Bowman House Concert - Audrey Auld & Anne McCue

There is a sense of discovery on the nights Art Bowman holds his house concert series in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The artists singing in his living room or on his deck are never well known.

This spring night, as I heard the first songs by two singers, Audrey Auld and Anne McCue, there was little doubt what had drawn Art's interest. The writing was vivid in both lyrics and melody. This house concert, as most in Art's series, would reveal delightful music.

Audrey and Anne started their musical careers in different Australian towns before eventually becoming neighbors in Nashville. I asked both if there is an acoustic sound that gives away musicians from the land of OZ, but they were convinced that their music is played in a true international language. I'd have to agree. Their songwriting is equal to anything from writers born in this country and may sound just as "American."

A benefit to the house-concert format is the informal setting which the pre-concert potluck establishes and easily carries forth into the performance. The best house-concert performers take advantage of the atmosphere by adding a performer/audience dialog between songs.  It's a smart way to work, as most audience members are new to the musical material.

On this night, this pair worked the audience like a female version of the comedy team of Penn and Teller; albeit much more attractive. Audrey delivered stories of living in Tasmania, Australia, "one of the last stops before the South Pole," as well as her home of the last eight years, Nashville, "the only town where anyone you meet in a bar who asks to take you home to co-write really means it." With a deadpan expression, Anne added an occasional comment... "people are only different in the land of OZ because they were all convicts," an allusion to the country's stark history.

At times, I completely forgot about the fine music and thought I was listening to stand-up comics. Talk included a story about ghoulish encounters visiting the (Maebelle) Carter family house, from which they made a hasty exit, and another story about the missing road signs in Luckenbach, TX, a historic hotbed for music (yet without "a dance hall to be found") and where the road signs disappear with the visitors who cross the city line in search of the past of many songwriting heroes

Audrey's music is comfortably located in a category known as "Americana" - a cross between country, folk, and bluegrass. Yet, her style is a far cry from the music sadly found on today's country stations - music she admits to no longer being able to recognize as country. In her recipe of Americana music, country is certainly the strongest seasoning. The song "Next Big Nothing," best described as "country/wit," is "half country" and "half put-on."

Once I thought that I would be a big star
making everybody look at me
driving to the bank in my big car
and looking at myself on TV

Mama said that I was gonna make it
that I'd be on the Grand Ole Opry
then I'd stick my hands in wet concrete
but no-one ever thought of asking me
from "Next Big Nothing"
                                words and music by Audrey Auld

Audrey delivers lyrics in a style that lets you laugh with her. Make no mistake, the quality of this country music is first-rate. If you find yourself laughing, it is only to celebrate the wry humor that is joined with a gift for melody.

Americana music has its emotional dark side, a musical landscape Audrey is equally adept at traveling. The song "Down in a Hole" (full text below) is a bluegrass showpiece, complete with a lyric that decries the lifestyle offered by mining coal. The song may be the best proof that this pretty gal from Tasmania has found a fitting home in Americana music. In Aussie slang, an "overlander" is "a person who moves sheep or cattle over long distances." These songs, a similar stock, are cared for well in Audrey's skilled hands.

For the lucky few who stayed after the concert, both artists continued the evening with acoustic guitars on Art's back deck. This was a rare event in the house concert series and one that only steady attendees will be lucky to find. The night to that point rightly belonged to Audrey, the advertized main act.

With a little encouragement, Anne McCue tipped her hand showing a songwriting style easily associated with musical offerings of Lucinda Williams (whom she has toured with) and Leonard Cohen. In the two sets with Audrey, Anne had offered only one song of her own, "Stupid," which has an easy beat and guitar solos that recall Roger McGuinn's Rickenbacker guitar lead-ins from The Byrds' radio hits. McCue, who used a Danelectro 12 String guitar to achieve a similar signature sound, has had considerable success with the song, including selection in a box set of folk-rock songs by The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

On the Bowman's back deck, as Anne and Audrey traded acoustic songs into the early morning, Anne's multiple musical personalities crept into conversation. Alas, to appreciate Anne's contributions, a listener should have known of the four or five albums she had for sale at intermission. I was eager to buy the latest, "East of Electric," on her recommendation alone. What I found after leaving for the night was one of the best all-acoustic efforts I have ever heard by a single artist.  The album is a showcase for Anne's considerable skill on a variety of instruments. According to published accounts, she had wrote the songs in an effort to recapture folk music of the sixties and seventies. She achieved far more. The poetic lyric-writing style is sharp with emotion that listeners will easily identify with.

There's no certainty here, no divinity here
Just the flame dying out from the fire
It's a beautiful thing if you know who you are
Just to know who you are
                      from "Beautiful Things," words and music by Anne McCue

Cause love only burns you if you set it aflame
I'm lookin at you I can tell we are the same
Yea love only hurts you if you call it a game
I've met you before I can tell we are the same
from "We Are The Same,"
                      from :"We Are The Same"
                      words and music by Anne McCue and W. Courtney

A music video in support of the acoustic album shows Anne playing multiple instruments, a true one-woman band. The clever approach is a true image, as Anne is nearly the only instrumentalist on the album.  It is also a fine nod to her college degree in film making.

Anne's first love may be the electric guitar, something borne out by appearances in a Jimi Hendrix festival in Australia. Fierce guitar solos in her recordings of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" or Tony Joe White's "As the Crow Flies" betray a talent equally adept at playing acoustic instruments.

An evening that started for many with two unknown singers showcased Audrey Auld's strong country writing framed by her equally strong comic ability and then offered a glimpse at a musical chameleon, Anne McCue, who is at home in many styles and with countless instruments. The two will tour together for the next month.

For friends of Art Bowman, the boon of catching this rare combination of talent is less about chance and more about recognizing Art's ability to judge songwriting. His house concerts often involve many of the same artists appearing at the popular nearby Decatur, Georgia, club known as Eddie's Attic. Attending shows at Eddie's can be less rewarding if you choose a night with an act that was booked to widen the club's audience rather then to showcase the best talent.

As the series enters its fifth year, the appreciation of Art's skill in judging songwriting is more evident then ever - the number of returning guests has increased, and the success of the Bowman series has been noticed by booking agents outside the Atlanta area.

copyright 2009 by S Peterkin - All rights reserved

Lyrics

DOWN IN A HOLE - Words and Music by Audrey Auld

I never grew up in a mining town
But I've been down in a hole
I never cried while my lungs turned black
But I cry for the black of my soul

I stood in fear as the walls caved in
I stood in fear as the walls caved in
Trapped in the darkness alone
I cried for help, no-one heard
So I cried for the black of my soul

I've seen the yellow birdie die
I heard my poor mother moan
I've been below the water line
Down in the black of my soul
Down in a hole, down in a hole
Crying for the black of my soul

If love is the shelter in this forsaken place
Why am I down in a hole?
Digging through years of blood and mud
Why am I down in a hole?
Digging through years of blood and mud
Mining the black of my soul
There is a prayer the miners use
"Don't bury me in a hole"
I'm praying hard so I won't be
Buried in the black of my soul
I'm praying hard so I won't be
Lost in the black of my soul

Down in a hole, down in a hole
Crying for the black of my soul



WE ARE THE SAME
©A. McCue/W.Courtney 2008 Milkman's Daughter Music

     ASCAP-APRA/BMI Admin. by BugMusic

Take me down to your darkest deep
Let me see all those secrets you keep
Please me, let me walk upon your stage
Open the door, let me get inside your cage
'Cause love only burns you
If you set it aflame
I'm looking at you
I can tell we are the same
Yeah love only hurts you
If you call it a game
I've met you before
I can tell we are the same
Put down all those weapons you keep
Call off the dogs
Let it be just you and me
I think, I think I know who you are
First there was love
Then that wound became a scar
But love only burns you
If you set it aflame
I'm looking at you
I can tell we are the same
Yeah love only hurts you
If you call it a game
I've met you before
I can tell we are the same
It's coming to this - I'm coming to find you
Don't push me away
It's coming to that - I'm coming to love you
Don't force me back..


Links:

Audrey Auld - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/audreyauld

Anne McCue - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/annemccue

Bowman House Concerts - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/bowmanhouseconcerts

McCue Videos:

Ballad Of An Outlaw Women (don't miss guitar solo at about 4min)
http://tinyurl.com/rc6nh3

As The Crow Flies
http://tinyurl.com/odoo3w

Stupid (see videos at this site)
http://www.annemccue.com/


Auld Video
Clinch Mountain Prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DK8kcJIYJI

Auld Interview
http://tinyurl.com/ql9hkr

Auld Video

Next Big Nothing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUxu5kuAius

copyright 2009 - S Peterkin - All rights reserved