There’s nothing modern about Brandi Carlile. Her approach to craft, from the homegrown production of her music to the organic accruement of a devoted following, is more akin to the singer-songwriters of generations past (Tori Amos comes to mind). The melancholy-tinged way she croons recalls singers like Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, and her enraptured fan base has been cultivated the old-fashioned way, through the road-dog approach to touring; Carlile is rarely not somewhere playing a sold out show, whether it’s opening for Dave Matthews or headlining extensively, Carlile is omnipresent. Which is a good thing, since her accessible stage presence and engagement with fans produces that rarely intimate concert environment in which the audience plays an integral part of each show, either through a welcome tête-à-tête with Carlile and her songwriting collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth, audience participation during songs and often-granted requests. In short, she’s the real deal.
She’s currently on a tour not promoting a new album but testing out new material, as she’s known to do. This round of shows, however, sees Carlile in a rare fully acoustic setup: there’s no amps, no microphones and no speakers. The entire show is conveyed from Carlile and bandmates without interference from technology, a perfect complement to the rawness and intimacy of her music.
The Hanseroths began the show by walking through the pews at New York’s historic and beautiful Society for Ethical Culture and singing in perfect harmony. Carlile joined them shortly thereafter when they began ‘Again Today,’ the closing track off The Story, the singer’s breakthrough album. It’s a great closing track that works equally well as a set-opener, especially for Carlile and her innovative tour. In it she sings, “The path of least resistance is catching up with me again today,” and it’s that path that has carved out an incredible rare niche in contemporary music.
The set consisted of several new songs: “The Eye,” which Carlile described as unique in her catalogue because there was no lead singer (it’s a full three-part vocal with the Hanseroth twins), “Beginning to Feel the Years,” “Things I Regret” and “Wherever Your Heart Is.” The tracks were all exquisitely Carlilian, pulling at the heartstrings and occasionally soliciting a footstomp or a grin.
This new music comes from a period of intense songwriting during which Carlile, now a new mother with her partner, was “raising cane and raising kids.” Her last record, Bear Creek, saw the Pacific Northwest native move into the realm of more traditional country and bluegrass twang, but these new songs feel like a welcome return to her wheelhouse of pop/alt-country balladry.
She closed the set with two covers, which have become part of her trademark over the years. Citing Fleetwood Mac as an influence on the upcoming new record, she sang ‘The Chain’ (nailing Lindsey Buckingham’s vocals) and closed the set with the Avett Brother’s ‘Murder in the City,’ providing a poignant and reflective end to an evening of rare beauty.
