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Monday, June 22, 2009
Live review: Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
In order to make up a date at the Cactus Cafe that was canceled in September due to travel worries surrounding Hurricane Ike, Australian singer-songwriters Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson drove all the way from Boulder, Colorado to the Cactus for two sold-out shows Monday night. Coming this far out of their way, you just knew these shows were going to be special and the early set had everything fans could’ve hoped for- minus her KGSR chestnut “Cry Like a Baby.”
There were some songs, such as the show-opening “Rattlin’ Bones,” from the couple’s duet album of the same name, that featured Chambers and Nicholson equally. There were some numbers, including the standout “Once In a While” and a cover of Bap Kennedy’s “Long Time Comin’,” that found Nicholson alone on stage. Chambers did a solo turn on “The Captain,” which she introduced as the only song she’s played in every concert she’s ever done.
And then there was Kasey’s dad Bill Chambers, who added mandolin and steel guitar shadings and sang a newish song called “Southend Song.” Father and daughter also did a moving and precious song about where babies come from.
For 90 minutes the stage dripped with humor and charm. Kasey’s vocals of angelic fire were just right all night and when she blended with Nicholson’s voice, a slightly raspier James Taylor, one “One More Year” the mix was perfect and powerful.
Amidst all the different combinations of the trio, three moments brought out the most goosebumps: 1) when Kasey merged “Lost & Found” into “Not Pretty Enough” about 25 minutes in 2) her delicately powerful cover of Cindy Walker’s “You Don’t Know Me” and 3) the set-ending love song “Gone Long Gone” by the O’Kanes.
The other thing worth mentioning is that Chambers and Nicholson have tremendous chemistry, with Kasey doing most of the talking between songs and Shane throwing out droll toppers. Before she did “The Captain,” Chambers talked about buying a cool, oversized ring a few days earlier. “Shane looked at it and said ‘What were you thinking? You can’t play guitar with that?’” she said, flashing the ring at the audience. Then, looking back to see that Nicholson was out the back door, Chambers pulled off the gaudy piece of jewelry. “I can take it off now, without him saying ‘I told you so,’” said Chambers. “All the songs we’ve played so far have been at about half the normal tempo.”
With the framed photographs of their two children sitting on a stool between them, Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson did more than just play music and sing songs Monday night. They created a spirit of togetherness, of being in love, and of using music as the purest form of expression. They could’ve used a couple more fast songs like “Last Hard Bible,” but the 150 lucky folks at the Cactus Monday night should have no complaints.
I imagine the late show was even better, for even as this couple had left it all on the stage for an hour and a half, they seemed to be having such a good time that it was as if they were just getting started.
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CD review: ‘Beautiful Day’ by Charlie Robison
Charlie Robison
‘Beautiful Day’ (Dualtone)
B+
For all the talk about this being Robison’s divorce album, it’s the strong singing, the tangle of guitars and the driving production, not the lyrics, that make this the Bandera native’s best album to date. On his first album in five years, Robison gets his swagger back. “Feelin’ Good” may come close to trampling worn Pat Green territory, but Rich Brotherton’s mandolin and Robison’s happy-go-lucky vocals, give it the neccessary freshness.
Although Robison addresses the ex most blatantly on the title track, with its telling “I promise you she’s never gonna get fat” line, and most bitterly on “Yellow Blues,” his choice of covers lets Keith Gattis and Bobby Bare Jr. do much of the dirty work. “Down Again,” from “El Cerrito Place” writer Gattis, could be the album’s sharpest focal point, the way Robison’s voice seems to tap into the band’s moody magic.
This is an album you play all the way through. The songs intertwine to tell something about the singer he can’t fully convey in conversation, with the four-song string of “Reconsider,” “Feelin’ Good,” “If the Rain Don’t Stop” and “Middle of the Night” especially good at revealing a peaceful, uneasy feeling.
In the end, though, it’s how it sounds, not what it says, that gives this LP its most therapeutic quality.
Robison will appear at Waterloo Records Tuesday at 5 p.m. to celebrate the album’s release.
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Live review: St. Vincent’s ACL taping
For any remaining naysayers who doubted the prodigious shredding ability of ethereal singer-songwriter Annie Clark, better known under the nom de plume St. Vincent, second-guess no more.
While the Tulsa-born artiste rose to national prominence on the strength of her haunting, otherwordly voice and playful lyricism, her sophomore album released in May, “Actor,” retains that elegance while also showcasing Clark at her most rollicking.
And while national audiences will get a taste of New St. Vincent on her Wednesday night appearance on the “Late Show With David Letterman,” they’ll really see Clark cut loose this fall, with the broadcast of her Saturday night performance for the 35th season of “Austin City Limits.”
Taking to the hallowed stage for the first time, Clark tore through an hour and 15 minutes of material, primarily from “Actor” with occasional digressions from 2007 debut “Marry Me.”
Although Clark’s full, angelic voice was on regular display, it was the night’s instrumental freakouts that most stood out. Cutting viciously into an energetic guitar solo on highlight “Actor Out Of Work,” Clark was a whirlwind on stage, accompanied by — uncharacteristically for “Austin City Limits” — a swirling display of psychedelic rainbow lighting.
Clark was ably assisted by an impressively versatile backing band, which incorporated saxophone, violin and a number of woodwinds into the mix and added muscle to her sparer songs, like low-key opener “Marry Me.” The group proved especially propulsive on the dark, driving “Marrow.”
The show even boasted a slight concession to venue with an appearance by one of St. Vincent’s more popular covers — the Beatles’ “Dig Me A Pony” — on the basis that Austin is, as Clark put it, “a bit of a blues town.” With the band taking a brief hiatus, Clark tore into the “Let It Be” highlight solo, playing up its potential as a trippy guitar showcase.
Though the evening was light on banter, Clark appeared at ease and excited on stage, making a stellar performance appear strangely effortless. Later that night on Twitter, she described both audience and staff as “120 percent delightful.”
The feeling, of course, is mutual.
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CD review: Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr.
“Farm”
(Jagjaguwar)
C+
When alternative rock trio Dinosaur Jr. reunited in 2005, they joined a rarified club that boasted such luminaries as Mission of Burma, Gang of Four and the Pixies. All were ‘80s rock iconoclasts who had languished on college radio and the wee hours of the morning on MTV in their heyday, only to return as musical deities.
Even more than their contemporaries, though, J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph bounced back with surprising strength on 2005’s “Beyond,” a textured, energetic rocker with surprising depth. That bravado is less evident on “Farm,” their ninth effort and the kind of album that might have charmed you in 1989 but fails to leave much of an impression today.
The album’s first half packs the requisite crushing guitar, high-end fuzz and distortion, with pleasant pop melody “I Want You To Know,” a perfect template for “Farm”’s low-key pleasures. But the album drags with a series of second-half ballads — at nearly 8 and 9 minutes, respectively, “Said The People” and “I Don’t Want To Go There” barely have enough meat for songs half as long. Only the bouncy, upbeat “See You” breaks the tedium. “Farm” is far from a misfire, but with its bog-standard alternative rock numbers it lacks the surprises that made “Beyond” such an unexpected gem.
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Musicmania Top 10 for the week ending June 21
1. UGK ‘UGK 4 Life’ (Jive)2. Eminem ‘Relapse’ (Aftermath)
3. Lil’ Keke ‘Love By Few Hated By Many’ (Universal)
4. Slim Thug ‘Boss Of All Bosses’ (Koch)
5. Juicy J ‘Hustle Til I Die’ (Hypnotize)
6. Gucci Mane ‘Murder Was The Case’ (Big Cat)
7. Will Downing ‘Murder Was The Case’ (Peak)
8. Teena Marie ‘Congo Square’ (Stax)
9. Rick Ross ‘Deeper Tha Rap’ (Def Jam)
10. Keri Hilson ‘In A Perfect World…’ (Interscope)
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Guest list giveaway: John Vanderslice at The Parish
We’re giving away tickets to see John Vanderslice at the Parish on Friday, June 26.
Email us at events@statesman.com before midnight to enter. You MUST include your full name, email address and daytime phone number in the email to win. Winners will be drawn randomly and notified tomorrow. For complete contest rules email events@statesman.com.
