The Beans experienced a night of firsts on October 25, 2008. Never before had we been to the Cedar Cultural Center. Never before had we heard the music of Herman Dune. And never before had we seen Jolie Holland live. Overall, I'd say we had high expectations, at least for the last bit.
As we left the brisk Saturday evening and entered the Cedar Cultural Center, we were met with a group of people crowded between the box office, the concession area which sold alcohol and food from the Jewel of India, and the door to the stage. We were told this was because the sound check was still going on due to the performers' late arrival.
After grabbing a couple glasses of wine for the two of us, we squeezed by the crowd and back out to the lobby to have some space. Shortly thereafter, the doors opened and the crowd dispersed into a large room filled with padded, stackable chairs. The building was once a movie theater, but is now a multi-cultural performing arts venue run by a non-profit organization.
Shortly after 8:30 pm, the opening act, Herman Dune, was introduced. A very tall, bearded man dressed in a red plaid shirt and a matching plaid tie was followed by a younger, mustachioed drummer. They introduced themselves as Yaya and Neman, respectively. They began their set with "My Baby is Afraid of Sharks,” a love song. In fact, most, if not all of their songs were about love. By the second or third song, we were sold. Their band was funny and quirky, but had solid ability and moving lyrics. Particularly so, was their closer, “Song of Samuel,” about a young girl from a wealthy family falling in love with her much older Jewish violin instructor.
Next, Jolie Holland paraded onto the stage with her band consisting of Rachel Blumburg on drums, Sean Flinn on guitar, and Dave Depper on bass. Jolie was covered in bird feathers. Ok, so that may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but not far off. Early on in the show, Jolie gave the audience a "tour" of her feathers, most of which were lent or given to her by friends. She opened with “Mexico City,” a track off her new album, The Living and the Dead.
For those of you who aren't familiar with her work, Jolie Holland plays American music. American in that her music is a mixture of all the wonderful sounds for which this country is known. It is part blue-grass, part blues, part country western, part soul, part rock, part folk, and part jazz. She has collaborated with hip-hop artists and indie rock producers. It has been said that her “simultaneous grasp of several American music genres is hard to compare amongst contemporary songwriters.”
Despite the fact that she was "sicker than a dog," she belted out a myriad of songs covering material from each of her four solo albums. These included "Roll My Blues," “Goodbye California,” and "Palmyra." To our delight, she even played a song from her days with The Be Good Tanyas, "The Littlest Birds."
Mid-way through the show she asked if anyone would like to hear something in particular. Dean Bean shouted for "Black Stars," but unfortunately, she said that she wasn't able to play that song along with a list of others that were requested. It may have been all for the better that we did not hear that one live. I doubt it could have lived up to the expectations.
Later, she told a story about stealing morphine from her dying grandfather when she was a teenager and taking the pill while on a three day Greyhound ride to California. On that ride, she convinced a gospel choir who was also on the bus, to sing with her. As she started to play "Old Fashioned Morphine," the audienced cheered. "If it was good enough for my grandpa, it's good enough for me..."
She did end up playing a two-song solo set, which was highlighted by a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s "Buckskin Stallion." Sitting at an old upright piano, Jolie Holland played the blues.
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