overlap

It's not that unusual to walk into a gig and find girlfriend(s) of the band grooving away in the crowd. But I don't think I've ever seen the wife of the guy on stage totally lost in the music, and also being the headline act to follow him once his turn is over. Paul Curreri was right in the middle of a long talking blues thing, and if you know Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" you'll know exactly the sort of thing I mean, but quickly moved on to a thing or two I vaguely recognised. Rather than find a seat among the forty-odd people present, I stayed on my feet so I had a better angle from which to give my new 6x optical zoom a workout. Paul's songs begin in the folk/country flavoured niche of Americana, but there's more than a hint of the blues and jazz too, and that's an area that doesn't generally do so much for me. He's clearly talented, and rather handy with a guitar, but I'm not rushing out to buy the entire catalogue at the earliest opportunity. Paul made a point of mentioning between songs that they'd had a conversation early in their relationship about the necessity of being able to deal with either of them having a musical career that took off faster than the other's, and sure enough it's Devon you'll get to see on Jools Holland's show in the next week. With her first ten minutes spent trying to get her vintage guitar miked up properly without rattles and buzzes, it would be easy for a lesser performer to get a little frustrated. But not a bit of it here, and as Devon says "you're seeing our marriage at work here" while Paul plugs, unplugs, and replugs several different cables into both his and her guitar in search of an uncluttered sound. The first song is a version of Nina Simone's 'My Baby Just Cares For Me' on a single acoustic guitar, and it sounds great. Again there's one or two more do-be-do-be-doos in there for my liking, but that's my problem not theirs. After three quarters of an hour of Devon's songs, Paul joins her and we get a few duets. This is where it really works for me, Hank Williams' "Honky Tonkin" is particularly fine, and they leave the stage to well-deserved applause. It does no harm to have my tastes stretched a little, and Devon is a really engaging singer who clearly lives right in her music - there's no playing by numbers or contractual obligations here, it's all good honest stuff. And while I won't be rushing to travel the country to see every single show, I will be trying hard to be there when she's next passing nearby There are a dozen or so more pictures on flickr, but here's a decent enough one of the pair of them. * 'Keep Your Silver Shined' - Devon Sproule

Labels: Devon Sproule, gigs, Paul Curreri