As some of you may know, for about twenty years I've wanted to hear Jim Lauderdale play his music live. Seeing him via the internet has been great, but you all know that it's just not the same as a live show. The planets must have aligned just right or something, because I finally got my wish last Friday, Jan. 24, at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Yay!!
The Alberta Rose Theatre started out as a neighborhood movie house in the 1920s. It now serves as a venue for live music and other events.
www.albertarosetheatre.com/info.htmlI was pleased with its small size. I used to go to shows at L.A.'s Fabulous Forum and Sports Arena (that was a LONG time ago!) and sit in the nosebleed section. This was MUCH better. My sister and I sat in the second row and were probably about twenty or so feet from the performers. Very cool!
www.albertarosetheatre.com/photogallery.htmlTwo Portland musicians, Lewi Longmire and Anita Lee Elliott, started things off. Lewi played acoustic guitar and harmonica, Anita played electric guitar; they took turns on lead and harmony vocals. I'd never heard of either of them before, as I'm woefully ignorant of Portland's music scene. I liked their music and think that they'd fit right in on Music City Roots. Here's a little info on them:
www.allmusic.com/artist/lewi-longmire-mn0000389146 (you can hear excerpts of Lewi's songs)
www.mcmenamins.com/events/121482-Lewi-Longmire-Anitia-Lee-ElliotAfter Lewi and Anita finished their set, the stage was set up for Jim's performance. A short time later, Jim walked out on stage, unannounced, and asked for a round of applause for Lewi and Anita. With no further ado, as he says on MCR, he launched into a scalding version of "Three Way Conversation". Oh my goodness, after hearing just a few bars of this, it was evident that we were in the presence of a professional musician of the highest order. OMG!! My head was exploding!! Jim performed more than two dozen of his songs, ranging from some of his earliest recordings to his very latest. He even played two songs that haven't been released yet. "I Lost You", co-written with Elvis Costello, and "I Love You More", recorded with Nick Lowe's band, will be included on albums that are due for release in March and May, if I remember correctly.
When introducing the song "Old Time Angels", Jim told us that he doesn't like singing those old folk songs where the women get murdered. That's why he (along with Daniel J. Smith) wrote "Old Time Angels", in which the ghosts of Pretty Polly, Little Sadie, Darling Corey, and others look for a chance to even the score with their slayers.
Before singing "I Might Seem Like a Loser (But I'm Really Not)" and "Troublemaker", Jim revealed that these songs are pretty descriptive of him. Who knew? Although, I'd already surmised the 'troublemaker' part from a few things Mama Megan has said in the MCR chat room.
I think that the mischievous soul we see on stage at MCR is only the tip of the iceberg.
For me, the most drop-dead stunning performance of the evening was the a capella "Shadowfall", from the new solo album, "Blue Moon Junction". And as remarkable as the album version is, hearing it live is a whole 'nother experience. We know that Jim's a great singer, and he re-confirms it every week on MCR, but I could not get over the sheer power, fluidity, and deep emotion of his voice. This has to be the single most awesome live vocal performance I've ever heard in my life.
At one point, while introducing a song that he recorded with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, he mentioned that Mr. Stanley is actually Dr. Stanley. He said that some people have wondered what kind of doctor Dr. Stanley is. Jim enlightened us by revealing that Dr. Stanley is actually a doctor of TCM, or traditional Chinese medicine. Wow -- who would have ever guessed?!
Jim was quite the funny guy on stage. This we already know from his appearances on MCR. He really had the audience in stitches, especially the lady in front of me and to the left. Jim told us that his guitar is called 'Old Cocoa' and he was lamenting the rough handling of musical instruments by the airlines. "The airlines are terrible with these instruments.........(pause for effect)...............I really need to get a case........" (imaginary 'rimshot' and laughs from the audience)
He also told us that when he visits a city to perform, he likes to assimilate with the people who show up to hear him play, and to do that in Portland, he went down to the banks of the Columbia River and filled up his water bottles with that sludgy concoction. And he was drinking the water between songs. The guy sitting next to me called out, "Don't drink the water -- from the Columbia or the Willamette!!" Everyone in the audience knew this to be true. Every time Jim took a sip of water from the bottle, the audience would crack up.
Jim brought out Portland slide guitarist and singer, David Jacobs-Strain, who we have seen on MCR at least twice, and they played a down and dirty, gritty, bluesy version of "Throw My Bucket Down". Then Lewi and Anita came back out and the four musicians played "Headed For the Hills", on which Jim asked the audience to sing along on the chorus -- which, of course, we happily did. And we didn't sound half bad!
After that, if I deciphered my notes correctly, which is kind of iffy, all four musicians left the stage. Jim returned shortly thereafter and sang several more songs. Five more, in fact, according to my notes, at least I think so. The notes were scribbled rather haphazardly on the back of my ticket receipt. Uff da.
Here's a list of the songs he performed:
Three Way Conversation
Hummingbird
Whisper
Honky Tonk Mood Again
Old Time Angels
I Might Seem Like a Loser (But I'm Really Not)
I Loved Her After All
Can We Find Forgiveness
Lost in the Lonesome Pines
I Feel Like Singing Today
I Will Wait for You
Troublemaker
Patchwork River
Trashcan Tomcat
Divide and Conquer
Life By Numbers
That's Not the Way It Works
Shadowfall
I Lost My Job of Loving You
The King of Broken Hearts
Throw My Bucket Down (with David Jacobs-Strain)
Headed For the Hills (audience sing along, backed by David, Lewi, and Anita)
Where the Sidewalk Ends
I Love You More
I Lost You
Hole In My Head
Halfway Down
After the show was over, I had the opportunity to talk to Jim in the lobby. I probably should mention that he was wearing a pin striped Manuel suit and he looked great. And his hair really is as awesome as we think it is. We chatted for a few minutes, then my sister showed up and she chatted with him a little bit. Then he gave us each a hug and we thanked him and left. I was surprised by how soft spoken and shy/reserved he was offstage. My sister was surprised at how funny he was. It was a wonderful night of music and truly worth the twenty year wait. I would strongly encourage anyone who has the chance to see him perform live to jump at it -- you will not regret it.
***** Photos (courtesy of my sister) to follow. I have to ask her some stuff about uploading them. *****
Cali
But meanwhile, if you do see Tim L, take a pic and post it up here! ha ha ha
