Rhiannon Giddens and her band put on a riveting show at the Mercury Ballroom Thursday night in a set that moved from smoky French cabaret to Bluegrass and tongue-twisting Gaelic with many glorious stops between, a revelry of traditional music that not many - perhaps not any - can pull off with quite the dexterity and beauty that Giddens brings to a blend of musical genres.
Former Carolina Chocolate Drops member Leyla McCalla opened with her band, playing a mix of Haitian traditional folk music and her own lovely musical interpretations of Langston Hughes poems. Although she performs with seemingly effortless charm, there is both precision and elegance in the structures of McCalla's songs.
Giddens began by welcoming a string quartet of violins, cello, and viola from the Louisville Orchestra to open her set, which included the stunning Charles Aznavour cover, "Tomorrow Is My Turn," the title song of her new album. Equally as assured were the three songs that Giddens wrote herself for these string arrangements, one an Irish ballad and two based on slave narratives. The orchestra members provided a delicate and nuanced backdrop for Giddens stirring vocals, which offer all the detail of the trained classical singer and all the deep-down soul of an artist who knows how to completely inhabit the particular world of a song.
I'm been obsessed with Giddens' cover of Dolly Parton's "Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind" since I first heard it, and the live version was even better, because Giddens infuses it with all the attitude packed in Dolly's brilliant and tightly wound lyrics. The only person who can sing a better Patsy Cline song is, maybe, Patsy Cline. Gidden's "She's Got You," got a huge response from the crowd, but with one stellar rendition after another, it's hard to say what the crowd favorite was. Giddens doesn't shine all alone (although she could), but has a killer band surrounding her - the core from the Chocolate Drops, Hubby Jenkins, Malcolm Parson, and Rowan Corbett, plus bass player Jason Sypher and drummer Jamie Dick. Cello, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, bones, guitar, and more... they do it all, adding the triumphant exclamation points to songs that range from heart wrenching to joyous.
This concert is truly one of the best shows I've ever seen from start to finish - artistically polished and vibrantly performed.
Leyla McCalla
Rhiannon Giddens and the Louisville Orchestra string quartet
Rhiannon and her band
[Photos: Lee Burchfield]
