And, at last, the temperature had begun to dip, so the only concern could be would the three record days in a row of June heat have caused the rail line any trouble; maybe there’d be a buckled track, a power cable that had dropped. Probably not leaves on the line, and they’d better not try the old “wrong kind of snow” gag. No way. Because, although Tift Merritt had played London almost exactly a year ago, there had not been subsequent visits until now, and missing this was not an option. So it was that the completely hiccup-free journey (if we discount the untimely absence of the Piccadilly Line) meant that The Lower Third on London’s legendary Denmark Street was achieved effortlessly. A small sign taped to the window indicated that Tift Merritt could be found down a side alley, well, ok…the venue entry is tucked away in a back courtyard, and once past the bag check there’s a somewhat labyrinthine series of stairs to negotiate before the main room is reached, and what a main room it is. What a place for Tift Merritt to launch her new album, Sugar, with music and a promised Q&A. It’s big enough for a couple of hundred, nice bar, a low stage and a deliberate feel of being “unfinished”, with bare bricks and plenty of brutalist concrete supports on display. Oh, and excellent air-conditioning.
Tift came to the stage a little after seven, explaining, “I thought someone was going to come and get me, I wasn’t throwing a tantrum.” Perish the thought, she was on excellent form from the start, which was the startling Locks which saw Merritt hitting emotional highs from the first line, and that going higher with the chorus of “I’m trying to sing all the locks off your heart / So I’m not the only here in the dark / I’m trying to sing all the locks off your heart so I’m not the only one…ill equipped, unprepared but not hiding.” Never hiding, one thing about Tift Merritt is that she sings with her heart on her sleeve. It’s one of several songs from Sugar that she had previewed a year ago in Oslo, and it’s remarkable how much one live hearing a year ago has stuck in the memory so that this seems instantly familiar. This was followed by a statement that “I’m going to sing you an old one“, and not just any old song, it’s virtually her signature song, Travelling Alone made a great bridge to another new song; this time introduced as drawn from the letters of a pair of friends who were anarchist-poets (“the best kind“) and anti-fascists, a song that seems timely although as she says that Merritt notes that “no-one’s laughing“. Everyday Singing is a beautiful song with a message: “may love write the story between us / may love fill the space that remains / may love enter here in my singing / may love leave no blank page.” Should you be looking for a mantra to live by, then this offers a good choice.
Crossing to piano for another new song, Merritt apologised for her somewhat lowly positioning, due to her not finding room to pack usual high-heeled boots for her diverted flight into Manchester, which had allowed her to get to the Lower Third for this Sunday evening. No matter; another of the political songs from Sugar in the form of Last Ditch Ultimatum lays out a bleak future: heaven’s closed until we buck our ideas a bit and bring back some understanding for the outsiders, whether they be drag queens or refugees. It turns out that if you look between the lines, much of the new album is a political statement, yes, balanced with emotional pleas like the one we find on the title song. It’s a song that has a false start; well, “I didn’t really want to be here tonight” is a scene-setter that in a live setting can seem a little humorous, although the song is intensely passionate about Merritt’s relationship with her craft. Nothing held back. Nothing; as Tift Merritt sings in Generous of a man who “changes girls it’s just like changing clothes” and is “man enough to be my lover but not my friend.” Because she makes it all feel so real, it’s an emotional shake-up; there may not be a better song out there that suggests that men can be shits sometimes.
And if you’re wondering what the Q&A might consist of, then you’re not alone, as Merritt shared that she wasn’t so sure herself. Prompting for any questions led to the politest song shout-out, prefaced with “will you be playing…” It got a laugh, but the new songs kept coming, including the a cappella Fate Of Man Is Sarah’s Eyes, on which, by using loops, she creates her own backing singers to cast a light on the work of essential workers. Another pairing of songs, Philosopher’s Song and Finest Feelings, offer another comparison of Merritt’s major themes: how to make the world work better on the one hand, and the full surrender to passion on the other. The closer, Look What Love Just Did, has Merritt back on her acoustic guitar, and she rocks the big rock love ballad solo with such power that it rocked wonderfully. And that was it; and so to the meet and greet and signing table at the back of the room.
In the final analysis, what is it that makes Tift Merritt so special? Well, she gives any performance 100% commitment, 100% charm, and 100% enthusiasm, and if that sounds a bit like a term report, well Tift gets an A+. The new album is, if you haven’t guessed, a stonker live.
