Cowboy Junkies @ State Theater (Ithaca) 2.5.09
Growing up near the Canadian border, international radio introduced me to a number of artists in the mid-90’s. Without the ease of access into the music world now available, to expand my musical landscape it required influences timeless, fading and obsolete: recommendations and word of mouth still come from various sources, radio is less an influence than it was and MTV is now a punch line. Canadian radio introduced me to The Cowboy Junkies and inspired my purchase of the compilation Studio: Selected Studio Recordings 1986-1995, which has been a staple of my music collection for over a decade.
Studio pulls tracks from the bands first decade of material, including the much-acclaimed album The Trinity Session from 1998 (for what it’s worth, the 42nd best album of the 80’s, according to Pitchfork). The compilation provides an ideal introduction to this band’s unique sound, a combination of blues, country, rock and pop. Brothers Michael (guitar) and Peter (drums) Timmins, along with bassist Alan Anton, lay down a deliberate groove as a foundation for their sister, Margo, to sing over. She possesses one of the most distinct and affecting voices in music (certainly one of my favorite female vocalists, along with Neko Case, who will be back in Ithaca in April).
The band opened the Evening With show with a version of oft-covered Crossroads unlike any I had heard before. This band creates mood music reminiscent of the soundtrack to a dark film. They followed with two songs familiar to me from Studio, Shining Moon and A Common Disaster and through the night mixed new songs from an upcoming release with material from throughout their catalogue, including To Love Is To Bury and Working On A Building, from The Trinity Session. The show ended with the encore of Blue Moon Revisited (A Song For Elvis), another staple found on both Studio and Trinity (...it would have been nice to hear the band’s definitive cover of Sweet Jane, but...).
A highlight of the show was the presence of Jeff Bird, apparently the unofficial fifth member of the band (he has been playing with them for over twenty years). He added texture and depth to the songs through the evening, with a variety of stringed instruments and harmonica, but primarily with electric mandolin, which created a smooth, sustaining accent to compliment the vocals.
So, the slow burn of the Cowboy Junkies helped warm the State Theater on a frigid February night in Ithaca. This was my first event at the State in the new year, but coming soon are shows from Keller Williams, Gomez/Josh Ritter and Neko Case. Check out the State website for a full calendar and details:
http://www.stateofithaca.com/
Also, I encourage those in the area to check out Dan Smalls Presents for information about other upcoming shows in Ithaca, such as AC Newman, Rhett Miller and the Felice Brothers at Castaways:
http://www.dansmallspresents.com/smallsworld/
For those looking to get into the Cowboy Junkies, Studio is a great starting point, and the Ithaca show is available on the Live Music Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/cowboyjunkies2009-02-05.flac16
Growing up near the Canadian border, international radio introduced me to a number of artists in the mid-90’s. Without the ease of access into the music world now available, to expand my musical landscape it required influences timeless, fading and obsolete: recommendations and word of mouth still come from various sources, radio is less an influence than it was and MTV is now a punch line. Canadian radio introduced me to The Cowboy Junkies and inspired my purchase of the compilation Studio: Selected Studio Recordings 1986-1995, which has been a staple of my music collection for over a decade.
Studio pulls tracks from the bands first decade of material, including the much-acclaimed album The Trinity Session from 1998 (for what it’s worth, the 42nd best album of the 80’s, according to Pitchfork). The compilation provides an ideal introduction to this band’s unique sound, a combination of blues, country, rock and pop. Brothers Michael (guitar) and Peter (drums) Timmins, along with bassist Alan Anton, lay down a deliberate groove as a foundation for their sister, Margo, to sing over. She possesses one of the most distinct and affecting voices in music (certainly one of my favorite female vocalists, along with Neko Case, who will be back in Ithaca in April).
The band opened the Evening With show with a version of oft-covered Crossroads unlike any I had heard before. This band creates mood music reminiscent of the soundtrack to a dark film. They followed with two songs familiar to me from Studio, Shining Moon and A Common Disaster and through the night mixed new songs from an upcoming release with material from throughout their catalogue, including To Love Is To Bury and Working On A Building, from The Trinity Session. The show ended with the encore of Blue Moon Revisited (A Song For Elvis), another staple found on both Studio and Trinity (...it would have been nice to hear the band’s definitive cover of Sweet Jane, but...).
A highlight of the show was the presence of Jeff Bird, apparently the unofficial fifth member of the band (he has been playing with them for over twenty years). He added texture and depth to the songs through the evening, with a variety of stringed instruments and harmonica, but primarily with electric mandolin, which created a smooth, sustaining accent to compliment the vocals.
So, the slow burn of the Cowboy Junkies helped warm the State Theater on a frigid February night in Ithaca. This was my first event at the State in the new year, but coming soon are shows from Keller Williams, Gomez/Josh Ritter and Neko Case. Check out the State website for a full calendar and details:
http://www.stateofithaca.com/
Also, I encourage those in the area to check out Dan Smalls Presents for information about other upcoming shows in Ithaca, such as AC Newman, Rhett Miller and the Felice Brothers at Castaways:
http://www.dansmallspresents.com/smallsworld/
For those looking to get into the Cowboy Junkies, Studio is a great starting point, and the Ithaca show is available on the Live Music Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/cowboyjunkies2009-02-05.flac16
Comments
you should have it.
nice recap of the junkies.
it does seem like an odd combo (ths and dmb), for sure. that being said, are you going?