Laura , London , June 1st

[johnfoyle]

Laura's show in a packed Jazz Cafe , Camden , London was an evening of great music and emotion. Doing mostly songs from the new album she was as captivating as ever.

There's loads more I want to tell about the evening. However right now , 10.50AM, I'm in a 'net cafe on Oxford Street and there are a hundred shops I have to check out before my evening flight back to Dublin.
I have loads of notes so I'll tell all this weekend.

Watch this space!

[Paulw]

Any idea if Laura is doing anything else while she's in England? I know she's booked in for a session on Bob Harris' Radio 2 show on the 7th July - if Later with Jools Holland had any sense she'd be on there too.

[johnfoyle]

I'm back in Dublin but I'm waaay too tired to write anything ; I'll do something over the weekend.

Re- BBC Radio - Laura and co. were planning to record in Maida Vale this afternoon ; maybe that's for Bob Harris'.

This blog account has appeared -

http://richardjgibson.blogspot.com/2005/06/laura-cantrell-jazz-cafe-wednesday-1st.html

Richard Gibson

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Laura Cantrell: Jazz Cafe Wednesday 1st June

I hadn't seen her live before. I haven't been to many performances this year but this was definitely one of the best, the band (guitars, mandolin and double bass) sounded just excellent live. The sound was warmer than the CD's I'd heard and based on the songs I heard last night the new album (out 20/06/05) has a more melancholic feel and includes some covers including George Jones and Lucinda Williams. She comes across as an honest performer, not afraid to confess when she forgets the lines to her own songs and genuinely happy to be performing.

I haven't seen a review of the album yet [Humming by the flowered vine] but on the flyer there is a quote from Elvis Costello; "If Kitty Wells made 'Rubber Soul' it would sound like Laura Cantrell". I can only guess Costello is a fan, Laura Cantrell did a great cover version of 'Indoor Fireworks' from The Costello Show/King of America LP.

I'd completely forgotten that she was born in Nashville and then moved to New York and before taking up singing and songwriting she worked on Wall Street....

Excellent.

[Paulw]

Excellent review, and beautiful photo, in today's Guardian. Don't know why she only got 4 stars, rather than 5, though. 4 stars seems to be pretty standard for Laura's stuff.

Last time I saw her she forgot the words to All The Same To You. And once before when a guitar string broke she did an impromptu version of I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You with Paul Burch - what a glorious 5 minutes that was!

It's those little things that make Laura Cantrell my favourite singer in the world.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1498071,00.html

[johnfoyle]

Finally , some time to tell all.

The setlist.

1. 14th Street
2. What You Said
3. The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter
4. Poor Ellen Smith
5. California Rose
6. Khaki and Corduroy
7. Letters
8. All Blue (Cheri Knight )
9. Old Old Love ( George Jones)
10. Wishful Thinking
11. Mountain Fern
12. All the Same to You
13. When the Roses Bloom Again
14. Old Downtown
Encore
15. Bees

The personnel .

Laura , vocals , guitar

Jeremy Chatsky , double bass

Jim Ryan , mandolin

Mark Spenser , guitar , backing vocals

As my earlier comment - and the excellent Guardian review - told this was an evening of great music and emotion. The songs from the new album sounded great , some of them already catchy , this being my second time hearing some of them after the show in Newcastle last year.

It had started with a piece of theatrics , with a tinge of farce. Laura descended the steps from the venues upper level to the stage. Stepping into the light she went to the microphone as we cheered.....and then realised that she had stepped down without her guitar strap. Joking about how she had spoiled the dramatic element of her arrival , she waited while the ever obliging Jeremy Tepper found and brought down the essential item.
Besides her heartfelt singing , Laura engaged with her comments between songs. She asked if some of those present had been at her Fleadh show in London......and if they had walked away to see a bigger nearby attraction , one Bob Dylan. Her comments about the new songs echoed her song notes on this site.

The show was going smoothly enough until Mark Spenser broke a string during Wishful Thinking. At the songs end , while he did repairs , Laura asked for a song suggestion . Someone shouted for Mountain Fern. With a thoughtful look she decided to give it a go. Accompanied by Ryan on mandolin , after a few verses she dried up , saying the words would just not come. Someone shouted ' The road it got dusty' and she restarted but soon returned to ' la , la , las'.......this song was just not going to happen. Spencer was restrung but, with a comment about how she just knew this would mean she would keep forgetting words , they started into some more songs.

Sure enough , the last few songs were clearly agony to Laura. Words just eluded her. Thing is , Laura is such a natural , genuine performer that her audiences can accept this . The show was , if anything , even more engaging. I once saw Ron Sexsmith being similarly afflicted - he dropped some words and the rest of the show was clearly highly traumatic for him.

Some may quibble and say they expect better of a 'professional performer'. This may be valid if other aspects of the show are clinical and rehearsed to death. However , with Laura there is always an element of enquiry , a curiosity about reaction and so on. You constantly wonder just what will turn up next.

One of the nights more obscure songs has certainly piqued my interest . It was All Blue . Introduced with a comment about a group that guitarist Mark Spenser used to be in ( Blood Oranges , which got a cheer to Laura and Mark's puzzlement ; I suspect it was merely a reaction to such an evocative name) , subsequent 'net research tells me it's from a 1998 album called The Northeast Kingdom by Cheri Knight , another 'Orange former member.
see

http://www.gumbopages.com/music/knight.html


Heck ! There's another album I just have to get.

I can't find info. on the George Jones song ; maybe I got the title wrong . Can anyone tell more?


As the show proper ended Laura headed back up those stairs . Jeremy Tepper - Laura's husband - met her halfway down and they and the band seemed to have a moment of thought . They returned to the stage and Laura said she wanted to dedicate a song to John Peel. As loud applause ensued she was in tears. With a comment about how she just knew she would be 'verklempt' at this point they started into Bees.

What an astonishing song. As it progressed along I kept thinking of Minnie Ripperton , of Virgina Astley , of Judee Sill . Truly , this will be a highlight of the forthcoming album.


And the it was all over. As the crowd thinned I spotted Jeremy Tepper . I had spoken with him earlier , when he remembered me from a brief meeting after a Dublin show in '03. He told me he knew I'd be at the show from the comments I'd made here. Meeting again he insisted I accompany him and others to go and meet Laura.

So the evening ended with all of us sipping champagne and generally having a great old chat. Laura was as great to talk as always. All manner of subjects came up. From Bob Dylan fans to dental benefits and everything inbetween. She is clearly hugely excited by the new album .

In short , a magical evening.

[johnfoyle]

I just cannot figure out how to use the 'image' option on this forum ; if you'd like to see scans of my ticket for the Jazz cafe and a card given out at the gig you can go to this annex of a Elvis Costello fan forum -


http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=59893#59893

[johnfoyle]

' Excellent review, and beautiful photo, in today's Guardian.'

- Paul W.

This photo can now, thanks to Paul sending it to me , be seen here -

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=60988#60988

[Paulw]

Nice one John.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.planbmag.com/content/view/305/40/


Words: Jonathan Falcone


Laura Cantrell - The Jazz Café, London

Cantrell descends the stairs like a vision from Fifties America, dressed in a polka dot all-in-one and little black shoes. In response to such loveliness, my blood turns to bubbling cream soda and soft elation whirrs up from the base of my neck, warming my skull and making it joyously fuzzy. Expectation, it's almost the best part.

Bluegrass and folk music, genres so out of favour with the kids that it's sublime. No cocky tosspots telling you they're great, just a dignified woman singing for a humbled crowd. That's what I need, an antidote to the everyday bad; music that calms and caresses, sounds like nothing else you'll hear till you dig out your tattered country vinyl, straight out of Memphis, Tennessee via heaven.

Cantrell coos in a soft southern sigh, as though reluctantly receiving an award, to introduce '14th Street'. "This first song's about New York. I didn't use to live there, but I do now and I love it very much."

Then it begins. We drift to soft tempos that churn and vocals that arch with tenderness. There's a collective lilting through the audience, left to right and back again, mesmerised and in love. The bass fiddle ebbs so gently before hitting its laissez-faire stride and the mandolin purrs with pleasure.

As she sings of junctions and highways, I wonder how she takes me there. To a place I've never been, a place that doesn't exist. The high rise blocks of New York are lined with tumbleweed and lemongrass, sprawling after her, blanketing her strolled route to Wall Street. All the time, Cantrell sways on stage behind her oversized guitar. I can see her, I'm watching, listening, loving every moment, but I'm somewhere else completely. Everyone is. There's a room in love with this lady, a silent hub of people, all wishing they could talk to her after the show, congratulate her and thank her for making them relax, a collective sycophantic desperation borne of the sheer beauty of it all.

"Just to warn y'all," Cantrell exhales. "This next song is called 'Poor Ellen Smith' and it's an old traditional murder ballad that's been passed throughout the generations. I hear England's home of the murder ballads, but please don't take that the wrong way. Anyway, there's no happy ending here."

Yet still we smile to her country crooning, her tales of death and murder. We always will as long as we're here with her to sing for us.

Though mistakes are made, they only add to the warm intimacy - as a financial researcher by day, re-acclimatising to the stage by night must be hard. When the guitarist's string breaks, Cantrell takes a request and starts 'Mountain Fern'. After the chorus the lyrics are forgotten but she continues. Then she really forgets the lyrics but it's waved away with an "Oh shoot, you know I really think we'd really better stop this one."

The same almost happens with 'When the Roses Bloom Again', the title track of her last album. If this was the Killers there'd be outrage. Thank heavens she's not the Killers, and thank heavens no one cares. That's love.

Ending with 'Bees', she tearfully dedicates it to John Peel, and I can't help but feel this performance couldn't have been scripted better nor more lovingly received. For Laura Cantrell casts spells with soft soulful music and we're willing victims, loathe to the prospect of resistance.

[Andy]

I registered to this forum that night, and have only now recieved an activation email.
2 months
Oh well.
Just wanted to say how nice it was to meet you backstage John.

@ndy

[Patrick]

Sorry about that Andy. We were having long-term technical difficulties which resulted in the boards being upgraded and we just ironed out the registration problem this week!

Best
Patrick

[Andy]

No probs Patrick.

[johnfoyle]

A well meaning review. However the 'had not played in England for more than two years' comment is incorrect ; Laura played shows in the U.K. in August ' 04. Similarly , "See You in the Morning Light" is ,of course , Bees.


http://popmatters.com/music/concerts/c/cantrell-laura-050601.shtml

LAURA CANTRELL
1 June 2005: Jazz Café — London
by Steve Horowitz

Laura Cantrell had not played in England for more than two years, but she still claimed to recognize members of the audience.

"Turn around so I can see your backsides and be sure," she said to the crowd. "The last time I was here, I played the Fleadh Fest on the stage opposite Bob Dylan. I think some of you must have been there. It was quite a challenge playing to people's backs who were listening to someone else, but it was great fun," Cantrell joked.

This was Cantrell's first show of her European tour. She and her band appeared comfortable, if a bit jet-lagged. For example, there was a moment about midway through the show when things started to break down. Her guitarist Mark Spencer broke a string and took a long time replacing it. Cantrell asked for a request then began to perform alone to pass the time. (She played acoustic guitar, and throughout the show was accompanied by Jeremy Chatzky on stand-up bass, Jimmy Ryan on mandolin, and Spencer on acoustic lead guitar.) The Tennessee songbird sang the first verse of her tribute to the late Skeeter Davis, "Mountain Fern", but forgot the words after the first chorus. She asked the audience for help. One punter prodded her with the next line, ("The road got rocky") which he delivered in a loud, somewhat drunken, voice. Cantrell sang the line, in her plaintive, Southern style. Then she began to stumble over the lyrics again.

"I think maybe it's best to end it here," she apologized.

By then Spencer had restrung his instrument and was quietly tuning it. "This is like my worst nightmare," Cantrell whined in a funny voice. "Every song I start I'm gonna forget the words to from now on." Sure enough, halfway through her next tune, "All the Same to You", she could not recall the lyrics.

A lesser artist or one with a hostile crowd may have been thrown by such events, but Cantrell took it all in stride. The audience, for its part, offered words of encouragement. These travails actually brought the artist and the audience closer together. Cantrell was able to joke about it ("I'm going to play a song from my last album, When the Roses Bloom Again, and I won't forget the words. I promise.") and crowd members gently supported her ("You can just sing 'la las' if you like, dear.").

Cantrell performed material from her first two albums (including a staid version of "The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter" and sweetly sung rendition of her nostalgic "Early Years," and also provided a preview of songs from her forthcoming release, Humming by the Flowered Vine. Her new offerings do not differ much in style or substance from her previous unadorned old time country efforts. Of particular note was a song ("Letters") Cantrell said she discovered on an old scratchy cassette of recordings made by Lucinda Williams in the eighties. Cantrell admitted she greatly admired Williams but felt too intimidated to cover a song by the artist that people already knew. "Letters" resembles other early Williams' songs that offer narration without a chorus, the kind that build to a climax then end in an epiphany (think "Changed the Locks"). While Cantrell lacks Williams' grit, her simple manner adds a different weight to the tune. One can imagine Williams desperate for communication while performing "Letters". In Cantrell's version, the loneliness of the narrator comes through.

Cantrell ended the night by dedicating a song to the late, great British BBC DJ John Peel. Peel was instrumental in Cantrell's early international success. He championed her debut album Not the Tremblin' Kind as "my favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life." She recorded five Peel Sessions and had three songs on his annual 'Festive Fifty' for 2000. Cantrell said she visited Peel when he was ill back in August and the first thing Peel said when she walked in the door was "I hope you are working on some new songs." Cantrell called Peel "her great encourager" and that while she didn't write the new tune "See You in the Morning Light" explicitly for him, the vibe seemed appropriate. The song concerns the traditional sentiment that we will all meet again some day, presumably in heaven. The audience responded to the song and Cantrell with great applause that lasted even after the house lights were turned on and the show was clearly over.

— 16 June