Review: Jarrod Dickenson, Louisiana

Whilst The Antiques Road Show is a delightful way to spend a Sunday evening it’s easily trumped by a night of beautifully crafted and played songs accompanied by tall tales and belly laughs – even with a medical drama thrown in to the mix. A full Louisiana experienced all of the above with Jarrod Dickenson & Cariad Harmon and no doubt managed to watch The Antiques Road Show on the interwebs at a later date.

Cariad Harmon opened the evening twice, initially introducing herself but then espying the headline act standing stage left asked what he was doing there…a puzzling pause and the mumbled response “Introducing you” brought the house down. The fumbled introduction set the tone for a night of genuinely inclusive bonhomie and laughter as Harmon was introduced properly. She proceeded to play a delightfully nuanced set full of songs that were fabulous fun to listen to, mini-slices of her life that resonated with all present.

The vivacious Anglo-American is currently residing in Nashville but has spent time in New York and her tunes reflected time spent there: short and sweet tunes sung with a clear voice and accompanied by deft guitar work. Harmon has a charming and powerful voice, free of genre clichés and was accompanied on several tunes by Claire Dickenson, their voices blending to great effect.

Harmon’s playing was exquisite throughout – a lightness of touch with chiming melodies and pulsing deeper notes for rhythm. I Want You stood out, a song “about being shy and having a big mouth”, but Every Time was as pretty and its tales of internet dating had the house chuckling.

For the final tune the audience was asked to pick between a sensitive song about NYC or a “sort of smutty” tune about Netflix, the latter naturally winning by a landslide, thus the uplifting, innuendo laden & hilarious Netflix & Chill closed the set in a raucous fashion. Well, as raucous as you can get with an acoustic guitar – the tune would kill if performed with a greasy rockabilly band. Harmon stands head and shoulders above many of the fey & “sensitive” songwriter swarming around open mic nights and filling support slots. Her tunes are fresh, invigorating and life affirming. She’s planning on a return visit next summer, check her out and watch out for the date – satisfaction guaranteed.

Texas native Jarrod Dickenson has a new record out – Ready the Horses – and the songs therein are an exceedingly pleasing mixture of American roots music, the best of them finding that marvellous place where Stax meets Nashville: country soul par excellence. His sixteen song set heavily featured the recording performed ether solo, or accompanied by Claire Dickenson aka his wife. Their harmonies were sublime and there were moments when the shared vocals were so intimate that the Dickensons made voyeurs of the crowd, particularly as many of the tunes were written by Mr. D for Mrs. D. Case in point the tender call and response of Your Heart Belongs to Me a fabulously sentimental song completely free of saccharine mawkishness.

The tunes weren’t all romantic though, being Texan he was obliged to play a cowboy song, (no a Cowboy Song not Cowboy Song) and A Cowboy and the Moon was an affecting waltz time lament for days long gone, a yearning remembrance of simpler times. Meanwhile Gold Rush winningly stitched together imagery from the Wild West whilst skewering the hypocrisy around the great financial crash (don’t forget brothers & sisters, we’re still all in it together). Mid-set Mr. D acknowledged the passing of many great musical heroes over the past few years and, with Cariad Harmon back on stage, a fine, rousing cover of Tom Petty’s We Were Built to Last felt celebratory rather than sorrowful.

Mr. D has a fine line in banter too, revealing that he’d received a pint in the face in Bedford the previous night, not whilst on stage “…but while I was loading the gear in the car park”, said town then remaining the butt of jokes from on stage and off for the rest of the night. During the inevitable between song moments of guitar swaps and tuning, there were several consecutive silences with Mr. D commenting on the reasons for the quiet – “Well we’re British” came the response, to more mirth. It was that kind of night, quips back and forth, respectful silence during the quieter musical and vocal moments but boisterous cheers for each song.

Nothing More, a smoky lament was barely underway, however, before a bloke at the stage front collapsed – the song halted and audience members stepped in to assist, as Mr. D leant in to offer support. The chap seemed dazed and in need of hydration (the Louie was baking after the unseasonable hot weather) and was soon back on his feet. Gazing at the concerned faces around he simply said “Sorry about that” prompting the instant response “How British” from the crowd stage right and much relieved laughter. But alas he hit the deck again and, after space was cleared and the emergency services consulted by ‘phone, was able to be assisted downstairs to recover.

A dozen songs done, Dickenson suggested we forgo the usual encore malarkey and cram in three more songs – a decision met with unanimous approval. The jazzy blues of Little Black Dress rocked and then was complimented wonderfully by I Won’t Quit, Mr. D’s apology to Mrs. D for putting his foot in to it on more than a few occasions. For the final tune Harmon was back on stage as the three musicians led the house in a rambunctious cover of Faith, an uplifting end to a night that was a never to be repeated mixture of comedy, superb performance and an episode of Casualty.

All pix John Morgan

Jarrod Dickenson: The Louisiana, 15th October 2017