On an evening where options were aplenty, sometimes it is
worth taking a step into lesser known territory to get your live music fix. Despite
Laura Veirs being a relatively successful recording artist for a number of
years, our musical paths barely crossed. There was some impetus via her 2017
collaboration with Kd Lang and Neko Case in the Case/Lang/Veirs project, and
further advancement in finally getting round to listening to last year’s THE
LOOKOUT album, which was lavishly savoured upon discovery. So on an evening
when Jarrod Dickenson played Moseley and the Transatlantic Sessions rode into
town for their annual staging at the Symphony Hall, it was a singer-songwriter
from Portland Oregon who won the day with the ticket purchase.
The Laura Veirs show was the mid-priced event of the trio
and held at St. Paul’s Church in the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham city
centre. The operation behind Moseley Folk Festival promoted the gig and twinned
this evening’s presentation with one featuring John Smith the day before. A
decent turnout supported the show, some maybe curious to experience how these
church gigs pan out.
For this UK tour, Laura is supported by her friend Sam Amidon;
a musician originally from Vermont, but now based in London. Sam opened the
show with a short set that progressed significantly during its duration. Like
many gigs, though especially in the makeshift surroundings of a church, a
little tweaking to the sound is required, likely by both the sound team and the
ears of the listener. Once adjustments were made, some of the latter songs
sounded quite decent especially when the banjo was strummed and the feeling
slipped into old time traditional mode from the rural areas of the south.
We had our first glimpse of Laura when Sam invited her to
join him on a couple of songs at the end of his set. In true comradery, the
invitation was reciprocated and Sam played fiddle on a couple of tunes at the
end of the main set.
An immediate observation from seeing Laura Veirs live is the
obvious pedigree that oozes from her performing space. This exists in the triumvirate
of vocals, guitar playing and song selection, with the frequent effect of transfixing
an audience into a concentrated zonal state.
The subdued lighting may not have been great for pictures,
but bathed in rays of candlelight added to the ambience to match the acoustics
that were very much to Laura’s liking. The temptation to step off mic for a
song may have been tempting, but sadly, it did not materialise. This is a common
feature of many church gigs attended, although at the mercy of the artist’s
comfort feelings.
While not being too familiar with many of Laura Veirs’
songs, there were still some standouts, whether recognising them from the latest
album or the introduction provided on the evening. ‘Margaret Sands’ in the opening spot and ‘Mountains of the Moon’ in the encore were the pick from THE
LOOKOUT, although ironically both originating far from Laura’s pen. Sadly, my
personal favourite ‘Seven Falls” did
not make the set list for this show, but its appeal is undiminished.
Another assertion from attending this show was how the
stripped back sound from Laura solely on acoustic guitar was different when
compared to the added electric and pedal steel that featured on the album. Both
versions have merit, but I would just slightly err on the record content.
Outside the new record, ‘Song
for Judee’ (off the Case/Lang/Veirs album), ‘Sun Song’, ‘Carol Kaye’
and a cover of the Daniel Johnston song ‘True
Love Will Find You in the End’ proved the songs that lingered in the
post-gig memory longer. However, this first real dip into the music of Laura
Veirs was more about the essence than the detail.
One noted point from this show was the 63 minute set time
that Laura played. Admittedly, the break had been seemingly extended, and there
is no idea whether a curfew applied, but in my book, this just crawled into the
credit column when relating set time to gig cost. It is still an intriguing
concept that the duration of live music often enters into untimed territory as
far as the main attraction is concerned. While this rarely causes a problem, it
is out of sync with many other forms of live artistic entertainment.
Set times aside, this delve into the musical world of Laura
Veirs has been a worthwhile venture. THE LOOKOUT remains a fine album to
discover better late than never, and any future shows in the area are likely to
be sought out. The beauty of music is that not a single one of us has exhausted
the endless potential out there.
www.lauraveirs.com