My mother and father...and my sister. Good music. Good song writing. Unsuspecting people. Pan. Jesus. Lucifer and my own demons. Buddha. Coyotes. Friends. Loves. Starlets and Aces. Musicians. EB3 and Hofner Club basses. 1943 Gibson guitars. Duesenberg guitars and many more I can't possibly afford. and Kharma.
11th Street Bar (between Avenues A & B)
November 4, 2009
Bonnie Whitmore's sophomore album, Embers to Ashes encapsulates everything that folk and country have always offered—stories that sometimes hit too close to home and melodies that make you sway with a drink in hand. Whitmore's songwriting, however, takes country music out of its contemporary realm, often resulting in a picture of the darker side of heartache and lost love. With an obvious foundation in classic country, Whitmore's attitude on her album and at her live show actually exemplify a revival of the harder and more honest side to the genre once led by Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash and other songwriting legends.
It was an interesting night in the East Village for a country show, as the Yankees and Phillies were duking it out on the baseball field in Game 6 of the World Series. Though the cheers certainly bothered me, forcing me to move closer and sit right at the merch table, Whitmore did not let it kill her night; in fact, she used it to her advantage. Opening with "Please Take the Words Back," a plea-stricken tune that begs the memory to recall Linda Ronstadt's "Blue Bayou," the singer teased the crowd as cheers echoed from the back after an apparent Yankee score, joking at the close of the song, "That was for me, right?!" Whitmore continued to display her quick wit after her second song, when she introduced The Madison Square Gardeners' keyboardist, Bryn Roberts, and announced the assorted items accepted as payment for the evening's performance: "Bryn will take a Powers neat, and I'll take Jameson on the rocks with water. We have a note over there with the CDs—if you wanna take me home I'm only twelve dollars."
Whitmore's playful charm was mostly reserved for the transitional stages of the show, with the seriousness of her message coming out through her lyrics and soulful stares across the room (at times it looked as though she was singing to someone only she could see at the back of the bar). The singer's ability to work the audience conflated with the acknowledgement of her own struggle with the emotions involved in getting betrayed by someone you thought you knew more than yourself. Whitmore's balancing act was nothing short of impressive—the ease with which she shifted between teasing with the crowd to explaining the inspiration for her next track exemplified her self-awareness not only as a singer-songwriter, but as a person just trying to survive along with everyone else. By the middle of her set, Whitmore was stomping her boots and inserting improvisational howls into her cover of The Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait," while also showing off some of her bite as she introduced her own single, "Tin Man," declaring, "Nothing says 'fuck you' like an up-tempo, catchy song!"
In just thirty minutes Bonnie Whitmore showed what performing real songs was all about: honesty, interaction and fearlessness. Besides being well on her way to songwriting success in Nashville, Ms. Whitmore symbolizes the folk legends throughout history that have done nothing but sacrifice in order to tell their story and give people something they can count on: honest music and a fan-inclusive live show.
Set list courtesy of Bonnie Whitmore
—Liz Imler
www.MusicSoldiers.com
BONNIE WHITMORE — Embers To Ashes
Flanfire and the late Mrs. Flanfire became friends with Bonnie Whitmore when she was about 19 and starting to play bass with the Shelley King Band. We traveled by boat to Cancun together and deepened that friendship, then augmented it greatly as friends of Bonnie and (Jamie) Blythe, getting to know sister Eleanor in the process. Like Austin native (Bonnie hails from Denton) Rachel Loy, Bonnie was first known for her bass licks, but her singing and songwriting have emerged as she has found her voice. Many of these songs we can thank to the aftermath of an aborted romance (maybe even her own) – that’s obvious! — the details of which shall not grace these pages. Bonnie, as the lyrics show, is one tough cookie despite her curls and (well) curves.
Chris Masterson (Eleanor’s husband) produced and added numerous instrumentation, and Eleanor played fiddle. Falcon Valdez did the drums and percussion, George Reiff the bass, and Rich Hinman threw down some hot pedal steel. Most of the songs were recorded here in Austin by Andrew Hernandez. And that’s enough shop talk.
“Cotton Sheets” opens the disc — where did this city girl get so country? [DUH - in Nashville!] I happen to know that Bonnie bought her first cowboy hat in Austin the other day. ”Embers to Ashes,” the title cut, is toe-tapping and just plain fonky — and that’s all that’s left of that former love. I would hate to be under these boots! “Cowboy Lullaby” and “GTO” were co-written with the amazing Amanda Shires, that West Texas woman whirlwind. The pedal steel on Lullaby leads the way for a gentle waltz that hearkens back to earlier days in love …. yet perhaps the first hint of trouble in paradise (”cowboy return to me”). GTO is a lament that the end of the engagement left our gal a little dead inside … and wanting to get in her car and drive. I gotta say this is a very commercial record — but an honest one, too. Bonnie is just awesome!
Sandwiched in between these two is “Tin Man” (guess who?) — as our gal has been “replaced by a girl named Mary who shares my middle name.” Yet whether she is the lion or the scarecrow she plans to follow the Yellow Brick Road — “Please Take the Words Back” is a piercing plea to the thief of her heart to undo the damage he has done — and yet she cries, “I didn’t mean to hurt you …” By contrast, “She Walks” is a ballsy Shawn Colvin like song — and, yeah, Bonnie is playing LOTS of gigs in Music City. Then there’s “Cry on My Pillow,” which might sound very sad — as Bonnie sings, “I’m not made meek, cos I’m not a sheep, but I’m going to the slaughter anyway.” Yet it is her choice to cry (or not) — this is sultry Bonnie regaining her edge … maybe after a long talk with sister Eleanor. The guitar work here (Chris M of course) is gritty and a little like gears grinding their teeth.
Indeed, Eleanor contributed to “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” a very pop song and maybe my favorite of this album. There’s that Shawn Colvin reference again — I just cannot help myself. I gotta see this one done live — it will just flat out KICK! And she will need no machine to pour out the smoke. The album closes with an oldie but goodie — “Love Too Sweet,” cowritten by Texas songwriter (and longtime friend) Brent Mitchell. Eleanor’s fiddle Bonnie promises to play shows in Austin during SXSW — and please, friends, kidnap her if necessary but do not let her get back to Nashville too soon.
10:22 pm by Duggan Flanakin
http://www.flanfire.com
i'm assuming you un-jinxed me!!..i most definatly will!..and you better hit me up if tou come down in this direction!..i would also like to appologise for any "creepers" in my group the other night!..some of those guys get a little outta hand sometimes...you music has left an impression on all of us!..we hope to see and hear you often in the future!
high there sweets!..is was a privilege to meet you...you have an absolutly BEAUTIFUL voice!..i look forward to seeing tou again the next time i'm in the area!..and if you ever venture down south hit me up...keep up the good fight...and keep your Eye On the Prize!..love & mudbugs from the deep dirty-dirty!...................................Q
