Reviews
Artist:Gateshead Americana Festival
Venue:The Sage
Town:Gateshead
Date:25-26/07/09
Website:http://www.jumpinhot.com/
Saturday
Sunday remained true to form with music outside and in the various rooms of The Sage, throughout the day. Unfortunately due to the rain -though thankfully there was no Fog on the Tyne (apologies to Lindisfarne) - a second stage had to be set up on the concourse inside the Sage so the music could go on. I was actually very impressed by this and it certainly proves how committed the Sage are to making these weekends a success.
The special guest to start things off was Diana Jones, playing a few songs ahead of her Hall 2 show later in the afternoon. I suspect she may have won some new fans from just this short set, such is her voice and way with the audience.
Local band Mother’s Ruin then took to the stage, joined by none other than Shipcote (aka Graham Anderson, Jumpin’ Hot Club front man!) He jammed with them for a while, showing he can both sing and play guitar. I was very impressed with Mother’s Ruin and was pleased they would be opening for Diana Jones later.
The Lost Brothers were playing as I wandered into Hall 2 and from what little I heard they had a pleasant sound. I missed Jon Allen’s set, which by then had moved back outside, thankfully, but heard he played a decent set.
Mother’s Ruin opened things up in Hall 2, a local band, who apparently all graduated with the folk degree from the Sage. (The Sage also acts as a music education centre.) The first thing that struck me is that we have some great local talent. The second was how lovely it is to see such young people embracing the folk tradition as they are and clearly loving it. Haunting lead vocals came from Beth who literally has a voice like an angel. Musical accompaniment came in the form of guitar, mandolin and banjo, from three very talented musicians, giving their set a distinctly bluegrass mountain sound. They are recording later this year and I will look forward to seeing what they produce.
I had heard the name Diana Jones so many times and finally cracked and got her new CD. That was enough to make me decide to see her play live. Obviously many have beaten me to this discovery as Hall 2 was close to full. Hailing from Appalachia, though she only discovered this heritage in recent years, residing in Nashville, Diana took the stage solo, accompanying herself on guitar and stomp machine. Opening her set with Trouble in Mind, it was obvious from the outset that her voice is even more striking live, bearing some resemblance to the great Iris DeMent at times as she blends country, folk, blues and bluegrass to create a sound reminiscent of her roots in West Virginia. All God’s Children followed, a very touching song delivered beautifully and reminding us that ‘All God’s children travel life’s highway.’ A new song followed, written when she was fed up during the last cold Nashville winter.
The highlight of her set for me came in the next song, from the current CD, it is a love song inspired by something the French-Cuban author Anais Nin said about the poet Blake; ‘Blake was cracked, that’s where the light shone through.’ Just beautiful. To be able to create that from nine words somebody said, is such a gift.
An acapella song followed which really demonstated the unique quality. She told us about her dog, Finnigan, a Jack Russell recently rescued who lives with a friend whilst she is away and is the official greeter of her printing firm. He is the only one thus far who had heard the next song, inspired by a letter she was sent by a childhood friend, about to be released from prison. She clearly holds a special place for him, telling us ‘The song feels more about redemption than about regret.’ Another stirring song followed this introduction, not marred in the slightest by the fact that she mixed up her verses and had to backtrack, just laughing at her mistake.
A song about addiction and redemption followed, which had come about as the music of Johnny Cash and old Southern Gospel Songs to which she had been listening came together. The language and phrases she uses, in my mind, prove her a prolific songwriter, in the vein of Gretchen Peters or Matraca Berg. Interestingly the latter has recorded one of her songs recently, If I Had a Gun, which Diana introduced by telling us the conversation which inspired it never got as dark as the song!
Introducing us to Rosebud, her 1929 Martin tenor guitar, she told us of a recent happy break in where they left Rosebud behind. Inspired by English hills when touring with Richard Thompson, she wrote a song about the Appalachian Hills, which are being desecrated by mountain top removal. This song will feature on a soundtrack to a documentary about the mining, which will feature other artists including Kathy Mattea. It is funny how things come around as only 6 months ago, Kathy herself, also from West Virginia, was standing on the same stage singing us her Coal songs, telling us about the same issue.
Noticing someone recording her, she said it was fine, but could they please film her face, telling us the story of how some guy back home uploaded three videos to youtube of just her boots. They are fab boots, mind!
The touching Pony followed, which recalls a time in America when native American children were rounded up and put in settlement schools, and their culture, religion and names were basically taken from them. Told from the perspective of a boy named Pony it is a powerful story, which reminds us that native Americans have had a rough deal over the years.
Diana stated we were up to the ‘sad portion’ of the show, joking that really it’s all sad and either everyone must love sad songs as much as she does or be wondering what they are doing. Then she quipped ‘I’d love for someone to bring a first date to one of my shows...’ However, the next song really was sad, about a man from Stirling, Scotland, named Henry Russell, who had moved his family to West Virginia so he could work the mines and give his wife and three daughters a better life. When he was out there waiting for them to join him he wrote her letters, which always said ‘Oh I love you Mary.’ In 1927 there was a cave-in at the mine and 111 men died. He survived for three hours, in which time he wrote Mary a last letter. His daughter shared the letters with Diana and the song is also to be used on the coal documentary. I for one was choking back tears at his story.
Dedicating Better Times will Come to President Obama, she told us she wrote it when things were bad, then they got worse. Now she thinks they are on the up and is thankful for Obama’s intelligence. Interestingly it gave the song a whole new meaning. She then ended with a song she wrote for her audiences, very genuinely acknowledging that she has the best job in the world and is thankful that we allow her to do it.
Too soon it seemed she was thanking us and exiting the stage, though she was soon back for an encore, ending the night with a story about her grandmother and a beautiful song she wrote for her after she died. Commenting on the incredible acoustics in the room, she said she’d like to try something and, stepping to the side of the stage sang the whole song a cappella and off mic. Something in those three minutes was magical, hearing the natural acoustics in that room bounce her voice out from the stage, really demonstrating her ability as a singer. A perfect end to a great show, it seemed hard at that moment to believe that with an afternoon of music still to go, better times will come.
pics:Shipcote with Mother's Ruin, Diana Jones-Photocredit Helen Mitchell