The moment the stars of the show strolled through the audience
to take their place on the stage, you knew the years were about to be rolled
back with the unveiling of phase 2 of the My Darling Clementine project. The
retro theme may have decorated the larger of the two Hare and Hounds music
rooms, both in visual and sound terms, but the presentation by Michael Weston
King and Lou Dalgleish ensures a contemporary relevance is added to their
harnessing and re-interpreting of a golden age in duet inspired country music.
Twelve months on from gracing the very same venue with a
helping to savour from their debut album, the duo assisted by a polished and experienced
5-piece band managed to raise the experience to a level likely to be
unprecedented on the home grown circuit. My Darling Clementine have developed
that bridging knack of taking what is a very traditional country sound and successfully
reaching out to a wider country, roots and Americana audience. There is no need
for pseudo American accents and ample tongue-in-cheek chat liberally fills
their stage show but make no mistake the immense quality of song writing, musicianship
and vocal delivery left an indelible mark on those fortunate to be present at this
well-attended Birmingham gig.
For those who like a little structure to their gigs, Michael
and Lou bookended their 90 minute performance with half a dozen tracks from the
first album including the fabulous trio of ‘Going
Back to Memphis’, ‘Departure Lounge’ and ‘Reserved for Me and You’. The middle section saw a near complete
serving of the new record, THE RECONCILIATION?, and the fuller sound to these
11 tracks demonstrated the positive development the band have made in taking
the concept of marital disharmony and evolving the sound without any degree of authentic
compromise.
With the help of the opening artist, Paul Murphy, taking the
role of Kinky Friedman mediating on the album’s opening track ‘Unhappily Ever After’, the songs from
this highly commendable album were taken to greater heights with their live
performance. The posters extravagantly proclaimed the tour as 'at these dance
halls' and the ambience of this re-creation couldn’t have come across as
any better. The high points of the middle segment were definitely the
exceptional pair of tracks which cast away the subtleties of the first album
being an ode to Tammy and George. Michael, combining his mature and re-assuring
vocal style with acoustic guitar playing, took great pride in explaining the
writing process that gave birth to the classic ‘The Gospel According to George’, while Lou adopted a fervent feminist
stance on the emotional ‘No Matter What
Tammy Said (I Won’t Stand By Him).
The accomplished band featuring Alan Cook on pedal steel, as
well as mandolin on the Latino influenced ‘King
of the Carnival’, did an exceptional job providing the backdrop to the
intrinsic timing of Michael and Lou’s duet performance. The passion-induced and
emotive-laced vocal delivery by Lou provides a critical dimension to her role
in My Darling Clementine which flits from song writing to a little keyboard
playing on the sentimental encore track ‘Miracle
Mabel’, all mixed with a sense of dry irony to add spice to the onstage and
audience banter.
This uplifting evening of pure country gold will live in the
memory for an exceedingly long time and the talents of Michael and Lou should
be cherished by all those intent on preserving a precious sound. There will no
doubt come a point where big decisions on the future direction of the My
Darling Clementine project will need to be made but in the meantime grab both albums,
get down to your local dance hall and treat yourself to the delights of how
proper country music should be made.
Set List: I Bought Some Roses. Going Back to Memphis. Departure Lounge. Unhappily Ever After. No Heart in this Heartache. I Can't Live Without You (When I Can't Live With Myself). Our Race is Run. Leave the Good Book on the Shelf. No Matter What Tammy Said (I Won't Stand by Him). I No Longer Take Pride. King of the Carnival. The Gospel According to George. Ashes, Flowers and Dust. Reserved for Me and You. Nothing Left to Say.Goodbye Week Encore: Miracle Mabel, 100000 Words
Photos courtesy of Pete Saunders
Photos courtesy of Pete Saunders
