Nanci Griffith, the little big girl who could, made it a homecoming Tuesday when she returned to Houston on her whirlwind tour of the States.
Griffith, more entertaining than ever, enthralled a Clubland crowd that included her 90-year-old grandmother, her father (who appeared onstage for one song) and ex-husband Eric Taylor, the Houston folksinger and author of several concert selections.
Old home night was complete with the inclusion of Austin songster David Halley in Griffith's Blue Moon Orchestra, and rising newcomer James McMurtry, ex-Houstonian and son of Texas novelist Larry McMurtry, as opening act. (On the back cover of Griffith's 1986 "Last of The True Believers" LP, Griffith cradles a copy of Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove.) " James McMurtry, in fact, was the X-factor. While Griffith has graduated from the Texas folk circuit to become an international songstress - this was no doubt her most "formal" local appearance - McMurtry's excellent debut record, "Too Long In The Wasteland", still left him an unknown commodity as a performer.
He dispelled all doubts with a relaxed 40-minute set of stirring Texana country-folk that is at once familiar and contemporary, comfortable and provocative.
"Hi, I'm James McMurtry, and I'm running for president," he intro duced himself. Opening with a bass-guitar-drums backup, McMurtry led off with his most accessible song, "Painting By Numbers", a brooding yet hook-filled piece. It was a curious choice, however. The sound mix had not yet adjusted to the song's intensity, causing some patrons in front to complain about the sound level.
In the middle of his set, McMurtry went solo, displaying quicksilvery flat-picked runs and a deep, ringing tone on his acoustic guitar. The band returned, ultimately closing with the title tune to "Wasteland".
The more seasoned Griffith reversed the dynamics, opening solo on "Love At The Five & Dime", tossing in an anecdote about Jimmy Buffet.
Buffett, you see, found himself out of guitar picks while on an African tour. He located a Woolworth's, where he bought some "useless plastic" that could be made into a pick.
Her background singers, Texans Hudson & Franke, entered mid-song, and then the Blue Mooners, featuring longtime keyboardist James Hooker (Amazing Rhythm Aces) and new Irish drummer Fran Breen, rocked as hard as Griffith's whispery songs will allow.
With the band swinging effortlessly, Griffith mixed older material (Once In A Very Blue Moon, Taylor's "Deadwood, South Dakota)" with the new "Storms" LP: the poppy "Listen To The Radio" (in honor of Loretta Lynn), "I Don't Want To Talk About Love" and "Drive-In Movies" And Dashboard Lights.
Father Marlin, about twice as tall as the little big girl and a tenor in his own barbershop quartet, got up for "Before The War" and presented Nanci with a bouquet of bluebonnets.
Halley sang his own, lovely, "Rain Just Falls", then added beautiful slide guitar to the new "It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go".
Last of The True Believers followed, then "Gulf Coast Highway", Griffith's song recorded by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa and soon to be recorded by Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.
Then it was on to "You Made This Love A Teardrop, If Wishes Were Changes, There's A Light Beyond These Woods," Taylor's "Storms" and the touching closer, Julie Gold's "From A Distance". Griffith encored with Paul Kennerly's "Let It Shine On Me" and "Brave Companion of the Road."
Griffith clearly is growing into a confident entertainer, willingly dispensing credit to other songwriters and introducing many of her own songs with humorous anecdotes that never stand pat. More than ever, she's able to deliver the delicacy of sentiment with an assurance that belies her squeaky speaking voice and demure profile.
"Before sixth grade, I was under five feet and weighed 75 pounds," she told the audience. "I never got noticed. I wormed my way through crowds. The popular girls - the party girls - treated me terribly. Now they're living in trailer parks."
Meanwhile, the little big girl is living in a world of her dreams.
There "is" a light beyond these woods.
-- Marty Racine | October 1989
Post new comment