Venue:
St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford
Date: 12/05/2016
With the voice of an angel a church is a fitting venue for a gig by Laura Cantrell. Touring to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of her debut album, “Not The Tremblin’ Kind”, albeit a year late, and a new vinyl LP of BBC sessions, she’s backed by the excellent John Spencer on guitar, lap steel and piano, Jordan Caress on bass and a new, young looking Mancunian drummer, whose name I didn’t catch. With a paisley shirt, massive side burns and a youthful demeanour her drummer looks like he’d be more at home in Supergrass than playing alt-country. However, on a small kit comprising a bass drum, snare and hi-hat his minimalist stick and brush work complements the band beautifully.
Having grown up in Nashville in the same street as Kitty Wells, then following a career in the financial district of Manhattan before signing to Teenage Fanclub’s drummer, John Francis’s Spit and Polish label and being fervently championed by John Peel; in many ways Cantrell manages to bring together the worlds of “traditional” country, Americana and indie music. As befits this anniversary show there are a fair number of songs from Cantrell’s debut in the set and the spirits of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Kitty Wells are never far away.
Half way through the gig Laura introduces us to what she describes as the “Women’s Studies” section of the concert. This starts with “Kitty Wells Dresses”, inspired by her childhood hero and a show she did at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in conjunction with an exhibition on Wells in 2009. Kitty Wells was the first female performer to have a number one hit in the US country charts. In the 1950s many record companies were often unwilling to release country albums by female artists; however, Wells showed that women could shift units, paving the way for Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Cantrell herself.
In contrast, “Queen Of The Coast” tells the tale of Bonnie Owens, a downtrodden figure who was married to Buck Owens and then Merle Haggard. After winning the Academy Of Country Music’s “Female Vocalist Of The Year” in 1965, she wedded Haggard and spent the rest of her career looking after his children and singing backing vocals for him, even after they divorced. Cantrell relates a tale as to how, whilst getting Bonnie to sign her collection of 7” vinyl hits from the 1960s, outside Haggard’s silver tour bus in New York, Bonnie is suddenly ordered inside by the bus’s driver because Merle’s shirts needed ironing. She also tells us that whilst writing to John Peel to enquire as to the welfare of his daughter, she gets a postcard from him saying, “she’s washing and ironing and picking up”. It takes the bemused Cantrell a little while to realise that it’s a direct quote from “Queen Of The Coast” and that Peel hasn’t press ganged his daughter into pressing his shirts!
Cantrell makes no secret of the fact that she’s a big fan of Haggard, who died at the age of 79 last month, and covers his song “Silver Wings” as a tribute. Bringing us closer to home we’re played “one of our folk songs”, a countrified version of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes”, before she closes with another Haggard song, the appropriately named “Sing Me Back Home”.
The audience:
Referential as befits a church with enthusiastic applause after each song.
It made me think..
It’s 13 years since I last saw Laura Cantrell live. I’ve no idea why I left it so long to see her again.
johnw says
Well it’s five years since I saw the fabulous LC and I know exactly why. She keeps playing awful venues! I suppose I was spoilt a bit as I saw her a few times down at the Borderline – the first time it was just her and a guitar (I’d never heard of her, I think she was supporting Ben Vaughn). The last time was a brilliant gig at a rammed Water Rats shortly before Kitty Wells Dresses came out.
Since then, within a sensible drive from here, all she’s played is churches and MK Stables. Either uncomfortable or soulless or worse, both. I’m not sure where the best place is for her to play these days but I’d love to see her again but in a decent venue.
The Pizza Kid says
St John the Evangelist Church isn’t a bad venue. Seats with some upholstery, certainly more comfortable than the wooden pews of the Union Chapel and the acoustics are OK.
DogFacedBoy says
Saw The Unthanks at St John’s last year. Brilliant venue, excellent acoustics and intimate atmosphere.
The Borderline? – sweaty cramped grotty little cellar
johnw says
Sweaty cramped cellar? Sounds like the perfect place for a gig. When I’ve seen Laurus Cattrall at the borderline though, it was neither sweaty or cramped because it was generally half empty. I must admit that when I’m being disparaging about gigs in churches, I’m mainly talking about the awful Union Chazel.
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks for a fine review. I am seriously envious. It sounds as though Laura is as good as ever live.
DuCool and I saw her once in Stockholm at a venue that I’ve never heard of before or since and she was magnificent. And full of Southern charm at the merch table afterwards.
Love vigilantes? Must hear that.
duco01 says
” … in Stockholm at a venue that I’ve never heard of before or since …”
Yes, I was thinking of that gig when I first read Pizza Kid’s review.
It was in some grotty canteen-like area in the basement of some hotel near Skanstull.
I remember that Ms Cantrell was delighted to meet Kaisfatdad, because he is the spitting image of John Peel – and of course Peelie was a great champion of Laura’s music, inviting her to Peel Acres to perform a live radio session.