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Caitlin Rose

Venue: The Sage
Town: Gateshead
Date: 11/9/13
Website: http://www.thecaitlinrose.com

I will admit I had never heard of Caitlin Rose until recently. Her newest CD, The Stand In, arrived theoiugh my lettebox to review and I was blown away. Then her name popped up in The Sage's listings and I knew I had to see her live!

The setup was gorgeous; Hall 2 was laid out with cabaret seating, each table holding a candle in a hurricane jar. It felt cosy, intimate and perfect for live music. The strange thing was that it later emerged that Caitlin's favourite film is actually Cabaret!

Support for the evening was a new name to us all; indeed, a member of Caitlin's own band...Andrew Combs. He strode onstage solo and instantly made an impression. Taking us through a selection of old and new songs, he charmed us with his versatile vocals as he delivered Among The Bad Habits, All These Dreams and Please, Please, Please. The stand out for me, was Like a Pearl (I loved the line "A Rainbow from a puddle.") I also loved Sewanee County, named after the county where it was written. I will let him tell you the touching story sometime, but I loved the lyric "Lost in the wonders of amazing grace."

Borriwing Caitlin's band, and indeed, Caitlin's guitar, he delivered a completely different sound, which was also vety enjoyable. In this format, we heard Part Time Lovers (Full Time fools) with its gorgeous pedal steel accompaniment and the bluesy sounding Wronged Man, the title track of his new CD. Also evident was his great sense of humour and ability to charm a crowd. He ended his set by getting us all to sing with him on the great Emily. By the end most present were joining in with gusto. Certainly the best support act I have seen in a very long time and I sincerely hope we will be both seeing and hearing more from this guy very soon!

Caitlin Rose took to the stage, greeting us with, "Hello, are you all spooky? My name's Caitlin Rose and we're gonna play you some songs." She looks so young and petite that as soon as she sings you can't help but wonder where on earth that voice comes from; her voice certainly belies her years. Between them, she and her band had a multitude of instruments covered, from acoustic and elctric guitars to tambourine, pedal steel and drums. They worked in perfect harmony; never once were her vocals overpowered by an instrument.

Launching into Spare Me, she seemed a little nervous, but delivered nonetheless. As she relaxed, her smile lit up the stage, her personality shone through and a truly magical night unfolded. We were treated to songs from all of her three albums; at times she reminded me vocally of Brandi Carlisle (a huge compliment coming from me) and at times of someone I couldn't quite place. I love how she sings true old style country but gives it a totally accessible 2013 twist.

As she delivered story after story, song after song, we fell further under her spell. Her voice soared through For the Rabbits, Pink Champagne, Only a Clown, and Old Numbers, her talent was laid out bare for all to see. The band left her to marvel at the use of metaphor in country songs; she sang us a segment of metaphorical songs, including a Dolly Parton song and her own, My Sinful Wishing Well. It's funny, the metaphorical nature is something I've always loved about this genre of music and I'm sure having grown up with it, it fuelled my love of language. Other covers included a Jim Croce song she said we'd all relate to, and a couple of covers of her current favourite bands; The Fleece Brothers and The National. Both bands were new to me, but on the strength of her delivery I'll be looking them up.

At one point she called Andrew Combs back out on stage, where she sang perfect harmony withhim. Their voices blended beautifully and she is clearly skilled at knowing where harmony ends and a duet begins. Too Stoned to Cry was just beautiful and I really hope a version of them singing it together exists.

All too soon it was over and after we worked hard for it we were rewarded with an encore which included a beautiful rendition of Shanghai Cigarettes.

Mindful of the date, the 12th anniversary of 9-11 and having a personal connection to the event, it occurred to me how lovely it was on that date having an American connection and that somehow sharing music as we did seemed the perfect way to spend such an evening.

True to her word, she signed CDs afterwards and was absolutely charming. I think it is safe to say Caitlin Rose, the Sage and the audience formed a rapport which I really hope will bring her back to play for us again soon. Caitlin? Don't leave us Waitin' too long!

Helen Mitchell
photocredit Neil King (Not taken at gig)