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Mary Gauthier + Ben Glover

Venue: Hawkswell Theatre
Town: Sligo
Date: 4th May
Website: http://www.marygauthier.com/

Hailing from the Glens of Antrim, but now domiciled in Nashville, Ben Glover strolls on stage and says"Good evening Sligo. I've never said THAT before", and eases into a set which combined his own -very impressive-material with wry observations of life, and quiet homage to some of his heroes. Singer songwriters are these days springing from every nook and cranny, many of whom should postpone leaving the bedsit for a while longer, but I sense that with material like No Means Yes, and Whatever Happens Will we are witnessing someone who is in the game for the long haul. His assured vocal performance, and solid guitar work provide the architecture needed for these songs to make a wider mark, and the choice of covers-Gram Parson's Grievous Angel and Van's Into The Mystic-the set closer-are, in their execution, quite inspired.

It is my first time to witness a live gig by Mary Gauthier, though familiar with some, though not all, of her material. Her entrance is quiet and unfussy, but as the gig goes on, it is evident that we are not only witnessing a concert performance, but the aural equivalent of cardiac surgery. As the lady said herself" Last year, I had my heart ripped out and stomped all over", and songs like "I Drink"-maybe her signature reinforce the confessional mode. She is, though, also a keen observer of the human condition, as her song about Hurricane Katrina shows. Not alone that, but she writes train songs which are reminiscent of the best of Utah Phillip's stuff. !The best songs come, not from rhyming dictionaries, but from the distillation of human experience into three or four minute melodic and lyrical capsules, most perfectly realised in work like Mercy Now, for which Ben Glover joins her on stage, and subsequently finishes out the set.

This is a performance of skill, craft, and intimacy, which, at its conclusion brings the audience to its feet as one, an experience which will resonate in the memory for a long time to come. At its core, life-affirming, really.

Words: Oliver P. Sweeney
Picture Neil King (not taken at gig)