It wasn't hip, sexy, trendy or in anyone's idea of hot, but this past Friday's Sweet Relief benefit was an evening of excellent music for the best of causes, and, I'm sorry you weren't there to enjoy it. I won't lecture you. But it kinda sucked that more people didn't devote a few early evening hours and 20 measly bucks (plus fees if you bought through Ticketbastard) to enjoy the work of some very talented musicians and songwriters, and to support an organization dedicated to helping musicians pay for health care. Fortunately, the organizers came out in the black, raising some $1,000 for the newly revived Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.
About 150 folks came out, filling half the chairs that had been set up before the stage at Liberty Hall, a venue that can look huge when it's full or quite small and compact when it's empty -- as if you could make a standing jump from the balcony to the stage and not so much as break an ankle. (Not that you would want to risk that in a country where it would cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you did break your ankle.)
Leaping nimbly across acres of bluegrass were the Midday Ramblers, a band I didn't know from Adam but am glad to know now.
That was actually the theme of the evening, for me: going in not expecting much and getting blown away. Even though the performers didn't turn out to have much of a draw, the show was actually very well booked, music-wise. Though the sounds veered from old-timey (Ramblers) to suprisingly cutting-edge indie (Waterdeep) to all the flavors of Williams' work -- rock, jazz, folk, bossa nova, all interpreted through her classically American lens -- it never veered away from being thoroughly pleasant to the ear, harmonious, even, and quite frequently, inspirational. But I ramble.
So, the Ramblers -- very cool. The four Lawrence men came out shortly after 7, with a statistic: at 12 years and going, they think claim to be the longest-running local band to retain all of its original members. 12 years doesn't sound that long, but to keep all members ... hmmm... that's one for the pub quiz. But why would you wanna quit a gig like the Ramblers?
If you got the chops to bust out the Earl Scruggs-fast breakdowns and nail three-part harmonies with your equally talented buddies, why wouldn't you do it, like, every day? Toting bass, mandolin, banjo and guitar and looking dapper in white shirts and ties, the Ramblers stood around a central mic, trading licks and lines about trains, women and Jesus. For their last number, Victoria Williams came out, applauded by those gathered, and sang a sweet hymn about being lifted up.
The uplift continued with married singer-songwriters Don and Lori Chaffer of Waterdeep. Evidently, their band was at one point in the CCM-loving '90s (think Third Day, Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer et al) the biggest-selling independent Christian band in the country. Whatever. I hate earnest, bubbly, U2-ripping Christian rock probably as much as you do, but what the Chaffers did Friday night -- and what they are doing all the time now -- is pretty awesome. Though their latest album,Pink and Blue, is packaged like a CD of kids music, the songs are sweet, rich and musically interesting, standing up in catchiness and elegance to anything by Feist or Andrew Bird. This is true especially when drums, piano and studio effects are stripped away, as they were Friday night, with Don and Lori using their voices, acoustic guitars, one cheap Yamaha keyboard and deftly applied looping pedals to create sounds that were purer and more hypnotic than the amplified arrangements on Pink and Blue (which I bought at this concert because I knew it was the closest I was going to come to going home with Don and Lori and having them adopt me).
Tall and bearded with glasses and a hat and looking like a Fiddler on the Roof extra, Don played the cut-up to Lori's straight man, goofing between songs, always coming within an inch of embarrassing himself before the lady of the house would step in and make him muzzle it. The music, though, was seriously beautiful. The Chaffers, Lori especially, have casually awesome voices, clear as churchbells. And though they could've gone the gooey, feelgoody route, they stuck to making awesome sounds. We're going to lose a musical powerhouse when the Chaffers (along with fellows Billy Brimblecom and Greg LaFolette and their wives) relocate to Nashville this summer. I hereby request a farewell show, at the very least.
The auditorium was still half empty when the stage filled with musicians, eight of them, plus Victoria Williams, her brown hair piled up on her head, clad in a billowy white smock and carrying a beat-up, wine-colored Stratocaster. The band, which comprised in addition to the Chaffers, musicians from the praise band at Cambridge Church in Leawood, including Mark Matthews, the musician-turned-doctor who organized this whole deal and rescued the foundering Sweet Relief fund.
The set showcased the best of Williams' career, a body of work to which she has not added in a while, though she is working on a new album. In fact, when I talked to her a week before the show, she expressed anxiety about spending so long in Kansas City working up old songs (she and the band had two nights of rehearsals before Friday) with deadlines approaching for writing new material. I'm glad she did; the concert was completely satisfying.
Williams is known for her quirky, off-kilter style. Her voice is wavering and childlike, as are her mannerisms. One minute, she seems on the verge of giggling and clapping like a kid given a birthday present, and then she'll seem like she's about to stamp her foot and stick out her lower lip -- particularly when she gets to talking about the American health care system (in case you haven't been reading along, Williams has battled multiple sclerosis for the past 15 years). Her version of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," was not far from how an ebullient fifth-grader might've rendered it, except that Williams' performance carried the weight of a lifetime of experience: ups and downs, heartache and learning, suffering and persevering.
Her persona may be youthful, but her songwriting is seasoned and mature. Songs like "Century Plant," "Crazy Mary" and "Summer of Drugs," with its arresting opening verse --
My sister was bit by a copperhead snake
In the woods behind our house
Nobody was home, so I grabbed her foot
And sucked the poison out
My sister got better in a month or two
When the swelling went down
But I started off my teenage years
With poison in my mouth
-- these songs hold shares of the darkness that pervades American folk music, the promise of death lurking in the woods beyond the barn -- and life's humble but beautiful defiance in the face of it. And some of her songs are just about how wonderful love is: "Little Bit of Love," "You R Loved," "My Ally." She's got a lot of songs about love.
The band held together well, though those providing the backup vocals -- namely, Don and Lori Chaffer and Allison Brimblecom, Billy's wife -- had their work cut out for them, following Williams' improvisational, slightly arhythmic style. In fact, just about the whole band had to keep both eyes on her. She's not the type to be fenced in. The church players, though, including Dr. Mark on acoustic guitar, ran through the charts like old pros, and after the final strains of "Psalms" reverberated in the air, the congregation was on its feet.
Set list
This Moment
Century Plant
Sunshine Country
Frying Pan
You R Loved
Holy Spirit
Crazy Mary
What a Wonderful World
Harry Went to Heaven
Water to Drink
Claude
Little Bit of Love
Summer of Drugs
Opelousas
Psalms
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We wish to thank everyone invlolved with putting on this terrific evening of music to benefit The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.
Special appreciation to Victoria & Dr. Mark Matthews for their tireless efforts and joyful optimism.
We are excited for the coming year here at Sweet Relief and have gratitude for the efforts of all in the Missouri / Kansas region.
Warment Regards,
Bill Bennett & Rob Max
Directors - Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
info@sweetrelief.org
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