Caught Live: Dawn Landes

Three years have passed since Ragged Words last caught Dawn Landes live. During this time she has released two exquisite albums of lilting country and blues infused pop, attempted to turn Americana into a family business by marrying Josh Ritter and purchased a killer pair of tip-ex white cowboy boots! Kicking off proceedings with a charming if uninspiring rendition of 'Money In The Bank', a sweet and simple three chord affair from Landes' most recent long player Sweet Heart Rodeo, the impression was one of a quiet evening to follow. How wrong we were...

Looking every inch the country starlet, Landes flew into ‘I Don’t Need No Man,’ a liberating song that with every chorus produced an almost audible breaking of hearts for at least fifty percent of a fully informed and appreciative audience. Landes then took notice of a chandelier that hung from the ceiling, the decadence inspiring a slowing of pace with the beautiful ‘Twilight’, a highlight of her best album, last year’s Fireproof. And as the mirror ball stopped turning, those wanting a solo, acoustic Landes should have probably headed back into the Hoxton winter. This chanteuse wanted to rock.

Plugging in the electric resulted in a minor riot on stage. With a drummer who goes by the name of Ray Rizzo, sports a lengthy beard that ends in a point and wears a suit jacket with bright orange buttons, this really shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, but we’re glad it did. ‘Young Girl’ and ‘Sweet Heart Rodeo’ were dispatched with real swagger but nothing compared to the avant garde nature ‘Picture Show’ took. Anything that jangled was repeatedly thrown on the floor, instruments were kicked in the direction of other band members and together with some inventive use of the Kazoo, it all culminated in a manic frenzy showing a three-piece who were having a real blast.

With the exception of an unnecessary cover of McCartney’s ‘Dear Boy,’ replete with harmonies “more complex than math”, the night never looked back. Landes was relaxed and having fun with the crowd, explaining the history of how soldiers came to be clean shaven (let’s just say that her band mates shouldn’t think of enlisting any time soon) whilst clearly being enamoured by the noise she was capable of making with her vintage Ibanez, at one point declaring a genuine “thanks for electricity”!

Fortunately for those in attendance Landes wanted to pay lots of thanks. ‘Kids in a Play’ was delivered with the innocence it deserves whilst the Margot Guryan-penned ‘Love’ was covered with far greater success live than it manages on Rodeo, which isn’t hard when the album version bizarrely appears to feature a dentist’s drill for much of the latter half of the record.

If there is one regret, it is that over these preceding three years, Landes has been unable to turn her growing talent into the larger venues that merit its size. Though with a little selfish guilt, this writer enjoyed the intimacy the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen provided, Landes should be playing a stage her talent clearly now deserves. With an encore that featured a random and very funny LCD SoundSystem-esque solo effort by Rizzo before a tuned-up Landes moved into a great version of ‘Drive’, she then riffed a poem of her journey to the venue. Ragged Words only hopes that next time the location of the featured venue rhymes something like Shhh...