Flanfire

MO MCMORROW — Mona Lisas Don’t Cry

Mo McMorrow, like her good friend Ray Bonneville, is a Canadian (and I love Canadians!) — but after going to art school in Australia and living for aeons in Ireland (where she honed her songwriting), Mo seems more Irish than anything.  Indeed, the songs on “Mona Lisas Don’t Cry” seem to come from that golden land.  I remember Mo telling me about her “little songs” even before I heard her singing them at Ego’s — and meeting up with Kathy Rowell and introducing her to Mo and next I knew they were doing a show at Aces (dutifully reported in the Flanfire archives).  Some of the songs from those early days appear on the new recording, but even these songs seem to have grown up a bit over the past year or so.

Mo’s brand-new record is graced with so many friends making beautiful music with her — Justin Douglas doubled as producer and player of numerous instruments on various tracks, Paul Pearcy on drums and percussion, and Bobby Daniel on bass are the near-constants, but making appearances here and there are such notables as Gurf Morlix (banjo and guitar), Ray Bonneville (harmonica and vocals), Cindy Cashdollar (dobro), Richard Bowden (fiddle), Carrie Elkin and BettySoo and Elizabeth Wills and Eliza Gilkyson (backing vocals), Erin Knight (trumpet), and Sharon Shannon (accordian).  My most recent encounter with Mo was at Cafe Caffeine a couple of Sundays ago, and as usual she seemed pleasantly surprised that anyone would want to listen to her “little songs.”  But of course they demanded an encore and invited her back as a headliner.

About those songs.  “Til the Rain Clouds Come” is clearly an Irish ballad — with references to “Father Kevin” and “cold morning dew.”  You and I might even call this a waltz — but Douglas’ harmonium and mandolin hold our feet back from overexuberances and we just stare joyfully at the gentleness of this kind woman.  “This Field of Mine” — somewhere I have a video of an early version — here it is wholly different, more mature, thanks to the work of Yoda Gurf Morlix.  “Fine Company” is almost a march — compleat with trumpet (and crumpets?), but bittersweet in its content. 

I like “The Wolf Is Gone,” a bouncy number with a country feel — Cashdollar’s dobro dominates but the accordian is a sweet find.  “Never Alone” (morning tea, the lake, and memories — so Ireland) — and then “No Love Child,” a poignant vignette of a song (“feel the winter inside … of me”).  Or how about “God Knows,” musically a shuffle but lyrics wise an arrow into the heart of the unfaithful.  “Polished Metal” could be another typical Irish ballad, or it could even be Canadian (sounds like Lightfoot), but it is so gentle you almost do not realize it is about someone who got left behind.

“Woundup Cowboy” features Bowden on violin, viola and cello — Cody Ground on piano, and Knight on trumpet — mostly in a crescendo near the song’s end.  Mo clearly shows her eternal patience with the untruthful.  All good songs, but my favorite here is the title cut — the title itself is worth the whole record.  Much of this recording is about a former lover, and this song is no exception — “it don’t matter much to me if mountains fall into the sea and rivers run dry, Should the Wall of China tumble down the Mona Lisa won’t frown, Mona Lisas don’t cry.’  Our gal (in the song, that is) left all of her stuff behind for “him” to deal with as he sees fit — how sad, “you never wondered what I hid behind my smile….”  How can strangers live together — surely not for long in harmony.

GINGER LEIGH – Better Than Well (Live at the Saxon)

My beloved friend Ginger Leigh has got herself a brand-spanking-new recording, “Better Than Well,” recorded live at the Saxon Pub with John Pointer on guiart, cello and vocals; Mark “Gumby” Williams on bass, upright bass, and cello; Kris Brown on electric guitar, bass, and vocals: and Frank Favacho on drums.  In short, SICK!  But it could be ME on those instruments and you would still love the show.  Ginger’s mom is one of the original Cone Sisters and Ginger herself is one of the most amazing entertainers I have ever met — and one of the great loves of my life to boot.

I will never forget the first time I saw Ginger (with Sarah Dashew of the killer voice and sailboat heart) singing and making us all laugh as we tried to eat what really was a good dinner at some place on Guadalupe long since torn down for condos.  Now there have been quite a few Ginger records, but this live shot has to be the best my ears have been blessed to hear.  All the songs here are Ginger originals EXCEPT Phoebe Snow’s ”Poetry Man” and “Come on Funny Feelin’,” written by the great Rodney Crowell (whom I got to meet last month — WOW!).  OK there is this other song Ginger cribbed from an unknown author, “Good Ol’ Boy,” but she has made even that one her very own. 

The CD (and live set) kicks off with a bang — “Time to Move On” (how could I have been missing these shows?), which features great solos, better harmonies, and the indefatigible, indomitable spirit of San Antonio’s gift to Austin and all of Italy, the spicy Ginger.  The Crowell song (how does he write such great lyrics?) comes next — and then “Good Ol’ Boy,” and you WANT TO BE that “boy” of whom she sings.  But the set really gets going with the title track — as Ginger sings, “Everything I do is for you…”  [I know well what that feels like, especially when the love flows two ways.]  Ginger is at heart a cabaret singer … maybe it’s because I know her as a friend, but I would put her up against Bette Midler in her prime any day of the month.  One reason – “I will not let myself fail.”

Next up is the quieter “Jetstream,” a sultry song about learning to bask in the love of a partner with “no subtlety, no gravity, so shamelessly…”  “Close Enough” is an oldie but goodie, sounds like a buzzing bee …. And then there is “Best of Me,” with Ginger singing in the mud, encouraging her partner to “get the best of me before I’m gone….”  Somewhere in the middle she does a little rap …  And then there is the raucous tale of Ginger’s lunch with “Napoleon,” before the set and disc close out with seven plus minutes of “Angel,” which opens with those dueling cellos….  and some genuine rock n roll drums.  You had to be there, and sadly I was not — but the moment lives on thanks to the miracles of modern technology.  Now Ginger maintains one of the coolest and most informative websites of anybody in the business — and on that site, Ginger has an extensive piece about the first time she ever played The Saxon Pub — on a Monday night following the Resentments (so she says) — and TONS MORE, including videos, “The Adventures of Ginger and Jane,” that will make your belly sore.  If you have never seen one of Ms. Leigh’s shows, now is the time (if you are a guy) to become a Ginger Man.

If it’s June in Austin it must be Kerrville spillover city — so naturally, Flanfire went out to the beautiful Wyldwood House Concert site in deep south Austin (thank you Andrew and Amy for sharing your home with all of us — and Andy’s birthday cake!) to see my old friend Carrie Elkin (you know, that blonde who hangs out with that Danny Schmidt who is topping the folk charts these days) and a friend of hers whom I had met a few months back at the Continental Club — Tennessean Robby Hecht (with whom Carrie will be headed on tour to England very soon).

There is NOTHING like great food, great music, and the beautiful Texas sky (complete this night with an amazing full moon and lots of stars).  Let’s start with the FOOD!  Okay — Andy and Amy DO provide hot dogs and s’mores (by the campfire) for their guests as part of the suggeseted donation (sic) — but of late they have added an extra special deal — gourmet barbecue from Brendan Retherford and Nakita Santiago!  Here’s the deal (for anyone going to see Kevin Russell on June 20th or any future shows) — you order by Wednesday and your food is there for you on Saturday (and you must order ahead to get this great deal).  Brendan is founder of Sapor, a personal chef and catering service, while Nakita’s parents were longtime staff at Castle Hill Cafe who passed on their skills to their daughter.  OK they let me try some of their food — and one bite of the macaroni and cheese (which they normally feed to the kiddies) was enough to make my day!  And that was before I had the prime rib.

But this IS a music column, and so I guess I have to tell you about Carrie Elkin (who enjoys letting her pal Danny grab all the headlines while she just writes and sings great songs) and Robby Hecht (who has been called a young James Taylor in both voice and songwriting quality even though he is grousing about not having enough songs for a second album yet).  “But you will,” said Flanfire, promising he will gain great inspiration from days on the road in Merrie Olde England and Scotland with Ms. Elkin, who once wrote a song while stranded somewhere in NEBRASKA until her car got fixed.  One MIGHT say the performers were joined in song by a chorus of crickets OR that one of the macaroni generation danced in front of the stage showing off a FROG he had caught somewhere on the property (or was it, as Robby speculated, just a TOAD?) 

Just a day or so earlier, I had been called out to Lambert’s by my pals Andre and Noelle to meet Andy and Amy and hear a set from folk-punker Cory Branan (whose next Austin show will be at the Red 7′s Punk Rock BBQ on July 4th).  Cory (red shirt) who hails from North Mississippi and made his first mark in Memphis, reminds one a little of John Prine in his voice and his humor — and yet he can lay down some very heady stuff with significant power.  I have been seeing Cory here and there in Austin since he moved here about a year ago but this was my first time to hear him on stage.  I WILL be back!  I absolutely LOVED the “Prettiest Waitress in Memphis.”

I went BACK to the Madison (5th Street next to Rainbow Cattle Co.) to catch a longer set from Graham Wilkinson (at this dance club with some pretty nice amenities and lots of people having fun) — and this time he had (in addition to Mr. Swift on drums and vocals) Joe Beckham on bass (filling in on four hours’ notice) and a horn player.  It was a GAS the second week in a row.   I also caught a second set from Meagan Tubb and Shady People — that long-legged gal can flat out wear some threads, and she sings and picks guitar pretty well, too! 

Okay — I did not see any shows this week at Flipnotics, but I DID stop by to take a photo of the new outdoor seating areas that the new owners have graced the place with (along with a whole new deck, new paint, and a lot more work that really spruces up the old place).  Carrie Elkin, Molly Venter and Vanessa Lively will be at the venue on June 13th, but I have been told by Miss BettySoo NOT to miss HER CD release party at the Cactus.  Of course I would also love to be up at Journey for Grace Pettis’s show there — and down at the Amsterdam to see Jarrod Dickenson (but I just saw HIM at Momo’s).  Jarrod would get a photo spot here but he sings with his eyes closed — so I am throwing in a photo of the lovely Caitlin Bailey (cello), who is moving to New York State to further her musical education. 

Now THAT is a lead-in to talk about Jessie Torrisi, who came to Austin from New York in January and is already doing shows at places like Botticellis with cellist Alissa Schramm and multi-talented Rob Jewett (who played everything BUT standup bass that evening).  Later I went out to see Goldcure at the Szxon (great show and another debut song or two — these guys are ROCKSTARS!).  And then back to Momo’s for Jess Klein with Mark Addison, Rob Hooper, Scrappy Jud Newcomb and special guest Suzanna Choffel (she of the Momo’s late night dance club that was founded by Johnnie Goudie).

And the hits just keep on coming!  Just wait till you see the astounding video of the stormy West Texas gal Jen Womble’s Momo’s debut with Kalu James and Josh Halverson — on Kalu James Day in Austin but also Ms. Womble’s own birthday!  Ahhhh — but that’s enough of a foretaste.  I gotta get out to the club district for some more great Austin music.

The Whisky Priest and the Arc Angels – three nights in a row at Austin’s famed Continental Club!  April 22-24, 2009 — right before Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton, and Chris Layton leave town to play New York’s Fillmore Auditorium and then a dozen shows in London (11 at Royal Albert Hall) with the even more legendary Eric Clapton!  And all of that after Dustin Welch (whose brand-new CD is entitled, “Whiskey Priest”) celebrates the Resurrection as Easter Sunday begins at that same Continental Club after midnight on April 11th.

Okay — maybe that’s a little too heavy for the twenty-something son of longtime Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kevin Welch (with whom Dustin will be playing a BUNCH of shows next month at Gruene Hall).  But Dustin has never said that HE is the whisky priest (in fact, my pal Seth Woods, who doubles as worship leader at Mosaic, and his band Whiskey Priest are playing at the Carousel on April 13th).  Truth be told, Dustin is more of a prophet — and a storyteller of the highest order.

Witness his wonderful song, “Sparrows,” written to commemorate the lives of so many who came back less than whole from Vietnam (but equally applicable to returning Iraq war veterans).  “.. I’m stumbling down this back street of another town, upset every silo but I have yet to drown, and everywhere I turn expecting slander and scorn, for the life of me I beg to be reborn.  Gotta find somewhere to get out of the rain, this coat don’t keep the cold out anymore, and my heart don’t beat the same as it did before.” 

Maybe it his Native American heritage, maybe it is the mantle laid on five-year-old Dustin by the wonderful songwriter Harlan Howard — or maybe just the natural progression of a skinny little kid who developed his own style of banjo picking as he just naturally absorbed knowledge and energy from the belly of that Nashville songwriting culture.  What we all know about Dustin is that his songs just jump into your gut — with melodies and harmonies and, yes, layers of poetry and prose that most likely Dustin himself has to ponder over and over again as he and we search for the mysteries his music searches out and unveils.

Now, picking just ten of Dustin’s captivating songs for his first collection had to be the hardest job producer Mark Addison has done in quite a while (admittedly, with help from Dustin).  There are just so many good ones.  But here we open with “One False Move” (co-written with Willie Braun of Reckless Kelly), which just drives the ball out of the park — “At first glance, we’re still in the game, ah but there’s the desperate chance that hope just may remain … [but] until we come to see the error of our ways, we’re just one false move away.”  And that wailing guitar from Kyle Ellison and the House Band that also includes Joe Beckham on bass, Trisha Keefer on fiddle, and my favorite bagel maker Joe Humel on drums — plus Drew Smith on rhythm guitar and vocals and the glorious Savannah Welch keeping her brother happy with her positive energy and lovely voice. 

And that’s just the core of Dustin’s ever-expanding band of brothers (and sisters) who jump on stage now and then to join the chorus (that’s Drew who has the “choir”).  Other players on this CD include Mr. Addison himself, Bukka Allen (also the son of a famous songwriter), Brian Standefer, Suzanna Choffel, Jeremy Nail, Dan Dyer, Kacy Crowley, Mick Braun, Carrie Elkin and Susan Howe. 

“What Heartbreak Will Make You Do” (written with Kevin Welch and Claudia Scott) is another rocker but again with depths not noticed by the casual listener — “You keep telling yourself you’ve got it all under control but to me you’re just a long lost child … one of these days the time will come, you will find out that love is real …”  But earlier, the little slip “I’ve got all of the answers if you want ‘em but nobody ever listened to me.”  Gotta love that fiddle!  [Claudia's own version is smokier!  And you should definitely check it out -- both have that Kevin Welch tom-tom beat down at the bottom.]

Then there’s “Don’t Tell ‘Em Nothin’,” written with childhood friend Cary Ann Hearst  (see the pattern — Dustin says he likes to work with others so that his songs have different voices but what seems to be the case is that his friends and mentors act as mirrors to better help him see the vision he has had for his songs).  “Dirty Mind” has help from Sean Locke, while “Whisky Priest,” “Green Badge,” and “Two Horses” all were guided in part by Mark Germino, who will be joining Dustin on May 8th and 9th for two Austin shows.  And “Lower East Side” had help from another childhood pal, Justin Townes Earle, with whom Dustin played in The Swindlers band for years.  The all-out rocker “Empty Parking Lots” was a collaboration with Nail, Choffel, and dad (and who knows who all else?) — duly noted that Dustin gets everyone involved with his music and his life itself, and everyone who works with him gets a blessing.

I ran into Dustin on Tuesday night at the Saxon Pub, and he mentioned in passing that he was playing a set at House Wine with Kelley Mickwee and so after taking in a rare movie Thursday afternoon I headed over for a glass and some music — and found Kevin Welch also sitting in the living room.  Outside folks were prepping the “stage” (that is, the front porch) for an evening with nominees for the Texas Music Awards, so what transpired was an informal work session for Kelley and Kevin’s upcoming tour of Italy.  Afterward I stuck around for a while, stopped by Botticelli’s to check in on Jackie Bristow, and then went over to Lovejoy’s for more of Stretch Dawrson and fellow Mending Heart Gemma Donald (here from Scotland for Old Settler’s).  Then I ran into Dustin again that evening at the Hole in the Wall as we all reveled in the music of Sideshow Tragedy and celebrated Nathan Singleton’s birthday. 

But back to the review.  “Dirty Mind” is another hard-driving song that requires a jug and a jig, while “Whisky Priest” is a stomper that punches you right in the mouth:  “I am a man of faith, I am a child of the crow, and all my bed of angels, well they touch and they go, I get no self-satisfaction from salvation when it’s sold with a 10-digit digital magnetic  bar code ….” 

“Two Horses” I have written about — Dustin has placed their skulls on the back cover of the record — just to let you know that this song tells a lot more about what it is to be in his shoes than you might otherwise realize.  It is tough being able to see so much — how do you handle what you see, how to translate it into something that gets to the person(s) who need to hear but without scaring them off from that truth that might just save them from themselves.  Especially when that someone is you!

Maybe that’s a clue to the mysterious “whisky priest” on the album’s front cover — the layers of jewels and trinkets that keep you from seeing what the eyes of the priest are looking at.  But who knows?  It’s just cool.  And just listen to ”Lower East Side” – a song Lou Reed might endorse though written by two kids from Nashville who ought not know so much about his territory.  Trisha’s fiddle here is a thing of beauty — and the song is a classic.

But Dustin is, first off, a rocker — and we are back to “Empty Parking Lots,” a collaboration of the highest order and always a favorite at Dustin’s old Monday night shows at Momos.  Jeremy Nail (whose own brand-new record is nearly done – I can hardly wait!) lends his energy, and Suzanna Choffel her innate sultriness to a song that is to me like a rock and roll “The Road Goes on Forever” in that you just want to hear it over and over again.

“Green Badge” must come from Dustin’s Scotch Greens daze — the San Diego based band that opened for Flogging Molly and lived and died on the Warped tour.  The CD, as with many Dustin Welch live sets, closes with “Poorhouse,” which thankfully drains listeners (play this record L-O-U-D!) of all remaining energy and leaves them willing to wait for the next set of Dustin songs on disc.