Festival sets can have their own charm and presence, but they ultimately have to take second place when an artist bosses the floorspace of a stand alone gig. Seven days after proving the star in my book at the Maverick Festival with a storming closing Sunday afternoon set, Sara Petite wound up her UK tour with a date in Birmingham, not just bossing the floorspace but lighting up the whole venue and thrilling a privileged audience in her wake. The plane back to San Diego may have been beckoning in the hours after the gig, but nothing was going to stop this being a top sign off especially as saying farewell to adopted British band mates - Joe Coombs and Scott Warman.
There was a tip off that the superb RARE BIRD album was featuring heavily in sets post-Maverick and true to these whispers we had all eleven tracks featured on a evening packed with sincere country honky tonk music of the highest quality. Maybe honky tonk with more than a dash of rock 'n' roll and a slice of cultured Americana to provide a solid all round display of how to portray roots music with a western and southern edge.
This geographical statement is a slight anomaly given that Sara was born and raised in the north western Pacific state of Washington, but it is from sunny California from where she exports her music and possesses a voice that rips up all points east to Nashville and beyond. Although the odd place and event informs some of her songs, she draws inspiration straight from the heart and soul to prove a truly adept songwriter capable of matching an infectious melody with a bout of inner passion.
Back to the set list and you knew it was going to be a good night when the opening track mirrored that of the latest album. 'Feeling Like an Angel' is as good a kick off track as heard all year and set the scene for a brace of sets spanning a couple of hours factoring in a short break ensuring that no CDs were heading back to America. We immediately then ran into 'Runnin' and 'Scars', with the latter leaving an introduction only in the minds of those listening intently to the lyrics.
From then on the other tracks from this album flittered in an out. 'Missing You Tonight' had its dedication to a Californian sunset, 'Keep Moving On' drew inspiration from Civil Rights icon John Lewis and 'Medicine Man' appeared to be a track kept under wraps until the final date of the tour. 'Working on a Soul' courted the first singalong, before the whole audience belted out the call and response part to 'Crash Boom Bang' prior to the encore. There was even a whisper from a fellow punter that 'Floating Like an Angel' had a touch of John Prine about it.
Sara's parting gift was the same as Sunday, although this evening's version of 'Drinkin' to Remember' needed no dedication. This is one of her older songs and represented some highlights from a rich back catalogue totalling six accomplished albums alongside gems like 'Lead the Parade', 'Little House' and 'Tiger Mountain'. A little side from her festival sets saw a couple of solo numbers, from memory 'Gold Finch' and 'Flying in Your Dreams' that don't seem to feature on any album. One wish for the future is to feature some tracks from the excellent 2017 album ROAD LESS TRAVELED. I don't think anything was played off it during the tour.
In contrast to the solo numbers, the gold lining part of the gig was Joe Coombs on guitar and Scott Warman on bass. Scott has definitely played the Kitchen before namely with Porchlight Smoker, Annie Keating and Amelia White. Joe may have come with Sam Morrow, although I only saw their Bewdley gig so cannot 100% vouch. Anyhow they both have impressed Sara so much that an invite was presented for them to gatecrash her flight home. She was smitten by Joe's rock 'n' roll guitar to supplement her own country specialist back home. He was no slouch serving the country stuff up here.
However all good nights (and tours) have to come to an end and we were left with a door open to a return in the not too distant future. The last week seeing Sara Petite and her band play two and half festival sets and a full gig has been a real treat. Prior to this, there was only a brief solo slot supporting some local act in Stroud in the gig archives to crown a decade plus of listening to her music. Much of that omission has now been shelved, though a taste for more has been left. Nights like this linger long in the memory and in what will be a shortened gig year, a worthy candidate for the number one slot has emerged.