I began scribbling the following review soon after the show, forgot about
it for a week, and came back and finished it today.
No, I refuse to say anything about the most influential artist or the
negative effect of bad musicianship on the alt-country movement. :-) In
any case, this review is completely irrelevant to these topics: I
seriously doubt that anyone would nominate Gillian as the most influential
anything, or accuse her or David of bad musicianship...
--
Gillan Welch and David Rawlings played a gorgeous, intense set last night
at a lecture hall in the Social Sciences building at the U of A campus.
("I feel like I'm giving a lecture!" Gillian exclaimed at the beginning of
the show.)
During the show, Gillian compared the setup of the auditorium to that of
the _Austin City Limits_; but the entire atmosphere of the show was quite
different. Unlike in the ACL, they were relaxed and confident, willing to
play around with the audience. ("The next song is going to be a happy,
upbeat song." [Pause] "Of course, you didn't believe that, did you?"
[Smirks from the audience] "The next song is titled, 'I'm Not Afraid to
Die'." [Laughter])
Also, unlike in the ACL set, they sounded smooth and well balanced. They
were doubtlessly helped by the good soundman (a rarity in this town full
of deaf idiot soundmen). The musicanship was impeccable: Gillian and
David's voices meshed perfectly, and David got out a Dobro-like metallic
sound from a small-bodied Gibson. The fury that came off the stage was
very appropriate for their dark songs such as "Caleb Meyer".
Of course, you know about the quality of Gillian's songs. They played
most of the songs from their two albums, plus "Wichita" and a cover of a
cowboy song whose title escapes me (sung by David). They played only one
brand new tune: this was a bit disappointing to me, since I always look
for works in progress in a concert given by an acclaimed songwriter.
For the first encore, she played a Townes Van Zandt song ("My Proud
Moutains", I believe) and "Acony Bell". When the crowd called them back
for the second encore, they played "Orphan Girl" and then called it a
night.
I was a bit weary before the show because I had heard about their supposed
lack of comfort on stage, especially in a large auditorium. I however
found this reputation unwarranted, judging from their presence in the show
last night. Everybody with whom I talked later was ecstatic about the
show, and I wholeheartedly agree.
--Hiroshi
--
Her number always turns up in your pocket \ H.Ogura ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Whenever you are looking for a dime. \ Dept Chem, U Az, Tucson AZ 85721
It's all right to call her but I bet you +--------------------------------
The moon is full and you're just wasting time. -- Gram Parsons/C.Hillman
