Kristin Hersh and Grant-Lee Phillips, the Chapel, March 29, 2018
About Jacki -- we saw a lot of music together back when she lived in the Bay Area, and in fact, she was my Grant Lee Buffalo buddy for a long time, seeing their shows all over the Bay Area. I'm not sure even she understands the magnitude of the concert we saw at Slim's in 1994. It kicked my ass and opened my eyes to the power of modern American indie music. If it weren't for that gig, I'm not sure I would've found my way to Wilco, and though I think I would've discovered Largo at some point, I doubt I'd have staked my claim when I did.Fast-forward a jillion years, and she happened to schedule a visit when Kristin Hersh and Grant-Lee Phillips were in town. Of course that meant I had to break my not at all hard rule about seeing musicians from way back in my younger days. Bonus: My friend Jenn -- whom I had met in line while waiting to buy Jeff Tweedy tickets at the Fillmore, then ran into again months later at BOTH, where we were chatting for a good 20 or 30 minutes before we realized we had already met -- was there too!
If you read this blog regularly, you know I don't do a ton of research into gigs anymore. I buy the tickets, show up, and let the music work its magic. Based on the billing, I assumed this was a co-headlining tour, but didn't give much thought to how Kristin and Grant would share the stage. As it happened, we arrived mere minutes before Grant started his set, which was obviously good for us.
I've lost track of how many times I've seen Grant over the years, but it's been a while. To be frank, Largo grew and his audience did not. In addition, I heard that he's since moved out of the state, so he's less likely to drop in and hang out as he did back in the day.
What hasn't changed is his gorgeous, clear voice and the buoyant harmonies he favors. It was easy to get right back into his songs and his familiar banter. Unsurprisingly, he referenced the current political atmosphere and the songs he wrote in reaction to the 2016 election. His commentary wasn't heavy-handed, but even if it were, I wouldn't have minded. It's impossible to avoid, and I don't think you can underplay the disaster of this administration anyway. He also revisited the work of his old band with the magnificent "Mighty Joe Moon" and "Honey Don't Think," both of which remain transcendent.
Kristin Hersh was, in fact, the headliner and enjoyed a longer set than Grant. I have to admit I didn't listen to Throwing Muses during those years, despite their prestigious slot on the 4AD roster and the fact that Mori -- my dear friend and the biggest Anglophile I know -- actually liked them, American provenance and all. I don't have an explanation why, but hey, you can't listen to everything all the time. Now, of course, it's easier to see how she matched up against the songwriters of that time, and it's no mystery how she's stuck around all these years. Simply put, she has a distinct, original worldview and the craft to match it.
In their current incarnations, it can be hard to believe that Kristin and Grant arose from the same era and the same genre. Kristin addressed it herself in her opening remarks, where she contrasted Grant's happy, catchy songs with her heavier tracks. But listen in, and you'll hear an authentic record of modern life in their lyrics. And we're lucky to get to hear them over the years.
Seeing Kristin onstage, it hit me that she could be Gillian Welch's northern, hardscrabble cousin -- if you don't mind my mythologizing (and overlook the fact that Gillian grew up in Los Angeles with show-biz adoptive parents). I try not to fall into lazy generalizations, but again, give them a listen to their stories of lives lived away from the usual paths. You might hear it too.
Anyway, Kristin belied her sometimes unsettling songs with funny stories, including an interview she had done earlier that week with someone who she thought had clearly based their questions on her Wikipedia entry. She also shared a memory of driving away from her home in anger and encountering a man who was steering a snow tractor in circles. She concluded that he had probably done the same as her but had grabbed the other set of keys. And for those of us who like the hits, she did the peerless "Your Ghost."
Grant and Kristin concluded the show with a duet on one of her songs whose title escaped me, as well as some stories about their shared acquaintance. Their mutual friend John Doe came up in conversation, along with a mention of the days when VH1 actually showed their music videos. It's hard to believe these days, but it was all true for one glorious era.
See also:
» Take Me Home Country Pigeon
» i'm happy, hope you're happy too
» the shining hour
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