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12 November 2010
It would seem that Josh Ritter has fully come to terms with both his "new Dylan" status and the fully deserved, lavish praise which places him securely in the firmament of greatest songwriters. Surely an intro' tape that includes Dylan's "Isis" and Cohen's "No Cure for love" can be taken in no other way than a firm statement of "this is the company I keep" ?
And so to the opening act, Dawn Landes, with a recent album - Sweetheart Rodeo - to add to the superb Fireproof she was touring the last time Josh Ritter was over in early 2008. In a 40 minute set she managed to cover just about all her albums in some depth, not bad going. "Twilight" from Fireproof featured superb woozy slide guitar, "Brighton" from Sweetheart Rodeo was a slow paced light dappled miniature of a romantic evening. The two fisted set closer of "Bodyguard" and "Kids in a play" were rock solid, allowing for some searing guitar, some pounding of drums and some fancy work pouring the lyrics to the latter out at a hectic pace.
After a short interval Josh Ritter and the band - "what a band" as Ritter would declaim on more than one occasion - took the stage, dressed in their working suits and ties. The tie and jacketless Ritter was clearly in a more than decent mood as he literally bounced around the stage - very happy to be playing at "one of the few venues to have an underground station named after it". And he’s right, he has a truly great rock band to work with - a giant talent of a songwriter backed by a superb band with a stable line up : now where have we heard this winning formula before ?
Launching the set off with “Idaho“, Josh took us on a tour of his albums rather than solely his latest offering So Runs The World Away - although there are plenty from that album as well. A new highlight from that album was “The Curse“. The recorded version of “The Curse” is an achingly beautiful song but here it is even more glorious. A love song between an ancient embalmed but still alive pharaoh and the female archaeologist who returns him to the light. As he gains in strength she becomes progressively weaker and more aged. Although it is clear that he genuinely falls in love he knows that his love has a price : "She asked are you cursed / He said I think that I'm cured / then he kissed her and hoped she'd forget that question". Love, betrayed by a kiss, it stunningly poignant and receives the rapt attention it deserves.
“Rumours “ - from Historical Conquest - just emphasises what a wonderful high energy album that was, with Josh rocking out more than usual and with plenty of room for the band to cut loose, offering a suitably powerful response to lines like "I put a whip to the kick drum but the music's never loud enough". And similarly “To The Dogs Or Whoever” brought Josh's fantastic energy to the fore as he performed a Dylanesque cascade of verbiage. This does offer a contrast to So Runs The World Away - which is for my money a slightly weaker album than Historical Conquests which benefited from a number of, let's not shy away from it, kick-ass tunes. But even songs that are a little light weight on record - like Folk Massacre - get a lift from being played live, because Ritter is so enthusiastic and upbeat it just seems churlish not to go along with him.
The set is studded with theatrical moments designed to be memorable. Josh alone with his acoustic singing unmiked at the front of the stage - and The barbican is silent hanging on every word. There's a new song - a meeting between Sir Galahad and the Angel of the Grail which is surprisingly bawdy and with a jokey punchline. There's the end of the set marked by an extended “Halfway to Harrisburg“, which has Talking Heads‘ "Once In A Lifetime" worked into the middle of it, and ends with the band becoming mannequins in instant silence, and then holding their poses for longer than you think is possible. And the question remains - how does Josh get away with all this and not look like an idiot ? Because really he doesn't, each theatrical trick just adds to the enjoyment of the evening. So during “Wolves“, from The Animal Years we have Josh crouching on the ground and howling to the circle, which responds with a mixture of yowls, yips and strangled howls of their own. And appropriately enough it was for “In The Dark” - sung with Dawn Landes - that Josh requested that the lights be dimmed "a bit further...a bit further...a bit further". In the end full darkness was not achieved - only the stage lights got turned down so as the eyes adjust to the faint luminescence of the dimmed houselights Josh and Dawn could just be made out as slightly swaying spectres on the stage. It's a beautiful moment though, from Mr and Mrs Ritter.
There was a fabulous encore of 100 Miles and a just perfect acapella showcase of Wait For Love. Ritter has been great for some time, but he really does have a substantial body of work to call on now, so he can pick and choose great songs from each album he's put his name to and still leave out a substantial number of favourites. A man, and a band, who always give full effort, and fully deliver.