Last Wednesday evening we listened to Will Kimbrough, Marshall Chapman and Mary Gauthier offer up their art with melodies and words that dance perfectly together and always leave me smiling... even the sad songs...
Will started with "Piece of Work" that he said was written from the bathroom of the neonatal unit of Baptist Hospital... you can take a listen if that piques your interest... and it should...
Marshall shared a bit about her childhood in South Carolina, saying she didn't know she was white until she was old enough to jump up and see herself in the mirror.She saw Elvis at age 7 from the 'colored' balcony of the Carolina Theater, taken there by the family's cook. She recalled that she was often asked, "Why can't you be like other girls?"
"They didn't even bother to ask me that shit." Mary replied.
Mary led her set with "I Drink".I have much love for Mary Gauthier and her writing. She has some great videos of live performances and interviews on her site. You should get to know her...
Will rounded out his set with "Love to Spare"; "Champion of the World"*; "Say that You'll be Mine" (performed with Brigitte DeMeyer); "Nobody from Nowhere"* that included Will's infamous guitar picking, a version of which Harry taped during a live performance at Grimey's in 2009; "Philadelphia, MS" "...she never felt at home until she ran away..." (love that line); ending his set with "A Couple Hundred Miracles" "...every step's a miracle, every breath's a gift, so I wear a smile and grateful prayer upon my lips. Tomorrow's just a mystery; I believe I'll take a couple hundred miracles a day..."
As I said at the beginning, smile inducing craft...
Marshall's performance included "I Love Everybody, I Love Everything" "...I got no agenda, I just wanna dance and sing..."; a newly written song with a Bo Didley rhythm, "Sexogenarian", "... loving you's like loving the wind, can't hold you in my hand, loving you's like loving the stars, how I wonder where you are..."; "Leaving Loachapoka", inspired by a musician from Loachapoka, Alabama that played with her in Road Scholars. "Loachapoka is such a fun word to say; I had to write a song about it."
Marshall also read an expert from her book, They Came to Nashville, about the first time she met Billy Jo Shaver. Listen to the same reading from The Station Inn during AMA last year. You really should read the book...
Next was "Tim Revisited", ending her set with another new tune, my notes of which I can not read, but thoroughly enjoyed nonetheless...
Mary's second song, "Your Sister Cried", featured Tania Elizabeth providing harmony and fiddle.
Mary shared that her recently received award for "Gay Country Songwriter of the Year" was something of a 'give-me' category since she was about the only one it seemed. "I was kind of worried the first time I played at the home of bluegrass in Nashville; I thought I might be getting in a situation to get myself killed, but I have been welcomed and it sure does feel good." This opened her "Drag Queens in Limousines" with "... sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and pray that those that love you will catch up with you..." Next came "The Last of the Hobo Kings" inspired by the obituary of Steamboat Maury.
Mary's next song was "Prayer for the Souls Departed"*. She recounted that the monies from that song allowed her to purchase a good car for the first time in her life. "It just didn't seem right to put Jimmy Buffett money in an IRA. It made much more sense to buy something good and enjoy it, so I did."
Mary ended the evening's performance with the beautiful song, "Mercy Now", some of my most favorite lyrics ever...
Tania Elizabeth accompanied Mary on each of her songs, providing beautiful harmony and fantastic fiddle playing. Having been trained in classical music, Tania wowed the already enamoured crowd with "Le Reel Du Pendu" also known as "Hangman's Reel", delivered perfectly.
I love my town...
Smiles and music,
Karan
* also recorded by Jimmy Buffett
