A recent discussion on Radio 4 about gig going prompted a discussion amongst fellow writers about the type of gigs they attended and how often. It was a revealing conversation with, interestingly, venue comfort coming close to deciding which gigs to attend following the artist in question, of course. You will have heard me banging on in the past about the redemptive joy of the live experience and that is still my position although the much better half will now not attend gigs if they are standing only (she has broken this rule for the upcoming Jason Isbell and Bonnie Light Horseman gigs but as she says rules are made to be broken).
And so it was that we both attended one of the loveliest gigs of the year in a local coffee shop ‘Out of Office‘ run by a couple Haley and Jimmy – what fabulous hosts! It felt like New York 1960, well, how I imagine New York 1960 might have felt like in a coffee house hearing brilliant roots music. The artist in question was My Girl the River – Kris and Joe Wilkinson Hughes – who arrived and took up a space in the corner and proceeded to entertain a packed house – about 20 folks all in all. The atmosphere was relaxed and joyful with Kris explaining songs and chatting to the attentive audience and Joe adding witty comments to the discourse. There was a phone call from a US based sister that was shared with all when put on speaker, there was brevity and seriousness in songs and words and even some tears from audience members. This is the power of the song in the hands of those who know what they’re doing. Every person left the gig feeling personally communicated with and enlightened. What a superpower! Forget being able to crush whole buildings or turn green and roar at people – this is a genuine, awe inspiring superpower; being able to transport a group of strangers into your narrative through word and melody. I never fail to be dumbstruck. What a way to spend a Thursday night. Redemptive and regenerative.
With this in mind I have been looking at live performances on YouTube and offer these delights M J Lenderman debuting a new song and David Rawlings and Gillian Welch live at the Newport Folk Fest 2024. The radio show features as its classic album “Songs About Space” from My Girl The River, new Chuck Prophet, Danny and The Champs, Jason Kent, Ella Spencer, Laura Marling as well as many others and the usual nonsense. As ever take what you want…
