The Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia
November 6th, 2004

Reviewed by Fred Foyle



Gillian Welch & David Rawlings played two shows in Sydney.  One was a seated show, and the other was general admission, standing room only.  The show at The Metro was the standing show, and I had guessed that they'd be playing to a better crowd than at the seated show in west Sydney (the night before) as it's in the middle of town and a top venue.  Sure enough, the place was PACKED with a smart, well dressed bunch, mostly late 20's and beyond (did a rough head count of about 3500).  On stage: two all-miked-up chrome stands with velvety black backdrop and a dozen downlights.

Soaking in the buzz, ten minutes flew by (didn't bother with the feral Tim Rogers).  Then, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings came on right on time to a rapturous burst of welcome.  Right from the first words of acknowledgement and first strums, there was mostly an air of contained stillness - just what I'd been hoping for, for a powerful show. There were a few whoos and yeahhhs during the songs, but mostly when the jammier playing bits inspired them.  Welch’s playing is so responsive to Rawlings, and it was a pleasure to watch and hear the skill and dexterity of their unique guitar playing all night... truly captivating, and a rare opportunity.  Their voices blended just as well.

They'd swiftly change capos around, watch each other for a moment doing a silent count and keep starting off on some beautifully mesmerizing thing.  Rawlings was the more animated of the two, but the playing he handled often required it, he'd really pull the notes out. Welch would typically bounce along more steadily, concentrating on the rhythm and complex changes.

Their setlist included such songs as “Wrecking Ball”, “Elvis Presley Blues”, “Annabelle”, “I Want To Sing That Rock ‘n’ Roll”, “My First Lover”, “The Revelator”, “Everything Is Free”, as well as covers of songs by Doc Watson and Townes Van Zandt.  Bizarrely, David Rawlings led a strange, slow drawn-out cover of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cindy Lauper (also towards the end, in the encores).  I thought it was a bit of a waste, not knowing for how much longer they'd go on.

Welch played “One Little Song” solo.

"There's gotta be a song left to sing,
Cos everybody can't have thought of everything..."

Rawlings left the stage, having broken a string, and she introduced it saying it was fitting to hear it like that as it was one conceived in her room alone.

She eventually picked up the banjo, and reflected on how wherever they go there's always someone commenting about how "they find a 'chick' and a banjo unaccountably sexy... I think it qualifies as a fetish", and dedicated the song to that section of the audience.  Later, she put on the harmonica contraption (both did), ending verses with powerful bursts of blowing, Dylan style.  Her lung capacity was amazing.

Overall it was about two hours.... didn't seem that long.  After the intermission, I moved to the floor to get a closer look.  She said, "Did you have a good intermission? What did you do?"   

After the encore, they said thank you and bye, and they hurried from the stage.  But a clap in unison developed and soon they strode back out. "You know, it's hard to refuse you when you organize". They played “Everything Is Free” at that point.  Some fool made a blunt request for it earlier and she looked down and didn't comment.  “The Revelator” was in the initial, longer encore, and another major highlight.  I was hoping for “April the 14th Part 1” but it wasn't to be.  An unfettered “I Dream A Highway” would have been too much to hope for, I suspect. More goodbyes and thank yous, waves and smiles, and they jogged off again... but, the crowd wouldn't stop.

After a few minutes they ran back to the now dark stage - a glimpse of Welch's red mane bobbing and the place went nuts.  She said, "it will probably be a long time till we make it around the world again...", they played two more, closing with the Townes Van Zandt one, saying that he's still with them or something like that.

I came away feeling much like I did when discovering Time (the Revelator)... thinking they're geniuses.  Great original music and songwriting, performed with rare class. It would be daft to try to categorize it as folk or country or anything, because, besides borrowing from traditional styles, they make it so unique and personal.

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Jolie Holland
The Drake Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
October 16th, 2004

Reviewed by Adam D. Miller



A concert in a hotel?  I know what you’re thinking with your “Hall & Oates – Live At Caesar’s Palace” stare.  Seriously though, it’s not what you might think.  The Drake Hotel is an artist’s hangout in the west-end of downtown Toronto, and the Drake Underground is a small room in the basement with little more than a stage, couch, and bar. A perfect venue for a small enthusiastic crowd to gather and support a new talent in the music world.

Four hours after I sat down to interview her for one of this month’s features, Jolie Holland took the stage with her two-piece band (guitarist Brian Miller and drummer Dave Mihaly) and performed to a sold-out crowd of about 200 people. Those of us close to the stage made a group decision to sit on the floor for the duration of the show, making for a very intimate and cozy atmosphere, feeling as if we were in the basement of someone’s house and not a public venue.

With no lighting except for a single red bulb, Holland and her band played many of the songs from her two solo albums.  The show began with “Goodbye California.”  Holland didn’t bother singing the chorus the first time around, but it didn’t matter.  Her stage presence was distant and mysterious, but her singing was phenomenal and the mood was definitely there.

Holland’s drummer, Dave Mihaly, is an unbelievable presence.  Arching over the drum kit, he clanged and shook strange objects to produce unique percussive sounds.  Brian Miller provided reverb soaked guitar lines and combined with Holland’s acoustic guitar, the ensemble evoked a jazzy vibe that carried the rest of the performance.  Other highlights included “Littlest Birds”, “Sascha”, and the final song “Old Fashioned Morphine”, which if you haven’t heard yet, you should. 

The audience responded well to her material, with some audience members shouting commentary during breaks, which Holland responded to humourously. Though on the surface she seemed shy, she had the audience laughing at her between song banter.

For an encore, Holland played a new song about her boyfriend, the unreleased “Moonshiner.”  Although previously unheard by any of us, it was still enjoyable and hopefully in the running for her next album.

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