that the Way. There is something about this lady and her music that you cannot help but warm to and whatever that magical ingredient may be it leaves you wanting more.
After a brief stage change around, Lucinda Williams’ band took the stage for a set which included several Led Zeppelin tunes The band comprises Chet Lyster on guitar/keys, David Sutton on bass, Butch Norton on drums/percussion, Eric Schermerhorn on guitar and Doug Pettibone on guitar. Their set could leave no one in any doubt that they are talented but the label on their myspace page of ‘psychedelic’ might go some way towards explaining why I, and others, felt we were listening to rock-metal and found it way too heavy.
Following a short break, Lucinda, who was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but now lives in Austin, Texas, appeared on stage, looking no different from when I last saw her several years ago in Glasgow; amazing when you think she is now fifty six. I was relieved that unlike that night she initially played her acoustic guitar, so it was a little less rocky to begin with as she launched straight into Real Love, which denotes her recent marriage, followed by Cryin’ Time, before commenting on the ‘beautiful sounding room.’ She then sang I Lost it then the Randy Weeks penned song, I Can’t Let Go. Are You Alright took us back in time a few years to her West album whilst reminding us that Lucinda sings of anguish like no one else.
Blue, from her beautiful 2001 Essence album, was my personal highlight of the evening and the magic moment where the hairs on my neck stood on end. Probably the closest we will ever hear to Lucinda stripping a song bare, as the band pulled back, Lucinda’s distinctive, gravelly and achingly beautiful voice shone through the haunting lyrics and bluesy sound, to remind me, for one, why she is so revered as both a singer and a songwriter. I was also reminded how much I wish we could see Lucinda perform acoustically with just her and her guitar to see this side of her for a whole show. Sadly, I think this will remain a dream.
Then came a song about a poet she knew and Pineola, a song that could break your heart, about a friend’s suicide. If only we could turn such tragedy into such lyrical beauty. The haunting Drunken Angel, from the Car Wheels on a Gravel Road CD told the story of a songwriter she knew in Yexas named Blaze Foley, a big follower of Townes Van Zandt, who was shot in a ‘pointless argument.’ Lucinda noted that she later realised the song wasn’t only about Blaze but also about Townes and even Kurt Cobain and other such musicians. It serves as a cautionary tale and extra poignant as I read recently that this is a woman who now abstains from hard liquor. Out of Touch demonstrated perfectly how she treads the fine line that exists between Country, Americana, Rock, Folk and Blues, effortlessly, without ever seeming to fall through any of the cracks in the middle.
Someone shouted out for Real Life Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings and Lucinda called back that they were coming to that; ‘I’ve just switched to my electric guitar, we’re goin’ up from here.’ It seemed to me that her doing so gave the band a cue to go mad and as Lucinda worked her way through the requested song, followed by I am Waiting, Honey Bee (her favourite song to sing right now, from the newest CD Little Honey, and a song inspired by Bettye Lavette, Motherlewss Children among others, I was not alone in feeling that the crashing drums and almost manic electric guitar riffs were simply drowning out her voice, leaving her to shout over the top. Righteously and Unsuffer Me, Joy and Tears of Joy are such great songs but they were just lost in the cacophony.
I recently read that Lucinda is crowd phobic and still in her mid fifties experiences stage fright. It seems contradictory when you look at what she produces but maybe this explains her penchant for the band being loud for at least part of the set. It also explains her somewhat distracting habit of reading from a binder on stage, which at times seems to distance her from her audience. That said, kudos to her that she has found ways to overcome the nerves to be able to perform live.
Her electric guitar is nothing short of stunning, however, silver, with sparkles up the strap. It is more noticeable with this instrument that Lucinda Williams has a really unique method of strumming her guitar, preferring to strum close to the neck.
After taking her leave of the stage Lucinda returned and as an encore I was pleased that she chose Little Rock Star, an articulate look at the cost of fame, allegedly written about Amy Winehouse and Ryan Adams, though she didn’t confirm this on stage. They and a slew of other wanna bes could perhaps benefit from listening to this advice. Thankfully for this song she reverted to acoustic guitar and the band pulled back. We were back to electric for the final number, Top of The World, which perhaps fittingly declares ‘It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll’ She didn’t state that she wanted people up to dance, but seemed a little put out at the end that only one person had done so, thanking them before walking off stage.
I left the evening feeling glad I had seen her again and thankful for the more acoustic first part of the show, and wondering whether it is just me who prefers this side of this unquestionably talented Little Rock Star.
Saturday
Sunday remained true to form with music outside and in the various rooms of The Sage, throughout the day. Unfortunately due to the rain -though thankfully there was no Fog on the Tyne (apologies to Lindisfarne) - a second stage had to be set up on the concourse inside the Sage so the music could go on. I was actually very impressed by this and it certainly proves how committed the Sage are to making these weekends a success.
The special guest to start things off was Diana Jones, playing a few songs ahead of her Hall 2 show later in the afternoon. I suspect she may have won some new fans from just this short set, such is her voice and way with the audience.
Local band Mother’s Ruin then took to the stage, joined by none other than Shipcote (aka Graham Anderson, Jumpin’ Hot Club front man!) He jammed with them for a while, showing he can both sing and play guitar. I was very impressed with Mother’s Ruin and was pleased they would be opening for Diana Jones later.
The Lost Brothers were playing as I wandered into Hall 2 and from what little I heard they had a pleasant sound. I missed Jon Allen’s set, which by then had moved back outside, thankfully, but heard he played a decent set.
Mother’s Ruin opened things up in Hall 2, a local band, who apparently all graduated with the folk degree from the Sage. (The Sage also acts as a music education centre.) The first thing that struck me is that we have some great local talent. The second was how lovely it is to see such young people embracing the folk tradition as they are and clearly loving it. Haunting lead vocals came from Beth who literally has a voice like an angel. Musical accompaniment came in the form of guitar, mandolin and banjo, from three very talented musicians, giving their set a distinctly bluegrass mountain sound. They are recording later this year and I will look forward to seeing what they produce.
I had heard the name Diana Jones so many times and finally cracked and got her new CD. That was enough to make me decide to see her play live. Obviously many have beaten me to this discovery as Hall 2 was close to full. Hailing from Appalachia, though she only discovered this heritage in recent years, residing in Nashville, Diana took the stage solo, accompanying herself on guitar and stomp machine. Opening her set with Trouble in Mind, it was obvious from the outset that her voice is even more striking live, bearing some resemblance to the great Iris DeMent at times as she blends country, folk, blues and bluegrass to create a sound reminiscent of her roots in West Virginia. All God’s Children followed, a very touching song delivered beautifully and reminding us that ‘All God’s children travel life’s highway.’ A new song followed, written when she was fed up during the last cold Nashville winter.
The highlight of her set for me came in the next song, from the current CD, it is a love song inspired by something the French-Cuban author Anais Nin said about the poet Blake; ‘Blake was cracked, that’s where the light shone through.’ Just beautiful. To be able to create that from nine words somebody said, is such a gift.
An acapella song followed which really demonstated the unique quality. She told us about her dog, Finnigan, a Jack Russell recently rescued who lives with a friend whilst she is away and is the official greeter of her printing firm. He is the only one thus far who had heard the next song, inspired by a letter she was sent by a childhood friend, about to be released from prison. She clearly holds a special place for him, telling us ‘The song feels more about redemption than about regret.’ Another stirring song followed this introduction, not marred in the slightest by the fact that she mixed up her verses and had to backtrack, just laughing at her mistake.
A song about addiction and redemption followed, which had come about as the music of Johnny Cash and old Southern Gospel Songs to which she had been listening came together. The language and phrases she uses, in my mind, prove her a prolific songwriter, in the vein of Gretchen Peters or Matraca Berg. Interestingly the latter has recorded one of her songs recently, If I Had a Gun, which Diana introduced by telling us the conversation which inspired it never got as dark as the song!
Introducing us to Rosebud, her 1929 Martin tenor guitar, she told us of a recent happy break in where they left Rosebud behind. Inspired by English hills when touring with Richard Thompson, she wrote a song about the Appalachian Hills, which are being desecrated by mountain top removal. This song will feature on a soundtrack to a documentary about the mining, which will feature other artists including Kathy Mattea. It is funny how things come around as only 6 months ago, Kathy herself, also from West Virginia, was standing on the same stage singing us her Coal songs, telling us about the same issue.
Noticing someone recording her, she said it was fine, but could they please film her face, telling us the story of how some guy back home uploaded three videos to youtube of just her boots. They are fab boots, mind!
The touching Pony followed, which recalls a time in America when native American children were rounded up and put in settlement schools, and their culture, religion and names were basically taken from them. Told from the perspective of a boy named Pony it is a powerful story, which reminds us that native Americans have had a rough deal over the years.
Diana stated we were up to the ‘sad portion’ of the show, joking that really it’s all sad and either everyone must love sad songs as much as she does or be wondering what they are doing. Then she quipped ‘I’d love for someone to bring a first date to one of my shows...’ However, the next song really was sad, about a man from Stirling, Scotland, named Henry Russell, who had moved his family to West Virginia so he could work the mines and give his wife and three daughters a better life. When he was out there waiting for them to join him he wrote her letters, which always said ‘Oh I love you Mary.’ In 1927 there was a cave-in at the mine and 111 men died. He survived for three hours, in which time he wrote Mary a last letter. His daughter shared the letters with Diana and the song is also to be used on the coal documentary. I for one was choking back tears at his story.
Dedicating Better Times will Come to President Obama, she told us she wrote it when things were bad, then they got worse. Now she thinks they are on the up and is thankful for Obama’s intelligence. Interestingly it gave the song a whole new meaning. She then ended with a song she wrote for her audiences, very genuinely acknowledging that she has the best job in the world and is thankful that we allow her to do it.
Too soon it seemed she was thanking us and exiting the stage, though she was soon back for an encore, ending the night with a story about her grandmother and a beautiful song she wrote for her after she died.
Commenting on the incredible acoustics in the room, she said she’d like to try something and, stepping to the side of the stage sang the whole song a cappella and off mic. Something in those three minutes was magical, hearing the natural acoustics in that room bounce her voice out from the stage, really demonstrating her ability as a singer. A perfect end to a great show, it seemed hard at that moment to believe that with an afternoon of music still to go, better times will come.
Sunday
I was told by my friend that The Midnight Ramblers did a great set outside and had everyone tapping their toes, so it was a shame I missed that one.
Paul Lamb and Johnny Dickinson were on stage as I returned outside to join my friend but finding them far too bluesy for either of our tastes we headed back inside to the Americana Lounge where the special guests were Mother’s Ruin and Diana Jones. Each performed a few songs, which allowed my friend to hear them and me to hear some songs not played in Hall 2. Diana even opened it up to requests.
I stopped to speak to Diana,who proved to be a lovely lady indeed, then wandered back outside to check out Hank Wangford, the final performer outside. Having heard many people rave about him I was looking forward to seeing his set. He has a great sense of humour and a great backing band. Whilst not particularly to my taste, others seemed to enjoy his set.
I was a little disappointed that Devon Sproule with woodpigeon was in Hall 2 Sunday evening but was looking forward to my selection - The Flatlanders plus Rodney Crowell, ironic since the last time I saw him was in All Saint’s Church, 300 yards, as the crow flies, across the River Tyne.
Rodney came on stage and the wonderful surprise was that Will Kimbrough was playing with him. Having seen Will a couple of times with Rodney and a few times with Kate Campbell, that was exciting. He was also backed by an Australian musician called Jedd Hughes.
Launching straight into The Rise and Fall of Intelligent Design, where Rodney speculates on what it is to be a woman, Moving Work of Art and Earthbound, the latter of which was accompanied by a great story, aswell as some great guitar riffs from Will and Jeff, he then slowed the pace right down for Ridin’ Out the Storm. He has often been called ‘The Storyteller’ and as he tells this true story of a man he met, I think it is clear to see why. this is one of his finest efforts as a songwriter expecially when followed with the haunting Til I can Gain Control Again, (which Texas singer songwriter Kimmie Rhodes loves so much she recorded it.)
Following this, Rodney, acknowledging the talent sharing the stage with him, handed over to Will Kimbrough and stepped aside while he performed a great solo song, Jedd accompanying him on guitar. They then switched so Jedd took centre stage. His voice at times reminded me of Bryan White, though I found myself distracted watching Will’s guitar work.
Rodney resumed his place and took us through a gospel song he wrote at his mum’s insistence, 11 years after her death, and then slowed the pace for Closer to Heaven. He then told us the story of twins he knew growing up, one of whom was HIV positive. This inspired two songs which Rodney always plays back to back, one from the perspective of each brother; I Wish It Would Rain and Wanderin’ Boy.
However, the unchallenged highlight of Rodney’s set was I Walk The Line (Revisited) originally released on the 2001 album The Houston Kid, with the Man in Black himself singing the chorus. Will Kimbrough did a more than respectable job of filling Cash's shoes in this role on the night. Rodney Crowell prefaced this song with an amusing story about Johnny Cash. It involved his first meeting with the man when he was first engaged to his eldest daughter Rosanne Cash. Unimpressed with a remark made by Rodney, who thought he had great gravitas, Cash dismissed him with the words "I don't know you well enough to miss you when you leave" Rodney smiled and said ‘Now that is gravitas!’ Will does a great Johnny Cash for the chorus and all three trading guitar riffs made for a great song to end the set, leaving those new to those on stage in no doubt that they had just experienced something far more than an opening act; absolute talent.
After a break, The Flatlanders, aka, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, all Texas legends in their own right, took to the stage to huge applause. Cards on the table, I really didn’t know what I would make of this performance, but suffice it to say it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. It also strikes me as being testament to what The Sage has achieved in its five years that this was one of only two performances by the Flatlanders in England, the other being the Barbican in London.
All three hail from Lubbock, Texas, home also to Waylon Jennings, Kimmie Rhodes, Natalie Mains and of course Buddy Holly. Rumour has it that their first recordings were instigated by Buddy Holly’s father. Three decades later they were brought back together by a call from Robert Redford asking if they could give him a song for his movie The Horse Whisperer, and the rest as they say, is history.
Launching straight into their first three songs, they seemed to not pause for breath between. Then Joe Ely introduced them before Jimmie Dale Gilmore took the vocal lead on the next song, reminding me almost uncannily of Willie Nelson. It was immediately obvious that all three have great voices and when you put those three voices together the band becomes greater than the sum of its parts, as it were.
Trading lead vocals all night, they took us on a musical journey to Texas, telling us stories as well as playing music. Those of us who have been to Texas surely found ourselves reminiscing and those who haven’t must have been left longing to see it for themselves.
The way we Are, penned by Jimmie Dale’s son, Colin, was followed by If I Were a Bluebird. Sharing stories of the days when they all shared a house in Lubbock, where ‘there was always someone awake and someone asleep’ Ely told us that Butch brought this song to the breakfast table one day and they’ve been playing it ever since. Dallas followed, along with some incredible riff trading between the three men and their lead guitarist, demonstrating they have a talented band backing them. The pure joy of watching this all take place is that it is searingly obvious what tonight is all about for all on stage. It is about playing music for the sheer love of playing music and the love of entertaining people with that music. It is on rare nights such as this when the audience feels at one with the artists on stage and it really becomes a shared experience about more than just watching them perform, about people from different places, being united by a common love, music.
After what felt like no time at all, they were taking their leave of the stage. At this point something happened that I have never seen before – every single person in the stalls, spontaneously stood in standing ovation.
Clearly nobody was letting them leave without an encore so they came back quipping ‘I’m sure we know a couple more songs...’ Ely's take of Terry Allen's Gimme a Ride to Heaven was particularly well-received, preceded with the comment that sometimes you look way down the road and see a hitch-hiker and wonder ‘is that a halo,’ pretty much setting the scene for the song.
I think by the end of the night everyone was left to, to quote their closing song. Thank God for The Road, the one which brought them to The Sage tonight to allow us to share the company of three Texas legends. The same road, I sincerely hope, will bring them back for a repeat performance, very soon.
That without a doubt is one of the best shows I’ve seen anywhere, not just at The Sage, and there couldn’t have been a better way to end this year’s Americana weekend. A joyous, Texas sized reminder of why we all love and celebrate Americana music in the first place. Full marks to both The Sage and Jumpin’ Hot Club for another excellent weekend - I look forward to seeing what they will bring us in 2010.
Helen Mitchell
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