Music & The Machine–An Enchanting Evening

Dave Rawlings Machine – photo from ABC RN Facebook

This is the first opportunity I have had to post about the Dave Rawlings Machine concert at the Palais last Friday night.

Seeing the Gillian Welch / Dave Rawlings duo a fortnight ago, certainly didn’t jade the pallet for more divine music from the pair.

We had better seats this time, four rows from the front, so even though, disappointingly, photos were not permitted, it didn’t in any way detract from the pleasure of the night’s entertainment.

It was quite a different set up and sound. The added accompaniments of Willie Watson on violin, banjo and guitar, Brittany Haas on violin and Paul Kowert on double bass delivered a deeper and richer sonic landscape; quite bluegrassy in fact.

In the Dave Rawlings Machine, David Rawlings assumes lead vocals, while Gillian Welch sings background harmonies and plays her rhythm guitar, though she did sing a couple of songs as lead. Gillian’s voice is warm and honey coloured and stands out even when several male vocalists are singing harmonies.

Willie Watson added his distinctive voice to many of the songs and was lead vocalist on Stewball, a traditional ditty about a racehorse He was formerly a member of Old Crow Medicine Show, so I’ve seen him before performing with them. And Paul Kowerts also took the lead on the gospel inspired He Will Set Your Fields On Fire.

As was the case in the Gillian Welch concert, there was an intermission of approximately 30 minutes half way through the show, where the band goes off to do mysterious things (David Rawlings words) and the audience does likewise.

However, we didn’t go next door to Luna Park and ride on the Scenic Railway as the band purportedly did and cheerfully admitted when they returned on stage for the second set.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have been driving to all their Australian concerts, crossing the Nullabor early in their tour, performing shows at Perth and Adelaide, then Sydney, Canberra, Bangalow and Melbourne. They have an aversion to flying, which explains why it took them 11 years to return.

Both the Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings Machine shows were wonderful in diverse ways, so I’m glad I seized the opportunity to see them this time around. I doubt if they’ll be back this way anytime soon.

Setlist (from Setlist.fm)

1. The Weekend

2. Bodysnatchers

3. Pilgrim (You Can't Go Home)

4. Wayside/Back in Time

5. To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) (Ryan Adams cover)

6. Bells of Harlem

7. Keep It Clean (Charley Jordan cover)

8. The Trip

9. It's Too Easy

Intermission

10. Ruby

11. The Last Pharaoh

12. He Will Set Your Fields on Fire (Bill Monroe cover)

13. Sweet Tooth

14. I Hear Them All / This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie cover)

15. Stewball ([traditional] cover)

16. Short Haired Woman Blues

17. Queen Jane Approximately (Bob Dylan cover)

Encore 1:

18. Look at Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch cover)

19. Method Acting / Cortez the Killer

Encore 2:

20. The Weight (The Band cover)

21. Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby ([traditional] cover)

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Music Festival time is only a few weeks off, when music lovers in Australia are spoilt for choice.

I’ve got tickets to five upcoming shows in March, April and June.

I’m looking forward to seeing Jason Isbell at Melbourne Recital Centre on 29 March. His opening act is non other than the delightful Eilen Jewell, whom I’m catching again the following night in a headline show at Thornbury Theatre.

On April Fool’s Day Frazey Ford (of The Be Good Tanyas fame) is at Caravan Music Club, and local singer writers Liz Stringer and Suzannah Espie are performing there together on 21 April.

And in June I’m seeing John Mellencamp at Rod Laver Arena, courtesy of a Ticketek Gift Voucher from Nu Country.

Wayside Back In Time–An Evening With Gillian Welch

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – press photo by M Seliger

St Kilda was buzzing.

At Luna Park the rides were all screams and flashing lights and the sea was sparkling in the bright sunshine of early evening as we reached the seaside suburb for an early dinner at an Acland Street restaurant, prior to attending the dazzling Gillian Welch concert at the Palais Theatre.

It was a sold out show as had been the concert the previous night, witness to the love affair Melbourne has with the Nashville duo.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings last graced these shores in November 2004, where I had the pleasure of seeing them perform at another Palais, an intimate venue (no longer in operation) in Hepburn Springs.

I have been a fan of their music for 20 years – has it been that long - so their concert was a must see for me, and the group of friends who also attended the 2004 show.

It was a younger audience this time, some of whom would have been babies when Gillian Welch released her first album, Revival,  in 1996.

Thunderous applause greeted the couple as they stepped on stage to begin their first set, kicking off with Scarlet Town, a track from Gillian Welch’s lastest album The Harrow and the Harvest.  This was followed by Elvis Presley Blues and My First Lover from Time (The Revelator).

Songs from across Gillian Welch’ s five disc repertoire were performed as well as several wonderful covers, a highlight being their thrilling cover of  Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit in the second encore.

It’s like being in an alternate reality witnessing Gillian Welch and David Rawlings play their bleak Americana songs that encompass blues, country, bluegrass, gospel and old style rock n roll. A great many of their songs deal with death and desperation, which the couple cheerfully acknowledged with comments like “The next one’s a killing song”, or “this one’s faster, but sadder –more people die”.  They have established their own style and have a perfect on stage chemistry that is memerising to watch.

David Rawlings unique guitar playing is wondrous to behold and beautiful to hear. Quite a few songs contained an extended “jam” session,  David exhibiting his consummate skill on his old guitar to rapturous applause.

At one stage Gillian broke from her usual staid stance and danced a jig to Six White Horses, with thigh slapping accompaniment, lifting her long skirts to reveal cowboy boots.

Melbourne audiences fell in love with the duo in 2004, where they sold out four or five shows at various venues in Melbourne and rural venues.  Melbourne has a long memory for musical excellence, as the first Melbourne concert this time round sold out in 45 minutes.

The duo were accorded several standing ovations that coaxed them back on stage for three encores. The final song, Long Black Veil was sung unmiked to a hushed audience, Gillian remarking that it was the first song the duo performed together.

I’m pleased I’ll get to see them again on the 19th February in an extended band called David Rawlings Machine. No doubt it will be quite different and hopefully photos will be permitted, so I can get some memorable shots of the King and Queen of Americana Gothic.

Setlist (from Setlist.fm)

Set 1

1. Scarlet Town

2. Elvis Presley Blues

3. My First Lover

4. The Way It Will Be

5. The Way It Goes

6. Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor ([traditional] cover)

7. I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll

8. Annabelle

9. Wrecking Ball

10. Red Clay Halo

Set 2

11. Hard Times

12. Down Along the Dixie Line

13. Wayside/Back in Time

14. Six White Horses

15. Revelator

16. Sweet Tooth (Dave Rawlings Machine cover)

17. Tennessee

18. Caleb Meyer

Encore:1

19. Look at Miss Ohio

Encore: 2

20. Everything Is Free

21. I'll Fly Away (The Humbard Family cover)

22. White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane cover)

Encore: 3

23. Long Black Veil (Lefty Frizzell cover)

Old Friends & Grievous Angels–Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell at the Palais

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell with band – Palais Theatre 25/6/15

As rare pleasures go, the Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell concert at the Palais Theatre last Thursday night was up there with best.

We missed the support act, local singer-songwriter Harmony James, so I have no idea what she sounded like.

Emmylou and Rodney took the stage at about 8.50pm and played for two hours.

Harking back to the distant past they kicked off the set with two songs written by Emmylou’s early mentor Gram Parsons, Return of the Grievous Angel and Wheels then covered two Townes Van Zandt songs  Pancho and Lefty and If I Needed You. 

Emmylou Harris has excellent taste in the songs she chooses to cover, and her versions are simply wonderful. But as the pair are touring in support of their latest collaboration The Travelling Kind, where most of the songs are co-writes, they naturally performed several songs from the album – the title track, Memphis, Weight of the World, You Can’t Say We Didn’t Try and their cover of the Lucinda Williams song  Just Wanted To See You So Bad.

Emmylou Harris live at the Palais Theatre 25/6/15

And of course Rodney Crowell treated the appreciative audience to several of his classic songs that included Till I Gain Control Again, Ain’t Living Long Like This and the superb Rock Of My Soul.

Rodney Crowell live at the Palais Theatre 25/6/15

They played a total of 22 songs in the main set, and returned to perform three more in the encore. The set varied from slow burning ballads to rocking out numbers, with the band staging longish jams. Emmylou was witnessed modestly rocking along with the livelier songs, but Rodney was in his element, jamming with band.

The band, as you’d expect, were fantastically good and included Aussie born ace guitarist Jedd Hughes who hails from Quorn, a small town in South Australia. The other band members were pedal steel player Steve Fishell, keyboardist Micah Hulscher, drummer John McTeague and Mike Rinne on electric and  upright bass.

Jedd Hughes

It was a great concert and a thrill to see Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell together. Both are legendary artists in their own right, but together they create something special, their long time friendship adding an extra dimension to the show. The audience certainly thought so. We gave them a standing ovation.

EMMYLOU HARRIS & RODNEY CROWELL SET LIST

1. Return of the Grievous Angel (Gram Parsons)
2. Wheels (Gram Parsons)
3. Pancho & Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)
4. Till I Gain Control Again (Rodney Crowell)
5. If I Needed You (Townes Van Zandt)
6. Invitation to the Blues (Roger Miller)
7. Red Dirt Girl (Emmylou Harris)
8. Rock of My Soul (Rodney Crowell)
9. Love Hurts (Everly Bros, Gram Parsons)
10. Luxury Liner (Gram Parsons)
11. The Travelling Kind ((ELH & RC)
12. Memphis (RC)
13. You Can’t Say We Didn’t Try (ELH & RC)
14. Weight of the World (ELH & RC)
15. Just Wanted To See You So Bad (Lucinda Williams)
16. Dreaming My Dreams (Allen Reynolds)
17. Chase The Feeling (Kris Kristoffersen)
18. Back When We Were Beautiful (Matraca Berg)
19. Tulsa Queen (ELH & RC)
20. Leavin’ Louisiana (Rodney Crowell)
21. Ain’t Living Long Like This (Rodney Crowell)
22. Old Yellow Moon (DeVito, Lynn Langham)

Encore

1. Stars On The Water (Rodney Crowell)
2. Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (Rodney Crowell)
3. Boulder To Birmingham (Emmylou Harris)

Winter Cheer–Cats, Books & Music

Talya – the blue princess

It has been a while since I last posted about the cats and their political stance. Lucky for them they are unaware of the truly awful Government ruling Australia at present and the general state of the world. No doubt, if they knew, they would think it only their due, that cats are the most popular topic on the Internet.

In their cat world all they care about is keeping warm, filling their bellies and maintaining their cool in the presence of other cats.  This of course involves the services of their human slaves as providers of food and warming pads.

Since winter has drawn in, Willy has taken to spending more time inside and has insisted on using my lap as his resting place. He’s a real burden, a heavy, though warm encumbrance, that certainly limits a person’s movements.  If you have cats, you’ll know how they suck you in. You put up with incredible inconvenience so as not to hurt their feelings and even apologise if you have to inconvenience them.

Willy is a smart cat and has us trained to lift him off the fence when he can’t be bothered getting down by himself. He sits on the pergola outside the kitchen door and miaows. When we answer the “distress” call we have to walk out into the back yard and wait by the fence, while he clambers over the roof, onto the shed roof, then onto the water tank, then the fence, whereupon he stands in a handy lifting down position, so we can get purchase under his belly and remove him from the fence.

 
Willy, looking for a lap to sit on.

I had the bright idea of buying him a cat bed as a substitute for my lap and found one that is self warming.  It has a space blanket layer that interacts with the cat’s body heat to create a snug nest, retaining the cat’s heat and warming the bed.  B thought I was mad to get it and doubted if the cats would take to it.

It arrived the other day and has been tried out by both cats, but Talya has now commandeered it for daytime use on the front verandah, and alas Willy still prefers my knee.

Talya in the self warming cat bed

The political situation between the cats is much the same; they still don’t like each other much, but don’t fight. They engage in stand offs where one cat will sit in the doorway to impede the exit or entry of the other cat. “Ooh, I don’t want to walk too close, he/she might jump me” you see them think.

Cat stand off – Talya is blocking Willy’s access to the door outside.

Monty the cat next door is always in our back garden, but the resident cats avoid him if possible. He’s super friendly, so it’s hard to shoo him away.

Monty – he doesn’t look too friendly here, but it’s an interesting pose.

My last post was about the problem with posting from Windows Live Writer to Blogger. This had something to do with Google+ security settings, which had not been taken into account by Microsoft. There was an outpouring of protest on both the Blogger forum and the Microsoft Live forum to such an extent that Microsoft and Google cooperated in working out a fix.

Let’s hope Microsoft will continue to support Live Writer as it’s the best blogging software there is. Creating posts in Blogger is a real pain it’s so clunky and user unfriendly.

As usual I’ve been reading a lot of books, and lately have read some really excellent novels, one of them being All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr which recently won the Pulitzer Prize.  It’s an outstanding novel set in the second world war, about a German whiz kid boy Werner, and Marie Laure, a blind French girl. the narration alternating between the two as they grow up in those turbulent times and inexorably meet.  Everything written about this novel is true. Highly recommended!

I also really enjoyed Kate Atkinson’s latest novel A God In Ruins, a companion piece to her previous novel Life After Life.  It follows the life of Ursula Todd’s beloved younger brother Teddy as he grows up to become a bomber pilot in the second world war, and his life after the war.  Ursula Todd was the heroine of Life After Life and makes several appearances in A God In Ruins.  I also highly recommend this book. It’s moving and very funny at times.

I’m currently reading Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, his latest, which happens to be a disaster novel. In the first paragraph Earth’s moon explodes and sets the scene for what happens next. I’m barely a quarter of the way through the 800+ pages, but am gripped in the drama of setting up an ark of human heritage in space as the total destruction of  planet Earth draws closer.

I ordered my copy of the book from Barnes & Noble and it’s signed by Neal Stephenson, which is a big thrill as I doubt he’ll ever come to Australia.

Concurrently on my Kindle, when commuting,
I’m reading a collection of short stories called Sisters of the Revolution. I supported a Kickstarter for this collection of speculative feminist fiction by women writers, and received both a physical and digital copy of it.

The stories are all interesting and diverse in subject matter.

The edition has a forward by my friends Jeff and Ann VanderMeer. Jeff won this year’s Nebula Award for his novel Annihilation, the first book in his Southern Reach trilogy. They are very strange novels, dark surrealist fiction. Annihilation is possibly going to be made into a film by Alex Garland (Ex Machina & Never Let Me Go). I have read the trilogy, but must admit found them a bit of a chore.  I’m so over weird fiction, hated all the characters and couldn’t care less what happened to them. I agree with David Mitchell, that characters have to be likeable to sustain the readers interest and sympathy – mine anyway.

On the music scene. I'm looking forward to seeing Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at the Palais Theatre, St Kilda in a week or so. I ordered their new CD The Travelling Kind from Nonesuch Records, mainly because they were offering a limited edition autographed print with the CD. Another thing to be thrilled about – Emmylou and Rodney autographs, something unattainable in person for me.

Five days after the Emmylou & Rodney concert I’m going to see The Milk Carton Kids at the Athenaeum Theatre. I was really impressed with them when they toured here a couple of years ago, so look forward to their show. And in July my favourite singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is performing two shows at the Forum Theatre.

So despite winter’s chill, there are several reasons to be cheerful.

Songbird – Emmylou Harris At the Palais

Emmylou Harris – live at The Palais Theatre 10/11/12

A full house greeted Emmylou Harris and her Red Dirt Boys at the Palais Theatre last night, and they performed a show to treasure and remember for years to come.

Emmylou and band were in spectacular form and generously gave of their talent and time for a solid two hours.

Appropriately enough Emmylou started the show with the song My Songbird, emerging solo, to be joined by the band a few minutes into the song.  There was no doubt, even at that juncture, that we were in for a great show.

She followed that up with a song from her latest record Hard Bargain the stirring Six White Cadillacs, then performed a cover of Orphan Girl a wonderful, early Gillian Welch song which Emmylou Harris included on her 1995 album Wrecking Ball. She sang two another songs from that record later on, Bob Dylan’s Every Grain Of Sand and Julie Miller’s All My Tears.

In all, the band performed 25 songs non stop over two hours, with a mix of ballads and more upbeat country numbers – an exhilarating set list of unusual songs: unusual in the sense that they were not standard fare.

The band was first class as you’d expect and was composed of Ricky Simpkins on mandolin and violin, Will Kimbrough on guitar and mandolin, Chris Donohue on bass (both electric and upright), Phil Madiera on keyboards and accordion and Bryan Owings on drums. Emmylou played an acoustic Gibson guitar.

As I’m feeling bleary after the late night – the concert finished at 10.50pm and it took an hour to get home – I’ll keep this short.

Suffice to say, Emmylou Harris and her Red Dirt Boys were a quality act and it was a rare pleasure to see them live in concert. Worth every penny of the ticket price and then some.

I had a good seat in Row D of the Orchestra section, a bit to the side, but excellent for viewing the show. I chanced a few photos at the end  of the show and they’re not perfect, but sort of OK considering the circumstances and heads in the way.

 Set List:
( update: Thanks to Red Dirt Boy for completing the list )

1. My Songbird

2. Six White Cadillacs

3. Orphan Girl (Gillian Welch

4. Making Believe

5. Hello Stranger (The Carter Family)

6. Evangeline

7. Hickory Wind (Gram Parsons)

8. Green Pastures

9. Wheels

10. My Name Is Emmett Till

11. Get Up John

12. Red Dirt Girl

13. Two More Bottles

14. Luxury Liner 

15. Prayer In Open D

16. Darlin’ Kate

17. Every Grain Of Sand (Bob Dylan)

18. All My Tears (Julie Miller)

19. Bright Morning Stars

20. Ship On His Arm

21. The Pearl

22. Together Again

23. Born To Run

Encore:

1. Old Five And Dimers Like Me (Billy Joe Shaver)
2. Pancho And Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)