OH SUSANNA’S recent album “Sleepy Little Sailor” was little short of a revelation: a beautifully weighted masterpiece tapping into a river of deep emotion. Tonight, though, she’s faced with the unenviable task of warming up a hushed, expectant crowd waiting for THE HANDSOME FAMILY.
Yet – even stripped of the crack band fleshing out the album – SUZIE UNGERLEIDER (aka OH SUSANNA) live is still an attractive proposition.
Armed with only a big red guitar and coquettishly brushing the hair from her face, she’s clearly nervous, but there’s really no need, as her half hour set’s warmly-received and we’d have gladly indulged her far longer.
The set’s largely made up with material from “Sleepy Little Sailor”, but an early highlight is “Jackson Wilson” (about “Indian Wars”) with Suzie magically hanging onto the final refrain as she backs away from the mic. Following up with the cream of “…Sailor”s songs, we get to enjoy the drifting ethereality of the title track; the turbulent “River Blue” and the last chance saloon rave up “Ted’s So Wasted”, not to mention Suzie’s engaging story about herself and her sister “becoming two anarchists in the space of an hour.” Neat.
The acoustic singer/ songwriter troubadour trick is one of the oldest in the pack, but when played with OH SUSANNA’S skill it again makes you wonder why so many people trip over themselves to continually invent ridiculous genres when this kind of simplicity retains the ability to stun. Let’s hope OH SUSANNA can navigate these seas for years to come.
Meanwhile, tonight marks a new (temporary) phase in THE HANDSOME FAMILY’S fascinating history, as Mr and Mrs. Sparks are joined by Brett’s brother Darryl – newly flown in literally this afternoon – to give them extra punch from behind the most minimal of drum kits.
Without the pressure of having to push brand new product (“Twilight”s seven months old now) and touting a low-key home-compiled “Smothered And Covered” CD), Darryl’s presence allows them to fuck around with their own ace back catalogue and introduce a few surprises.
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At this point, your reviewer should mention his own intuitive theory that the band would concentrate on covers from the new CD was utterly shot to shit – they only ventured there once with Brett’s unbelievably emotional solo reading of BILL MONROE’S “I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling” to mop up the encores – and they instead treated us to something close to a greatest hits set.
Hitting the ground running with killer takes of “So Much Wine” and “Arlene”, the Sparks’ inimitable humour is never far from the surface. Darryl gets ribbed about his jetlag when he misses his tambourine cue in “Weightless Again” and Rennie hilariously gives Brett the finger when he fucks up the lyrics to “A Dark Eye.”
Rare stage contenders like “Grandmother Waits For You” and “Winnebago Skeletons” are wheeled out in fine style and it’s virtually faultless until the home strait when “Stalled” shows why it doesn’t work live and a ropey “So Long” and – sorry guys – a fucking abysmal “Snow White Diner” are thrown away needlessly.
Typically, though, THE HANDSOME FAMILY have genius in reserve, and the magnificent triumvirate of “Giant Of Illinois”, the cooking rockabilly of “In The Air” and Brett’s show stopping Bill Monroe cover ensure they leave us on a very serious high.
Darryl’s presence gave THE HANDSOME FAMILY the opportunity to loosen up a little and chalk up another very memorable Cork night in the process. His swelling of the Sparks ranks may only be temporary, but with or without their electronic drumming friend, New Mexico’s finest deserve your ears and attention for the duration.
Lock up your goldfish and let the kittens loose! Let’s celebrate!
(PICS: KATE FOX)
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