The air was full of mutual respect in this Kitchen Garden Café
show as Pete and Maura Kennedy returned to the venue for a third straight year
to play another successful show of expansive Americana. Following last year’s
visit which evolved into a very special Nanci Griffiths tribute show, this time
The Kennedys were bursting at the seams to share a deluge of new material that
has surfaced during a frenetic period of creative activity. With three
contrasting releases set for 2015, the focal point for this show was their new
duo album WEST with several songs from Maura’s solo project showcasing
continual peaks of this current song writing explosion.
The Kennedys are the perfect complementary combo drawing on
a multitude of influences from their homeland which frequently involves epic
journeys west from a New York base. The mix of a luxurious vocalist and an artisan
picker drive a set of well-balanced songs with an endearing and endless appeal.
Maura has a reassuringly warm tone to her vocals, while Pete exploits the
canvas of his craft with virtuosity and extracts some mighty fine tunes from
his Gibson Deluxe. The epiphany of teamwork in motion, both on and off the
stage, the duo enter their twentieth year of a marriage and musical union
fresh, re-invigorated and as culturally crafted as ever.
WEST was an album that didn’t waste time in maximising its
effect and the extensive representation in the set list further propelled the
record up the appreciation ladder. Nine tracks were sprinkled across the brace
of sets which structured the usual non-support gig format with the duo of ‘Bodhisattvas Blues’ and ‘Travel Day Blues’ plus the Buddy Holly
inspired ‘Locket’ getting vociferous
applause from the appreciative audience. The punchy ‘Southern Jumbo’ made a convincing case for pick of the new songs
and ‘Signs’ was heard in a different
context now Maura has given insight into its origin as an assignment from a
song writing class.
The other significant portion of the show was Maura sharing
a number of songs off her new solo album VILLANELLE which has emerged from collaboration
with Californian poet B.D. Love. This project has seen Maura add melodies to a
series of newly written poems and ultimately creating songs with unconventional
lyrical structures. To the layman these came across as a seamless transition
with Maura adding extra spice with the sociological background including the
recollection of migrant Chinese workers in ‘Fireflies’
and marital disintegration being the theme of ‘Bicycles with Broken Spokes’. The opportunity to listen more
intently to these songs is one to relish with ‘She Worked Her Magic on Me’ jumping out in front of the pack after
a live preview of around half the album.
The commitment to regular touring, and building upon the
recognition from being the Nanci Griffiths backing band, has contributed to The
Kennedys’ back catalogue hosting many personal favourites and this show was concluded
with an all request four song encore. Earlier they had weaved in a couple of
older numbers to add a touch of familiarity to the new material, but ‘Half a Million Miles’ and ‘Midnight Ghost’ were soon to be joined
by impromptu versions of ‘9th
Street Billy’, ‘Angels Cry’, ‘Life is Large’ and a version of ‘Jasmine’ that proved the notion of what
happens on stage remains on stage.
There was only an occasional mention of Pete’s upcoming new
record during the evening, but he reminded everybody of why he is a class
guitarist with the instrumental ‘Mad
Russian’ demonstrating his love for the classic 50’s pre-rock playing
style. Of course Pete still plays, albeit away from the headline credits, an
important part on Maura’s record and occasionally comes to the vocal fore such
as on ‘Jubilee Time’ from the duo
album. However his solo interludes herald a first rate player fine tuning the
tool of his trade and crowned a stage presence tonight further culturally infiltrated
with local Shakespeare musings.
Pete and Maura continue to cement a love affair with UK
audiences, who are able to recognise a pair of musical artists capable of
capturing the Americana landscape and sound within the magical medium of
impressively formed songs. The special relationship between The Kennedys and
Birmingham continues to prosper as they maintain acute ambassadorial status for
the spirit of the indie touring act, full of respect, humility and a
determination to tap into the loyalty of the grateful listener.
www.thekennedysmusic.com