Red Guitars at the Brrrrrrren

I've enjoyed the Kennedys for years, and so had to go when I read that their February 29th appearance at The Burren in Davis Square would be commemorating the 25th anniversary of their great first album.  We've seen some up and down performances from them (such as their last appearance at The Burren), but how could this not be great?  And it was great, though abbreviated.

We debated whether to eat at home on that Saturday before going into Davis, but opted to take our chances and eat there, which is sometimes excellent.  We just got a parking place on a chilly late-Winter Saturday night in a frantically busy Davis Square and then pushed our way towards the Back Room, just in time for them to open the doors and usher us devotees into an Arctic environment.  They hadn't had the heat on back there and we all kept our coats on, but it warmed up after a while and the ambient temperature kept the beer nice and cold.

The had a lamb meatloaf on special (score!) and the timing was great to have a nice meal, talk with our tablemates (Davis Square was outlandishly exotic for some of them), and then get ready for the opener, Anthony Savino.  The tables in front of the stage were full (we huddled together for warmth), but the booths around the outside were dark, probably less than 50% of capacity in the house, but whatever.

Anthony played solo on a nice, thin chestnut acoustic and seemed a little nervous, though it was just us.  He had some stage banter down and once he got into his songs he showed some confidence and some inventive lyrics.  He kept his set short and then settled in at the bar, giving up the stage to Pete and Maura.

Pete had been bustling around as he usually does, wearing more clothes than all of us Massachusetts denizens put together.  When it was show time though, he and Maura presented well, with matching fire-engine red guitars (hers a Gibson, his a D'Angelico 12-string), a nice paisley shirt and flowered vest for him, and a plum velvet top with ruffles for her (she later changed to a brown and gold bolero jacket).  Maura asked if we were ready to drop the needle, and that's what they did.  It was suddenly 25 years ago.

I really love their River Of Fallen Stars record.  Again, if you don't know it you should stop reading and go listen to it.  They played it straight through but paused to contextualize some of the songs, remarking on how it came out soon after they first formed their musical and romantic partnership during a tour of Ireland and the UK with Nanci Griffith.

It was just the two of them playing it and a large part of what makes the album so powerful for me is the drums and especially the bass, so that was missing.  But Pete was just spectacular on his 12-string and did a great job of bringing out the spacey spirit of the record with his technique and his wah-wah.  I was sitting right in front of him, and when Pete's on he's on.  Maura was not slacking either, her voice was in fine form (again, up and down at other times we've seen them) and she killed these songs.

OK, it was time for what I consider the meat of the record and Maura said, "We're going to space out now."  I whooped and she smiled and then they played a fantastic Run the Red Horses, Life Goes On, and Chelsea Embankment.  This is what it's all about and they did not miss a note.  They ended with a lengthy introduction to Spirit Compass, great stuff!

The took a break at that point and said the second set would be all requests.  I talked to Pete for a bit, hit the bathroom, and then talked to Maura.  But Maura cut me short and said, "We've just been told we have to be off the stage in 20 minutes!"  The Burren had scheduled another band for the 10:00 slot and not told The Kennedys until then.  So what was a mellow evening suddenly turned into a hurried one.

They jumped back on stage and did a few numbers, including the one I'd requested (Dave Carter's Gypsy Rose).  Chris and Meredith Thompson joined them on stage and they did an abbreviated Matty Groves, with Meredith (or was it Chris?) doing a theatrical vocal lead.  They led us all through a new song about healing the planet, and then finished off with Stand, which The Kennedys' contract says they have to do.  No argument from me here, "In this age of un-reason there's a time and a season for love."

Well, a sudden end but we took the opportunity to screw out of there.  The main part of The Burren was wall to wall people at that point, but we escaped and then found our car before we froze and left others to jockey for our still-warm parking space.  Back home shortly and got to spend the latter part of the evening with the kitties.