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SXSW Review: Caroline Herring
(9 p.m. Wednesday, The Velveeta Room)
Caroline Herring stood firm like an oak tree against a tornado Wednesday night. Clearly, bold and brawny roots are the Georgia (and former Austin-based) songwriter’s strong point.
Imagine the distraction: For the majority of Herring’s 45-minute showcase, a thumping bass and piercing drum next door double-teamed her deep-browed acoustic set. Carly Simon would have better odds trying to outplay Green Day in a rehearsal room. No matter. Few performers summon the fortitude Herring employed to weather such constant interruption.
“We’re coming to the intimate portion of the program,” Herring joked with an eye roll and a smile, as the volume increased. “I won’t let that bother me. Really, it’s all right. This is gonna be fun.”
It was. Herring played to the near-capacity crowd as if the room was as silent a listening room as the University of Texas’ Cactus Café. Her enthusiasts certainly remained as reverent and engaged. In fact, the more bombastic the rumble next door, the stronger the bond between audience and performer seemed to grow.
There’s good reason: Herring shines a singularly noble light on storytelling. She’s a songwriter’s songwriter, an artist equally edifying and entertaining. Try to wrangle the raft of superlatives buoying her stunning 2008 collection “Lantana” and rainbows shake free. A few moments — in particular, the gorgeous “When I Lay My Burden Down” and “Stone Cold World” — resonated deeply against this evening’s tide. Meanwhile, Herring’s drop-tuned take on Johnny Cash’s “Long Black Veil” rippled for the ages.
However, her best-known song may soon run its course. “I’ve tired of singing this,” Herring sighed, introducing the tragic novella “Paper Gown.” (The unsentimental snapshot recalls headlines that scolded Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who drowned her children in 1994.) “Gee, I wonder why: People leave notes in my email about how they hate this song. There are lots of murder ballads, and I just wanted to put my hat in the ring.”
Let’s hope she does again.
- Brian T. Atkinson
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