The
Canadian band, Po’ Girl is one of my favorite bands in all the world so
needless to say I was not happy when the weather man said that we were getting
an April Fool’s snowstorm the day of their show. But fortunately, the weather
succumbed to the old adage that the show must go on and my God – it certainly
did!!
Allison Russell and Awna Texiera are like enchanted panpipes -- the music
flows through them like fiber optic cables. Their faces are beautiful and
luminous when they sing almost so I can hardly dare look at them. It almost
seems too intimate to witness. There’s no posturing or attitude, just humble
and honest vulnerability. Benny Sidelinger on dobro and Mikey ‘Lightning’
August on drums are wonderful as well, catching us up in their sound like a chariot
to heaven.
For anyone who hasn’t heard Po’ Girl they classify themselves as
Urban Roots Music. Influences from folk, jazz, and ethnic gene pools are
evident too but they are hard to classify. They are like a lot of artists who
are so talented and diverse in ability that they serve as cross pollinating musical
bees.
Po’ Girl performed songs from their
new album, “Follow Your Bliss”, as well as some of their older tunes. They are
proficient on a wide array of instruments; Benny plays dobro/slide guitar and
banjo, Allison plays banjo, guitar, ukulele, glockenspiel(!) and clarinet, Awna
dazzles on the gut-bucket bass, electric bass, guitar, and accordion, and
Mikey, on loan from JT and the Clouds, plays drums. A word about Mikey. My
husband and I were in the front row and couldn’t see what Mikey was doing, but
our two sons were up in the balcony and looked down at him. On at least one
song he played the drums and keyboard simultaneously with impeccable rhythm.
Peter Mulvey, who joined them for a few tunes, was marveling at him, making appropriately amazed facial
expressions at the audience. Drummers are often in the background and just
don’t get enough of the spotlight! Hey Mikey, we likes it!
Benny is a luthier as well as
musician, and built some of the instruments they were playing -- among them,
two new girls introduced by Allie -- a ukulele named Dinah, and a small guitar
named #39, Henrietta Fenderico. Oh, and a word about building musical
instruments! Inspired by Awna and her gut-bucket bass, my 17 year old son
attended a songwriting workshop at the 317 Main Street Music Center, in
Yarmouth Maine this week, for a high school songwriting intensive. He got to
build and learn to play a gut-bucket bass! Po’ Girl intercedes with public
education. Huzzah!
Po’ Girl then played two of my favorites;
“Gandy Dancer”, which is a rousing, klezmer-esque kind of tune, wild with
accordion and clarinet. “Mauditte Guerre”, followed on its heels, a 16th
century French song about war. Allie’s impassioned, boot stomping performance,
replete with red dress, was awe-inspiring.
The harmonies and musicianship the
whole evening were marvelous. After each song I found myself letting out a sigh
of pleasure. They mentioned a comment from BB King who tours approximately
three hundred days of the year (even now at the age of 86!) about the joy of
performing and the suffering of touring. They would play for free and be
willing to be paid to travel, probably a conundrum many musicians share.
One of the last songs they
collaborated on with Peter Mulvey was written by JT Nero, of JT and the Clouds,
entitled “Double Helix (Rainbow)”, which is about Babar, King of the Elephants.
That was followed by two foot-stomping, hand-clapping standing ovations: Peter
mentioned that there was a request for a song by Townes Van Zandt, so they
settled on Steve Earle’s tune, “Goodbye”. They explained that Steve was one of
Towne’s greatest advocates and even named his son after him, Justin Townes
Earl. Awna whispered as they began, “this song makes me cry.”
I only miss you here every now and
then
like the soft breeze blowin; up from the Caribbean
Most Novembers I break down and cry
But I can't remember if we said goodbye
And finally, they ended with a big
splash with the song, "Rubber Duckie" written by Jeff Moss
(1942-1998), one of the original creators of "Sesame Street''. A fantastic
concert on what should have been a spring, but turned out to be a wintry night,
whimsically sweet and gloriously satisfying! Come back to Maine soon!
You can find out more about Po’ Girl at pogirl.net
