CW Stoneking, Miss Mamie Minch@ Canberra Playhouse,Canberra, (21/03/09)

Sun 22nd Mar, 2009 in Gig Reviews

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Resonators reigned supreme as first, Miss Mamie Minch (USA) and then Australia’s favourite eccentric bluesman, CW Stoneking played to a modest but grateful crowd at the Canberra Playhouse. The whole experience was like meeting a crazy uncle: scary at first, and a little weird throughout, but wholly worldly and satisfying once you’ve learned to trust them, and quite sad to leave when the time comes.

Miss Mamie played a wandering set of songs taken mainly from her 2008 album Razorburn Blues, including the title track, a great satirical take on what she described as the indignity suffered by many women in their efforts to please the other half of the species. More memorable than the music though was the storytelling: with a beautiful icy-steel voice she shared anecdotes from her life, spent most recently in Brooklyn, New York. The first few songs didn’t quite fill the 3-story playhouse, but when Mamie down-tuned and played in a more open melodic style the crowd was thoroughly warmed and ready for the main act.

The world created by CW Stoneking in concert is surreal to be sure. Indeed had it not been for the harem of upwardly mobile, non-smoking bureaucrats sitting near to the front, the ‘New Orleans’ experience many reviewers describe might have been felt on this occasion. Stoneking doesn’t appear to care for such sensitivities in any case. He strode out and ground right into Charlie Bostock’s Blues, an original from his previous album King Hokum, before welcoming his band The Primitive Horn Orchestra for a selection of tracks taken mainly from his new release Jungle Blues. The band came and went throughout the show, providing impeccable musical and comedic support for Stoneking’s antics. Drummer Ollie Brown and cornetist Stephen Grant both gave show-stopping performances, particularly during the only cover to make the cut on the new LP, Brave Son of America.

ABC Radio National’s Tim Ritchie has been wrong before, and he’ll be wrong again, but he got it right when he gave CW Stoneking his best album gong in 2006, gushing about his musicianship and blues sensibilities. Stoneking’s voice is lethal, erupting from his slim pale figure with a rich texture which was able to fill the vast room, and then some. Lamenting his recent overexposure to air conditioning, he explained that his vocal chords were on a knife’s edge. Whether or not he embellished with extra croaky falsetto in the following Talkin Lion Blues was hard to tell. Either way, it came across as both the most beautiful and haunting song of the evening.

Haunting is an apt sentiment to conclude on. There appears to be something sad, something hidden in Stoneking’s persona, which is easy to laugh at, but harder to explain. His movement can be awkward and his constant fidgeting is not scripted in the same way his stage banter is. The title track and first single of Jungle Blues has a video clip in the wings, and will perhaps shed further light on the mystery. In any case, this performance in its entirety was a unique experience, and although off the beaten track for many FL readers, should be given some serious thought when the next chance comes along.