Date: Saturday 4th June 2011
Venue: Bush Hall
Shepherd's Bush is not the easiest of locations to get to from home at the weekend, and is hardly the most enticing place at the best of times (in my opinion). It was quite tempting to stay in the garden at home, drinking and chatting and making the most of the early evening sun. So, was Anais Mitchell worth the schlep? Well, only partly.
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| Bush Hall is a lovely venue (all pics by @pmhigham) |
Mitchell's
Hadestown album (a folk opera described as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America") was one of my favourite records of 2010, but I hadn't investigated the singer/songwriter from Vermont any further. On tonight's evidence, I'm afraid to say I'm not sure I'll bother. The gig started well, when Anais and guitarist (as well as arranger of
Hadestown) Michael Chorney took to the bare stage and opened with the first song off the album, "Wedding Song", followed straight away by the last, "I Raise My Cup To Him". Announcing their intention to return to it later, they went on to play various others which were, I think, a mixture of older songs and new compositions. It was all pleasant enough, but fairly bland, and often the lyrics were so reminiscent of those in other songs (Dylan in particular) that on a couple of occasions I found my mind wandering off to try and find the source. Sam Airey, the opening act whose set we had just caught the end of, came back onstage towards the end of the evening for a cover of "The Times They Are A Changin'". Though I think he was trying to give some impetus to the performance, Mitchell kept it so ponderous and polite the result has to rank as one of the worst Dylan covers I have ever heard, and that's saying something. As Anais is clearly a Dylan fan, it made me wonder how she had managed to so comprehensively misrepresent the song and undermine the power of it.
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| Michael Chorney |
There were some brilliant moments - a great version of "Wait For Me", requested enthusiastically by the crowd, and "Way Down Hadestown", a fantastic way to end the show before the encore. However, I left wondering if Mitchell would ever gain be able to create something as interesting and as effortless as that concept album.
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| Duet on "Way Down Hadestown" |
Mitchell's Hadestown album (a folk opera described as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America") was one of my favourite records of 2010, but I hadn't investigated the singer/songwriter from Vermont any further. On tonight's evidence, I'm afraid to say I'm not sure I'll bother. The gig started well, when Anais and guitarist (as well as arranger of Hadestown) Michael Chorney took to the bare stage and opened with the first song off the album, "Wedding Song", followed straight away by the last, "I Raise My Cup To Him". Announcing their intention to return to it later, they went on to play various others which were, I think, a mixture of older songs and new compositions. It was all pleasant enough, but fairly bland, and often the lyrics were so reminiscent of those in other songs (Dylan in particular) that on a couple of occasions I found my mind wandering off to try and find the source. Sam Airey, the opening act whose set we had just caught the end of, came back onstage towards the end of the evening for a cover of "The Times They Are A Changin'". Though I think he was trying to give some impetus to the performance, Mitchell kept it so ponderous and polite the result has to rank as one of the worst Dylan covers I have ever heard, and that's saying something. As Anais is clearly a Dylan fan, it made me wonder how she had managed to so comprehensively misrepresent the song and undermine the power of it.
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