It must have been fifteen years ago that I was exploring old David Bowie live performances. From era to era, David's physically appearance could change to such a degree where Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and Screaming' Lord Byron can be seen as different manifestations of the same rock god. There was one specific mid-90's performance of "Under Pressure" that stood out to me. The only reason that I think it was different't from this 1997 Madison Square Garden performance is that I swear his bassist went an octave higher on that third "Why?". Watching other "Under Pressure" performances by that duo, I still get chills. And as Gail Ann Dorsey's jaw emphatically draws that third "Why???", my jaw drops with an astonished "Whoa...". Bowie and Dorsey had such chemistry together. Their teamwork reminded me of Billy Idol and Steve Stevens, Prince and Sheila E, Kate Wolf and Nina Gerber, or Brandi Carlile and the Hanseroth twins. Learning about Gail's session work and jobs on tour bands, I started seeing talent patterns. Sophie B. Hawkins. Joan Osborne. Michael friggin' Hutchence. Gwen Stefani. It reminded me of when I was watching Vh1 one morning n college, and learned about all the videos that Sophie Muller directed. It's that type of moment where you start admiring certain comic book creators because of a certain common factor constant compared to relative variables provided by their collaborators. It also helps to recognize session musicians like guitarist Hank Garland.
At that time, I was also discovering the wonders of Pandora. How different "stations" could could impact your mental state. Like Prince William psyching up with AC/DC's "Thunderstruck", I would play some bubblegum pop from the turn of the millennium. Listening to an iTunes mix of Britney Spears's debut album, Celine Dion's greatest hits, and a splash of Disney music would help me energize for a shift at the supermarket, When I'd get home (and had internet access), my music listening went beyond the capabilities of my humble iPod Shuffle. Robert Plant's albums with Alison Krauss and Patty Griffin led me into a zenspace of female singer/songwriters (mainly part of the Lilith Fair era, dovetailed into lineups from the Kate Wolf Music Festivals). It's the type of music where one can just chill out to some Sarah McLachlan, sing along with the Indigo Girls, and not miss a beat as Bree Sharp starts covering Bob Dylan. With headphones on, the music soothes, an anxious mind, wraps around you like a blanket, as you instinctively foresee a fill or syllable one beat ahead of the track. Trying to find my vibrational synchronicity with this musical zen state, I recognize just how precious those moments of relaxation are. Suddenly, MacLachlan's voice shines like a lighthouse. Entering the figurative harbor you find favorites like Eva Cassidy's cover of "The Water is Wide".
This concert featuring both Dorsey and Williams would show me how an acoustic singer/songwriter night could combine with such Dorsey's life experience and career with an electric bass.Unfamiliar with Gail Ann Dorsey's previous solo albums, I wasn't too sure what to expect of her set. I trusted that the talent and collective experience will be there, but however versatile, a session and tour musician brings a unique style of their own when performing as a solo artist.
After past experiences in getting from the MBTA to the City Winery, I was remembering to get into the last subway car and get off at North Station. Even Google Maps has a hard time calibrating to my phone's location in the North End. So, it's easier to pretend that I'm en route to a show at the TD Garden. When I arrived at the venue, Gail was already a few songs into her set. I would have gotten a better understanding of her song selection process for the night. I also would have had more time to draw her during the show. Listening to her solo albums, I recognized the most music as being from the 2004 album "I Used To Be..." Forgive my having forgotten which specific songs had been played. Focused on vibing with the music as I created what art I could, I was left better able to recognize songs played through the familiarity of a melody. Not wanting to dishonor the work that has gone into each song, I've been nervous about blogging about this set. I think that "Nether Land" was played as I was coming in to the concert space. This and Gail's other songs had been stripped down instrument-wise so that the reiterations heard could be presented through Dorsey's magnificent vocals and her playing an acoustic guitar. As I drew her, I noticed the positioning of her instrument. It's something that I notice in my practice of life drawing at shows. How a musician positions themselves at their piano or drums... How they hold the neck of their guitar or electric bass, while picking or strumming. It captures so much of how that musician plays. When photographing a performance, this understanding allows me to anticipate more dynamic images. The body of the guitar is at her center of gravity (par for the course when people are holding their guitars). That gives you a frame of reference for where the strumming hand moves, how the guitar strap hangs from the shoulder, and how their hand holds the neck. The curious thing about Gail Ann Dorsey's guitar playing is the high angle at which she hold her guitar. It's a posture ergonomically suited for electric bassists, and this beautiful quirk carries over as a force of habit when Gail plays a guitar. It's something that Keith Strickland brought over when the B-52's bassist additionally took on the late Ricky Wilson's lead guitar duties. Someone at my table asked me about the angle after the show. I explained that my best guess as an artist was that it must be Gail's instinct as a bassist.
Hearing Dar Williams's set started with me recognizing different songs from my listening to Pandora. I get so lost in the collective feel of a Dar-focal Pandora station, that I generally just sit back and enjoy the music. My phone's screen is on sleep mode, and occasionally, I would tap the buttons on my phone to see a synopsis of the artist and title for a song currently playing. In those listening sessions, I start feeling more attuned with an identifying aspect of that Lilith Fair/Kate Wolf general vibe of songwriting. While they instruments convert much of the gravity of a song, the lyric quality takes the foremost priority. Listen to an Ani DiFranco song, and notice how every note is a carefully selected syllable with verbal communication giving the song meaning. One can say that this carries on from much of the folk music tradition, but there are certain artists where the verbal privilege of a song is also cherished and celebrated. Look at the Scorpions, for whom English is a "second: verbal language but the one used most in their albums. It's one of the qualities that I find so endearing about Klaus Mein and his band.
Dar Williams's set was a balance of songs with some anecdotes from the songwriter's life. Some songs would explore the culture in small towns. "The Babysitter's Here" reaches back to Dar admiring in impactful role model from her childhood. Other songs reflect on Williams' personal history and growth through religious stories. The 1995's "The Christians and the Pagans" describes family members seeing beyond spiritual differences when coming together for a shared celebration of the holiday season. "I Never Knew" and "Time, Be My Friend" were songs that I particularly found fascinating. Dar poetically writes these open letters to embodiments of love and time. In exploring one's relationship with these forces, the songs are about finding peace, appreciation, and harmony with these aspects of existence. As the night drew to a close, the songs became more about gender and a feminist outlook on society. "When I was a Boy" examine's an openness to go beyond gender-based restrictions as a child. That freedom of expression typically being stifled as we get older. When that song was released in 1993, I think that it may have been to early for many songwriters to approach concepts like gender dysphoria and feelings of affirmation. While the song remains a heartfelt reminiscence by two adults who I assume are cisgender. With the current understanding of congruency and in-congruency regarding gender identity, one can see this stifling of gender expression as all the more crippling than an average person could've imagined 30 years ago.
The encore song "As Cool As I Am" confronts issues in dating which could be chalked up to toxic patriarchy but also highlight the universality of competition in a the singles scene. I find that people of any gender may compete with one another for the affection of someone whether the attraction is heterosexual or not. It's the backbone of the "Bachelor/Bachelorette" reality TV franchise. Some lyrics more directly address the phenomenon of men who feel entitled to any woman that they're attracted to. I've personally found that this problematic over-competitive approach can also take place among men. In a Greek termed hierarchy, there are "alphas" who believe in that aforementioned entitlement. Betas may vie for the privilege of alpha status, or overcompensate when looking down on those in lower tiers. In those lower tiers, you may find just as much misogyny but with the resentful addition of the chip on a shoulder. The dynamic gets flipped when men sitting happily in higher tiers see women decline their offers and show more attraction to "omegas", "zetas", nonbinaries, or women (cis or trans). It upturns the dating scene belief structure, disrupts confidence in the hierarchy, and potentially opens doors to defensive actions from places of jealousy and vindictiveness. The existence of such competitions and hierarchy may seem like something that people would grow out of, but the Bowling for Soup guys speak the truth in describing how high school sociology continues on for decades after graduation.
After the show, there was a meet & greet at the merch. table. Even though Dar Williams was the headliner, I couldn't believe how many people were overlooking Gail Ann Dorsey's talent and accomplishments. In line, my first words to Gail were my condolences for the loss of David Bowie (whose anniversaries of death and birth were coming up on the 8th and 10th of January). Having seen Gail's posts about Bowie and their time working together, I felt that it's still a fitting time to pay respects. I explained how I learned of her singing through live performances of "Under Pressure", and we had this great discussion of the translation of artistic skills between electronic and digitized media to the more traditional and acoustic. Showing drawings of Gail, Dar, and Hot Tuna drawn on my Galaxy, I asked if Gail can translate her instincts and skills with an electric bass to the fretless stand-up acoustic instrument. I've seen Metallica's Rob Trujillo play the stand-up bass with the bluegrass group Nickel Creek, but I wasn't sure if that versatility say more of Trujillo's musical skill than comparisons between the instruments. Gail told me that she had an acoustic bass at home. I added that she also has my confidence that her instincts and experimentation could draw out some great music. Like when I try out a new Wacom tablet or Vienna Teng tinkers with a new mixing instrument, we can artistically learn more skills in translating our skills to different tools. While I may just be one of thousands of fans that Gail Ann Dorsey has met, it was so cool chatting about art with her, and I hope that my encouragement does inspire her to practice with the acoustic bass.
Then, I met Dar Williams. My feelings were a different type of starstruck than when I met Gail. Meeting Williams reminded me of when I met Joan Osborne earlier that year. Both of them are famous singer-songwriters with a niche following that just happened to be in my music taste since the age of the Lilith Fair. At the moment, I had not known that Dar had played at the Kate Wolf Festival. Like a discussion about Bearfoot at a Wailn' Jennys concert, I don't know how often this musician would have expected Wolf to come up in conversation. I did buy Dar's book on songwriting. Inspired by the work Randy Rogel in composing lyrics for "Animaniacs" and "Histeria!", I've written many lines of lyrics that humorously work of the music of pre-existing songs. I applied that skill when repurposing a transphobic line in the "Cheers" theme song for Queeraoke one week. With gratitude for the lessons in the book, I told Dar that I look forward to how this may improve my writing. This after modeling the refrain to "Pink Pony Club" to describe the antics of a feisty black lab that I puppysit.
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