Stagestruck

TIFT MERRITT/TRES CHICAS
@Stubb's, Austin, TX
January 21, 2005
Singer/songwriter Tift Merritt makes great records, as evidenced by Bramble Rose and the amazing Tambourine. But I've been skeptical about whether or not she could cut it live. So many artists of her rootsy rock/folk/country/soul stripe put on concerts with pristine sound, watertight arrangements, impeccable performances and all the excitement of a session with a wall covered in drying paint. So I approached this show with some trepidation, knowing it would be perfectly competent, but unsure if it would be, you know, alive. I shouldn't have worried. Backed by a terrific band including stalwart rhythm section Jay Brown and Zeke Hutchins, keyboardist Dan Isengard and guitar ace Brad Rice, Merritt was simply transcendent. Far from the retiring thrush I saw at a South By Southwest songwriting panel, she's become a full-fledged Americana diva, romping through her catalog with the perfect combination of carnivorous relish and reverential soul. Whether banging out rockers "Stray Paper" and "Shadow in the Way" on her Telecaster, lushly strumming midtempo folk poppers "When I Cross Over" and "Write My Ticket" on her acoustic or shaking her sexy self to groovers "Your Love Made a U-Turn" (a James Carr cover) and "I am Your Tambourine," she radiated confidence and verve. She's also well on her way to mastering the art of leading a band, letting Isengard and especially Rice have plenty of space to show their impressive stuff, and the two musicians returned the favor by never stepping on the tunes with unnecessary flash or intrusive fills. When the band was in full rocking flight, as on the encore of "Wait It Out," the energy level was comparable to that at your average punk rock show. When things slowed down for the burning ballad "Still Pretending," the sultry atmosphere couldn't be denied. ("This is a slow dance," Merritt noted, "so grab your partner.") This is the reason I go see live music—there wasn't a moment on the planet anywhere that was suffused with as much quivering life and pure shining soul.

Speaking of soul, opening act Tres Chicas also has it in spades. Though partner Tonya Lamm was unable to make the tour, the other Chicas Lynn Blakey (frontperson of Glory Fountain) and Caitlin Cary (best know for Whiskeytown but also the architect of a pair of excellent solo records) glowed even without her. Also backed by a sterling band (including multi-instrumentalist Sara Bell, from, Cary said, about 19 North Carolina bands), Blakey and Cary harmonized like fallen angels, aware of the grime on their wings but unable to suppress their heavenly beauty. Mixing lovely tunes from the group's recent Sweetwater album with selected cuts from the members' outside oeuvre, Tres Chicas gently took the audience on an emotional journey usually reserved for heartwrenching film dramas. Songs like "Desire," "In a While" and "What Will You Do?" induced heartbreak and chills in equal measure. The band didn't forget to rock, either, turning Blakey's Glory Fountain tune "The Beauty of 23 (Slip So Easily)" into a ragged anthem of pounding guitar and soaring voices. The group also paid tribute to Austin's poet laureate Alejandro Escovedo, reprising their lovely cover of "Rhapsody" from the tribute record Por Vida. Like the headliner, Tres Chicas rocked when they needed to and didn't when they shouldn't of, and when Blakey and Cary wrapped their gorgeous pipes around each other, the glorious harmonies could make you laugh, cry, faint and come all at the same time. This combination of magnificent acts almost makes me believe there must be a God after all. Michael Toland