At the conclusion of John Doe and Kathleen Edwards' November 8 performance at Carnegie Hall's elegant Zankel Hall in New York, the duo stepped in front of the microphones and monitors they had been using all set, walked to the edge of the stage, and unaided by anything more technologically sophisticated than the room's acoustically accommodating architecture sang the old Everly Brothers hit "When Will I Be Loved". But not before Edwards took the opportunity to undercut the moment. "We're just like Sonny & Cher," she declared, then cocked a thumb at Doe "...except he's Cher."
And so it went for much of the night sublime duets and solo performances mixed with some borscht-belt banter. The second official show of their dozen-date "Hurtin' & Flurtin'" tour, which returns to New York for a finale at Joe's Pub on January 11, showed the pair already has chemistry in abundance, whether displayed in the honeyed harmonies of Gram Parsons' "We'll Sweep Out The Ashes" which they served up early in this set or in the playful back-and-forth between songs.
Doe and Edwards duet on "We'll Sweep Out The Ashes" at Zankel Hall.
Given the distance in their musical experience Doe started his career some 30 years ago on the Los Angeles punk scene with X, while Edwards is a classically-trained violinist from Canada just three albums deep into a career as a singer-songwriter it's pleasantly surprising how well they complement one another. While X's "White Girl" made for an effective folk number, it was Doe's hard-luck tales that truly displayed his depth "The Golden State", "Lean Out Yr Window", and especially "Twin Brother", a moving song about brothers growing up with a negligent mother. Doe has lately been recording in Toronto with the Sadies, and the results promise to be fascinating.
Edwards' solo turns, meanwhile, reinforced the perception that her work grows by subtraction rather than addition. "Asking For Flowers", "Run", and particularly a stripped-down rendering of "Back To Me" gained power removed from the full-band clutter; the focus settled on Edwards' voice, her ear for melody, and her deft lyrics. Doe told the crowd that Edwards' song "Mercury" from her debut LP Failer convinced him of her talent; Edwards glared at him with mock incredulity and asked if he thought the rest of the record sucked. But then their duet on the song proved it is one of the strongest tunes in her repertoire.
Given the epochal political events of four nights earlier, partisan sentiment was subdued. Edwards performed "Oil Man's War", but beyond introing it by saying she's "a Canadian who should keep my mouth shut," she let the song speak for itself. Doe referenced '60s protest singer Phil Ochs' Gunfight At Carnegie Hall album, and dedicated his set to the tragically undervalued songwriter. But when it came time to toss in a political commentary, he did not draw on Ochs' songbook. Instead, he chose Merle Haggard's "Are The Good Times Really Over", punctuated by Edwards' playful fiddle fills.
The highlight of the night (and I truly hope someone is recording these shows) was a country-fried cover of Bo Diddley's "Pills" as filtered through the previous cover by the New York Dolls' "Pills" which makes for a shockingly good country song. There, in one hell-bent cover converted into a hoedown ditty, was the history of alt-country in less than four minutes.
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