Mary Gauthier & Eliza Gilkyson
Cedar Cultural Centre, Minneapolis, Minnesota
November 18, 2005

This show was the real reason that I decided to go to Minneapolis for the first time, but of course, Rodney Crowell turned out to be the true highlight for me. This bill sounded like a dream pairing of two of my favourite female singer/songwriters, and if the show wasn't going to come here (why hasn't Eliza ever been here, and why hasn't Mary been in so long???) then I knew that a trip to Minneapolis would have to do. 

The more concert venues I visit, the more I appreciate our West End Cultural Centre. The Cedar is basically just a big concrete hall with a bunch of folding chairs and a makeshift stage. I'm sure it does the trick if there aren't many other options, but it's really not that comfortable, the sightlines are terrible because they've laid out the room to be very wide, and not very deep, and the sound and lights are pitiful. We sat right up front so we could get good photos and a good view, but the speakers were hung way over our heads, pointing at God knows what, and there really weren't any lights on the performers save for a lamp onstage, so taking photos was difficult at best. 

Luckily, Mary & Eliza did not disappoint, and more than made up for the lackluster venue. 

I was a bit surprised that Mary opened up the show, but both artists did sets of similar length, so it really was like a double bill. I've had the good fortune of seeing Mary a number of times, but all were solo shows (she had a great guitar player with her this time) and all were before the release of her big label album. She's still the same humble, happy, wonderful person she always was, and her songs are still dark and sad and beautiful, but a few things have changed with some record company money and a heck of a lot of touring. First, she dresses different now. Not that she didn't dress well before, but now she's obviously had some image help with hair, makeup, and wardrobe, and she really does look like a million bucks. Good for her. 

The other big change is that she got funny. Lots of songwriters who write really dark, sad songs (Vance Gilbert, Fred Eaglesmith early on, etc.) have developed a lot of jokes and a keen sense of humour to keep the audience from committing suicide after the show. They tell jokes and silly stories between sad songs to kind of balance things out, and it works well. But I really didn't expect Mary to go that route. Now, she's got a bunch of funny stories and little jokes about why her songs are so sad and stuff, and it did kind of lighten the mood.

But perhaps too much. I think that when you add comedy to a show it runs the risk of making your audience not take you as seriously. Before, when Mary would sing a really deep line, you'd feel it, and be really moved. But with comedy in the show, the lines didn't seem as powerful or as serious. The most shocking example of this came when Mary did her song "I Drink." Now Mary's been doing this song at every show for many years, and every time I've seen or heard it, I've thought of it as a really sad, powerful song. It never even occurred to me that it might be funny, but as she sang it, plenty of people in the audience were laughing after each line! I mean, I could see how it might be kind of clever and witty to write lines like "Fish swim/Birds fly/Daddies yell/Mamas Cry/Old Men sit and think/I drink," but it never occurred to me to laugh at such a poignant song. I think the song somehow lost its beauty for those people by becoming this silly caricature, and it left me feeling kind of uncomfortable.

Eliza also had a guitar player along with her, and apparently he's there for more than just musical accompaniment, he also acts as a bodyguard. Eliza's songs are often really politically charged, and she has some very overt opinions about things, and I always wondered how those songs and those words would go over in the U.S. She explained that sometimes it's not easy to do songs like "Man of God," but she knows how important it is to speak the truth and say what needs to be said, and usually people respect that, even if they don't always agree. This crowd seemed to agree with her wholeheartedly, as she got a rousing ovation for "Man of God" and her words, which was really nice to see.