It was the night Robert’s Western World from Lower Broadway
Nashville descended onto a small music venue in the back streets of Leicester
city centre. This may be stretching the imagination a little in terms of
literal translation, but the spirit of the honky tonk was alive and kicking in the
stage act of Sarah Gayle Meech at The Musician. Fresh from her residency at one
of Music City’s premier night time tourist attractions, and on the back of
cutting her second record, Sarah Gayle has jumped at the opportunity to export
her bold and brash style of country music overseas. The British part of this
European adventure mainly sees her talents captured by the nation’s northern
club scene; although there was added excitement as she ventured south to
illuminate one of the Midlands established listening venues for touring
Americana and country acts.
To phrase a couple of words from the modernist vocabulary,
Sarah Gayle was ‘stoked’ and ‘hyped’ to be playing a stage previously graced by
Dale Watson and Eileen Rose as well as treading the boards a little more than a
week before Jason and the Scorchers hit town. By now you should be getting the
image that Sarah Gayle has her feet firmly planted in the field of country
music that is not the flavour of the day for mainstream genre movers and
shakers. To this extent, she is emerging as a key player in the Ameripolitan
movement and is the latest recipient of the Female Outlaw of the Year Award
from that organisation.
For nearly two hours on this July evening, a highly
respectable Sunday night crowd was wooed by a performer brimming with
confidence, high on impact and a staunch traditionalist with an incumbent heart-on-sleeve
attitude. Enthusiastically supported by a small section of the gathering
determined to embrace the sentiment of the show, Sarah Gayle gave a glimpse of
what encompasses a Nashville residency with a pair of sets packed full of
classic covers and a raft of originals with more than a hint of influence from
the golden age of country music.
Although Sarah Gayle embarked on this adventure as a solo
performer, she has hooked up with a British band which had little trouble
easing her through the country songbook with their smart playing led by fine
lead guitar and excellent pedal steel. Sarah Gayle exuded an incredibly strong
persona to put every inch of personal sinew into her stage performance which is
what is probably needed to hold your own in many establishments back home. The
result was a unique show for this country and one filled with immense pleasure
from the opening strains of ‘Heartaches
by the Number’ to a closing rendition of the George Jones favourite ‘White Lightning’.
There is a fine line in credibility circles between the
subtle and overindulgent use of cover versions. Sarah Gayle skirted this line with
a string of very familiar old favourites from artists such as Merle Haggard,
Loretta Lyn, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and Waylon Jennings, but kept to the
right side in attempting to re-create the authenticity of a demanding residency
right in the heart of the country music capital. However Sarah Gayle is far more
than an interpreter of music, as has been evidenced in her two outstanding
original albums to date. TENNESSEE LOVE SONG is the latest release and a prime
reason for undertaking this tour as a promotional tool, although the songs from
her debut record ONE GOOD THING had the more lasting appeal upon reflection
after the show.
This 2011 release is the earthier of the two records and
from its grooves, ‘Little White Boots’, ‘All
I Want is a Honky Tonk’ and ‘Honey Put
Your Money Where Your Mouth is’ were amongst the highlights of the show. It
seemed that the tracks from this record were more prevalent in the set list
with ‘Tennessee Love Song’ and ‘Watermelon and Root Beer’ leading the
way from the new album. Sarah Gayle selected a couple of older original numbers
to play during the mid-set segue where she played a string of acoustic numbers
while the band had a breather. ‘Foolish’
and ‘Unlucky in Love’ from the older
record were incorporated into this segment.
Originating from the Pacific North West region, an area not
normally know for country music but still the original home of a couple of
today’s outstanding performers in Brandy Clark and Zoe Muth, Sarah Gayle cut
her musical cloth in the Californian scene prior to locating to Tennessee. This
West Coast influence extended into celebrating the work of two iconic
performers who made their name in that area, namely Buck Owens and Dwight
Yoakam. Whether belting out old favourites or promoting her own work, Sarah
Gayle bestowed an air of consistency to the proceedings and this fuelled an
incredibly enjoyable gig which began with the chosen support for the evening.
Josh Chandler Morris and Carly Slade are an English duo from
Milton Keynes who straddles their act at the point where country music merges
more into a folk Americana sound. Their thirty minute slot was packed with
impressively constructed songs, strong on melody and delivered from a pair of
finely tuned vocalists. They varied the delivery between occasional individual
solo efforts and the more widely used harmony mode. Josh’s acoustic guitar was
the main musical accompaniment with Carly’s couple of banjo pieces adding a
traditional element to their sound. The superb ‘Who’s Gonna Hold Your Hand’ and the gospel piece ‘Angels in Heaven’ were among the set’s
highlights and are featured on the duo’s single release. They are certainly an
act worth checking out on the circuit.
It was a delight to host Sarah Gayle Meech at a Midlands
venue and she confirmed previous listening promise as an artist who can make an
enormous impression with their live presence. She proved to be the real deal
and extremely accomplished in the style of country music close to her heart and
core to her mission. If this journey continues to have the UK on its horizon
then many folks over here are going to be happy people and Sarah Gayle Meech
can continue to carve out an increasing level of recognition.
www.sarahgaylemeech.com