Reviews
Artist:Gateshead Americana Festival
Venue:The Sage
Town:Gateshead
Date:22-25/07/10
Website:http://www.jumpinhot.com/
The fourth year of The SummerTyne Americana Festival, staged by The Sage and The Jumpin' Hot Club, more than proved it has found its way into the diaries and hearts of many. It has come to represent, for most of us, I think, a celebration of music; three days of roots-based music, meaning that during the course of the weekend, both inside and outside of the Sage, almost every aspect of the genre is covered, in style, by a variety of over thirty acts from both sides of the Atlantic. A three day showcase of Americana music at its best; blues, soul, country , bluegrass, jazz, folk, Cajun, gospel and everything between.
Thursday 22nd
Technically, proceedings had kicked off on Thursday, with the unveiling of the concert poster exhibition on the concourse and the Stateside photography collection (from the Side Cafe's gallery), both of which I greatly enjoyed perusing during the weekend; especially the photographs, all in black and white and many portraying a side of America's History that we don't usually get to see in this medium. Also in Hall 1 was the Great Broadway Musicals, featuring songs from The Wild West, among others. I heard that attendance for this was a little disappointing but that it was a great show.
Friday 23rd
Local acts set the ball rolling from Friday lunchtime on the Jumpin' Hot Outdoor Stage, for those lucky enough not to be at work! Shipcote and Friends, Gem Andrews, Kentucky Cow Tippers, Bridie Jackson, Jack maple, Archie Brown and Sour Mash Trio, it seems, got toes tapping well in advance of Saturday's offerings.
The main line up in Hall 1 featured soul/blues outfit Phantom Limb from Bristol ahead opf the 70-year-old "King of Rock 'n' Soul" Solomon Burke, for whom this was a well received return to The Sage, and I believe, SummerTyne. I heard the next day that he had four young women - two of whom were his daughters - dressed, in Martian-red dresses, orbiting around him as part of a12-piece band. How intriguing - I guess you had to be there, but he certainly had tongues wagging, so to speak!
Hall 2's Friday night performance was also much talked about; Murder, Misery and then Goodnight - an evening of old time murder ballads, featuring The Handsome Family, Tim Eriksen, Howe Gelb, Eliza Carthy, Kristin Hersh and David Coulter; with special guests including Dayna Kurtz.
Saturday 24th
The Sage was literally a hive of activity all day, with people running in and out, myself included, in an effort to catch as much as possible. There were public tours of the building throughout the weekend as well as the various exhibitions and a wide array of special musical appearances and screenings in the SummerTyne Lounge. Unfortunately most of the ones I was interested in clashed with peformances but the room appeared full for most of the weekend. Tim Eriksen hosted a Shapenote singing school in St Mary's Church, opposite the Sage and some of us were lucky enough to see them perform what they had been working on all morning, out on the concourse. There were, as usual, Margarita and American Food themed stalls around the concourse and the outside area to keep people fed and watered for the weekend. The Children's Room featured American singing and music workshops for 'little cowgirls and cowboys,' which I thought was an inspired idea, whilst The Jumpin' Hot Stage, which again was blessed with dry, pleasant weather all weekend, played host to an array of musical acts. The East Nashville Songwriter's showcase apparently went down a storm, as did The Hi and Lo. The highlight in my opinion was Otis Gibbs, whose folk blues had those on Performance Square hanging on his every word. The Toy Hearts, The Handsome Family and The Holmes Brothers kept toes tapping throughout the afternoon with their various styles of music.
I was lucky to catch three of the acts in Hall 2; first up being Rachel Harrington. The Seattle based duo performed songs from both 'The Bootlegger's Daughter' and the more recent follow up album 'City of Refuge' Backed by local ex Lindisfarne Rod Clements on dobro, their down to earth banter and wonderful storytelling and musicianship, resulted in over and hour simply disappearing amongst the beauty that was songs such as Mississippi John Hurst's Louis Collins, Laura Veir's Up The River, Sunshine Girl, Summer's Gone, Mr Dream Seller, and my personal favourite, a stunning version of the gospel standard, I Don't want to Get adjusted to this world, during which Rachel encouraged the audience to sing along with her and Rod, who also treated us to one of his own songs during the set, Whiskey Highwy, with gorgeous backing vocals from Rachel.
Dayna Kurtz was a name I'd heard a lot of recently, not least at the hands of Bob Harris, so I was excited to see her play. Maybe not being familiar with her music was, in this instance, a pitfall, as I was left a little bemused by the end of her set. Possibly I just felt that her at times almost mournful music didn't fit in with the festival atmosphere, as I was stunned by her beautiful voice, which seemed to go from husky to a whisper in a nanosecond. That said, she received great applause, having taken us through a selection of her songs; Venezuela, inspired by a dream, On the Banks of the Adislow, which we learned is a red river. I enjoyed her storytelling between songs and her at times humorous, almost deprecating manner, showing she is very much down to earth.
Elizabeth Cook made a welcome return both to The Sage and to SummerTyne, this time as a trio which included songwriting husband Tim Carroll and double bassist Bones Hillman. It also has to be said that she was wearing one of the most gorgeous dresses I've ever seen on anyone; on or off stage! The 21st centrury honkytonker delivers like any of her older counterparts, citing Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn as two of her greatest influences, as is referenced in the song Dolly, yet adds a modern twist for a new generation. However, for me, she shines when she puts her beautiful Southern voice to a ballad, none more haunting on this occasion than Mama's Funeral - it may or may not be widely known that her mother died a couple of years ago and was also a musician. Whilst incredibly moving, this song is above all a celebration of a life. Another such example is the achingly beautiful Heroin Addict Sister, which epitomises unconditional love. The line comparing the needle to the devil's DNA just took my breath away as she delivered in on stage.
Other songs from her new CD Welder, were peppered with well loved songs such as the women's anthem Balls, which had all the ladies singing along. Surprisingly for some, Elizabeth is also a talented clogger, changing her shoes and clogging all over the stage whilst Tim played one of his fabulous songs, TGV. This illustrates the other side of Elizabeth Cook - as well as her set being about great music, she also fills it with stories, fun and laughter.
pics:Outside Stage - Mark Savage, Elizabeth Cook - Lauren Holloway