Wine, Women and Song - The Sage, 2011

Wine Women and Song

The Sage, Gateshead, June 12^th 2011

For the uninitiated, Wine, Women and Song is the name given to the collaboration between three of the most talented singer songwriters you will ever encounter; Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss and of course, Gretchen Peters.  Rumour has it that their name, ‘Wine, Women and Song’ stems from Luther.  This was their third visit to The Sage, Gateshead and Hall 2 was a sell out for the occasion; a joy to see.

Once again, Gretchen sat in the centre, with her esteemed “songwriting sisters” either side of her, each with easy access to that important part of the evening; the wine.  The evening began with as much humour as it ended, as Suzy came on stage then suddenly ran off again, maiing guitar actions to indicate she had forgotten hers.  Suzy cracked jokes while the others tuned and all three teased each other mercilessly whilst bantering with the rest of us.  Then there was the story of the DVD recording where they ended up in a tornado shelter in Leiper’s Fork, Tenneesee!  Matraca later had to leave for new batteries and the most hilarious moment  of the night came courtesy, once again, of Suzy, when her custom made brush drum failed to make the correct sound.  Clearly quite mystified, she had it this way and that, plugged and unplugged, until she stopped and a strange sound prompted the question, ‘Wait, did my boob just do that?!’  By this point the audience were hysterical, Gretchen and Matraca were crying with laughter  and Suzy was then left trying to sort it out through her tears of laughter.  The point of me sharing that story?  To demonstrate how totally at ease these three are, with each other and their audience.  They would far rather things go a little awry and us all have a good giggle together, than everything seem perfectly rehearsed and polished.  That is part of the magic they have created together.

Starting with Gretchen, they took turns to perform songs from their extensive catalogues; old favourites and new material.  Gretchen started with Sunday Morning (Up and Down my Street), which seemed fitting since this is the first time we had seen her since her October 2010 wedding to partner and pianist Barry Walsh.  This was  the tip of the iceberg; the stunning Tom Russell song, Guadalupe,made even more stunning with the others’ vocals, On a Bus to St Cloud saw her play Barry’s part on the piano, leaving everyone in awe, and talking about how she has played in the North east since those forty people went to see her at the Ropery in 1996, how special this part of the world is to her, she treated us to a stunning song, Five Minutes, from her upcoming album.  Just when you think Ms Peters can’t get any better, she does!  This was followed by The Secret of Life and Waiting for The Light to Turn Green,  a co-write with Suzy.  She then, appropriately, chose To Say Goodbye as her final solo song, again, completely transformed by the harmonies.

Suzy’s solo offerings also took us through old and new and as with Gretchen’s, they were made all the more powerful  as a result of the harmonies provided by the others. She began with the Lowell George classic, Heartache, moving on through  a fabulous version of the first song she and Matraca wrote together, Hey Cinderella  and a fabulous version of Shenandoah from her new CD of folk songs.   She then cpmpletely changed track to the classic Outbound Plane to up the tempo and allow Matraca to add the Mouth Organ.

Matraca started out with the tongue in cheek  Your husband’s cheating on us, then took us on a musical trip through the Dreaming Fields; her new CD, that is, with achingly beautiful performances of Oh Cumberland, about being homesick and the title song about the mother of a soldier away at war, inspired by family.  As she sang this song , her voice cracking with emotion, it occurred to me not only how lucky we are to actually have the chance to see this lady do what she does best, thanks to Gretchen and Suzy getting her on board, but also, how much she has grown in confidence since the first Wine Women and Song tour.   If I had Wings followed, a co write with Jessi  Alexander (who wrote Miley Cyrus’ hit  The Climb)  before Gretchen added mandolin  -  new for her – to Black Ribbons, a striking new song written by the three of them on their last writing retreat. 

The other thing which is lovely to watch is the expressions on their faces as they listen to each other sing,  and the smiles and silent feedback that pass between them.  They clearly think the world of each other, both as friends and fellow musicians. It is lovely to sense that connection, however, that when one is singing, the other two join us for three minutes, as music lovers, trying to find a way to bottle the moment.  Music really does bring people together in an incredible way.

The evening ended with two collaborative songs; an unusual choice, inspired by Suzy’s son Ben, was the Tom Waits ballad Hold On.  With each taking a verse and uniting for the chorus, they gave it a whole new lease of life.  I sincerely hope it will be recorded one day as it really suits their voices and their sound.  The trio let go of the reins one last time to deliver a stirring version of the Rolling Stones’ Wild Horses, one of the best on their Sewanee Sessions CD.

Gretchen had pre empted the sentiment well, as nobody in Hall 2 was ready to say goodbye after a magical night of music.  Much chatting and mingling and laughing took place at the CD table, after the show.  In the words of that Tom Waits song, we will just have to Hold On and maybe the trio will find themselves on an inbound plane sooner rather than later!  In the meanwhile, we have a DVD and new Suzy and Matraca CDs to keep us going, a new Gretchen CD which promises to be her best yet and a new Barry Walsh CD in the works.  The latter two will be back in March 2012 and Suzy may be returning before then. We can hope and after all, they all know they will receive a warm welcome anytime they come to play!