Laura , Chicago, August 17

[johnfoyle]

http://southbymidwest.blogspot.com/2005/08/something-to-blog-about-or-reason-to.html


No one who sings a whiskey ballad can be all bad.

Maybe, it's just 'cause it's been a while since I've seen a good country show, but man, I'm a Laura Cantrell fan for life (if she'll have me).

I've been missing a good country show with this summer of RAWK. The schism of those songs. The peace vs. the pain. The open hand vs. the closed fist. Fond memories vs. tragic pasts. Rock, even at it's best, just can't touch it.

Ms. Cantrell was down at Schubas supporting her excellent new release of old-timey NYC country, "Humming from the Flowered Vine."

Backed by a stellar band, she played some of the best songs I've heard in a long time. Her bittersweet urban-spun originals, not to mention a few modern folk songs (mountain murder ballads vs. hobo train songs), and some other great ones by Lucinda Williams, Amy Allison, and others.

She seemed rather surprised by the attentiveness of the Chicago crowd, relative to her NYC home. Thank god. I hate a chatty crowd (see: DoubleDoor) and I guess that's another reason why I'll probably never live in NYC. The fistfights at shows alone...

posted by Deadman at 12:10 AM

http://gurs.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 18, 2005
Indoor Fireworks

Yesterday I bore witness to a very beautiful concert. Laura Cantrell graced us with her Nashville come NYC country charm and city wit. Beautiful melodies accompanied with guitar, mandolin, and string bass. And, by the way, yesterday I fell in love with the bowed bass. Real country music has so much to offer. Great stories, good people, and music for the sake of music. One of Laura Cantrell’s songs from her new CD is a song that her aunt collected as a schoolteacher years ago, taking a trip into the Eastern Tennessee Appalachians to capture some pieces of American folk history. Rawk!

I also did something that I hadn’t done in a long time and that was grab a copy of the setlist after the show. This was mostly because it just looked like it was sitting there unloved and what better than to give it a good home. The last one I grabbed was after an Elliott Smith show in May 2000.

I realized today that in the past year and a half I have bought records from Laura Cantrell, Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, Rilo Kiley and Joanna Newsom. Am I losing my edge?

posted by gurs at 1:10 PM | 0 comments

[johnfoyle]

Cool photo here -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77141920@N00/36095179/

Uploaded on August 21, 2005
by Caffrin

with this comment -

' Went to check her out at Schuba's with Coleman. She was lovely, as was her music. Cole made fun of me when I exclaimed, "She looks so nice! She could go to church in that outfit!" Which she sooooooo could.'

[johnfoyle]

http://www.illinoisentertainer.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1625

Illinois Entertainer

Schubas, Chicago
Wednesday, August 17, 2005

There's a sizable strand of country singers who think Lucinda Williams is it. The gritty, whiskey-and-cigarettes tell-all thing has empowerment written all over it, especially compared to the endless stream of little girls Nashville pawns off as artists. But quietly, with Laura Cantrell among them, some find heroines in desert rose types like Emmylou Harris and Tammy Wynette, where attention isn't on the stereotype but being a Southern performer.

Cantrell was practically apologetic for it, acting somewhat guilty for all the covers in her set in lieu of her frequently standard-worthy originals. But Wednesday, in her conservative farmer's wife get-up and gentle, practically Oklahoman accent (ironically she's from Nashville), her agrarian appeal was her greatest asset. "14th Street" can hardly be considered a cover -- written by a close friend -- and managed to recast New York City as Anytown U.S.A., a modern "Walking After Midnight."

"Old Downtown" lacked the memory-clouding production that aids the album version, conversely the arrangement of the traditional "Poor Ellen Smith" lent itself to the hoedown. Time hasn't touched "Not The Tremblin' Kind," the title cut from her debut, giving it the feel of a classic.

But the audience's appreciation for Cantrell didn't appear to be an anticipatory "I hope she plays this" mentality, it was more like the pleasant surprise of jiving with an unknown opening band. It was very punk rock in how she made it all appear so do-able, that Cantrell really is country and not some packaged personality.

-- Steve Forstneger

[twoseconds]

gurs

I've been trying to find out what songs Laura played that night. Please, publish your setlist.

[Paulw]

gurs

I've been trying to find out what songs Laura played that night. Please, publish your setlist.

Maybe you should ask gurs - he might not read this board.

[johnfoyle]

A recording of the show just before this one has surfaced -

http://zombtracker.the-zomb.com/login.php?returnto=%2Fdetails.php%3Fid%3D17923

'Laura Cantrell August 16, 2005 Beachland Tavern Cleveland, Ohio '

I haven't heard it yet so can't say how good it may be.