It started with the cliche before branching out where the music matters. A personal vanity project sharing a passion for country, folk and Americana through live and recorded music since 2012. Give or take the odd hiatus or barren period.
Gretchen Peters - The Assembly, Leamington Spa. Saturday 27th June 2015
There is certainly nothing like an appearance at the
Glastonbury Festival to give Gretchen Peters an extra kick in her step. Two
years ago she was still on a high after playing the prestigious event when
rounding off her UK tour in Bromsgrove a day later. In 2015 it was another Midlands
venue that hosted Gretchen, albeit this time on the eve of her festival
appearance. The Assembly at Leamington Spa, with its excellent sonic
environment, has been acknowledged by Gretchen as a particular favourite on the
UK circuit to the extent that it was the scene of the infamous back stage Couch by Couch
West video on their last visit. With the anticipation of the following day’s
gig spurring the band and her on, Gretchen didn’t disappoint with an exemplary
performance driven mainly by songs from her last two albums.
With the effects of the recent highly successful Blackbirds UK tour
barely worn off, Gretchen, Barry, Christine and Conor were once again reunited
as a quartet to replicate the magic of the two previous albums into a live
interpretation. Understandably the songs from BLACKBIRDS took pride of place in
the set list which spanned across an interval, on an evening dictated like so
many weekend gigs by an early start. However this had no bearing on the ensuing
quality that followed with the new songs getting bedded in more effectively as
live numbers. They also have the added impetus of driving the older songs to
higher limits and for nearly two hours tonight, Gretchen effortlessly moved into
a raised sphere of performance revealing an artist still in the ascendancy some
two decades since flirting with the bright lights of conditional fame.
What we get from Gretchen in 2015 is acres of unconditional
brilliance as she ferments as a writer and visibly moves audiences with her stage
rendition of a back catalogue framed for posterity in the annals of the vinyl
and digital world. The band experience has uplifted the immortality of songs
from HELLO CRUEL WORLD to now reside alongside her 90s classics. No doubt in
time, the same will apply to many of BLACKBIRD’s tracks as even in the space of
four months since an inaugural live listening, they seemed to acquire an
enhanced stage dimension. Of course this is natural progression for the output
from an artist now enshrined in the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. No
mean feat given the fantastic heritage of lyrical composers thriving in the
creative surroundings of Music City.
For those who saw Gretchen on the recent tour, the set list this
evening was almost identical to those successful shows with the John Prine and
Rodney Crowell covers bringing the evening to an encore climax. There was the
usual segment of Barry’s solo work with its stark film score appeal and the
humble appreciation from Gretchen of being accepted in this almost second home
of the UK. The energy and buzz from the stage was fizzing around song after
song meaning that the bar was suitably raised from her last Midlands gig at the
somewhat larger Birmingham Town Hall. The build-up to this show, and subsequent
turnout, to what was effectively a solitary warm up gig for the big event, may
have been lower key, but the warmth of the reception was no less forthcoming and
a positive vibe infected all parties to a similar extent.
So Gretchen headed off to a field in Somerset with a
bucketful of confidence and inspiration, alongside a thinly disguised desire to
meet the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile a delighted audience lapped up a highly charged
show echoing with subtle emotion, masterly musicianship and songs steeped with
utopian ideal. Gretchen Peters is on top of her game in both a recording and
performing capacity. The evolution, development and fulfilment of this artist’s
career continues to move boundaries and being an active witness equates to
sheer marvel and enjoyment.
Setlist:
Blackbirds (2015) - Blackbirds. Pretty Things. When All You Got is a Hammer. Everything Falls Away. The House on Auburn Street. Nashville. Black Ribbons. The Cure for the Pain.
Hello Cruel World (2012) - Hello Cruel World. The Matador. Woman on the Wheel. Five Minutes. Idlewild
One to the Heart, One to the Head (2009) - Gualalupe
The Secret of Life (1996) - On a Bus to St. Cloud. Independence Day
Covers - I Ain't Living Long Like This (Rodney Crowell) In Spite of Ourselves (John Prine)
Silencio (2014) Barry Walsh - October Waltz
With the effects of the recent highly successful Blackbirds UK tour
barely worn off, Gretchen, Barry, Christine and Conor were once again reunited
as a quartet to replicate the magic of the two previous albums into a live
interpretation. Understandably the songs from BLACKBIRDS took pride of place in
the set list which spanned across an interval, on an evening dictated like so
many weekend gigs by an early start. However this had no bearing on the ensuing
quality that followed with the new songs getting bedded in more effectively as
live numbers. They also have the added impetus of driving the older songs to
higher limits and for nearly two hours tonight, Gretchen effortlessly moved into
a raised sphere of performance revealing an artist still in the ascendancy some
two decades since flirting with the bright lights of conditional fame. 
