Show Review: Hiss Golden Messenger at Cat’s Cradle (January 11, 2020)

Saturday felt good. My family and I moved to Durham, North Carolina last summer. I spent the morning volunteering for a donation drive for families displaced by substandard living conditions in one of the city’s largest housing projects–the outpouring of support was humbling. And I got to see Hiss Golden Messenger play in a venue where the crowd knows when not to sing during “Heart Like A Levee.” I mean, it’s so standard for audiences to keep singing when they’re not supposed to on that song that MC Taylor was ready to say, “Gotcha,” and then had to stop the song because the not-singing threw him off. “I just want to congratulate you for knowing not to sing there,” he said. “It’s a hometown show.”

Lilly Hiatt started the evening and I wondered a bit how the songs from her incredible album Trinity Lane would translate when performed solo. Well, they came through loud and clear, because, I guess, good songs are good songs. With just her voice and guitar, she commanded the audience’s attention from the start. I loved the acoustic rendition of “The Night David Bowie Died,” and she played an understated, lovely version of “Walls,” by Tom Petty. (Sidebar: a bunch of folks didn’t know who wrote that song, which simply testifies to the volume of incredible work from Tom Petty.) 

Lilly played a couple of songs from her new record coming out this year and it will be fantastic. I enjoyed “Candy Lunch,” as it picks up her style of being able to tell someone to fuck off in truly original ways, similar to “Jesus Would Have Let Me Pick The Restaurant,” which she also performed. And she also played “Brightest Star,” from the new record, which was just recently released–it’s a great, poppy song that has already made it into a steady rotation for me. The bottom line is that Lilly Hiatt has a strong, unique voice and she writes great lyrics. She just announced her own headlining shows coming up this spring, so be sure to catch her live.

 

One of the exciting things about seeing Hiss Golden Messenger live is the roster of musicians is always changing. I have seen the band pretty consistently since 2015 and I have never seen the same roster; Phil Cook is the only mainstay. Some folks may look on that as a big challenge but MC Taylor seems to embrace it as a way to explore his songs more deeply. This iteration of HGM was ready to go. They started with the classic “Call Him Daylight,” and as soon as I heard how Alex Smith handled the drums on that song, I knew we were in good hands. There’s just a way to play it on the line, “Knock once, now knock twice” that either hits or it doesn’t, and Alex was great all night. Chris Boerner, who mastered Terms of Surrender, was excellent on lead guitar, particularly stepping out on “Saturday’s Song,” and “Mahogany Dread.” And Alex Bingham, sporting an amazing green jumpsuit, 1980s rat-tail, and a sketchy mustache was, in MC Taylor’s words, “everything I wanted to be as a child.” Oh, and he was incredible on bass, particularly as he set the tone on “Highland Grace.” Phil Cook was Phil Cook, which is to say that he not only lit up the piano and guitar but also seemed to communicate telepathically with his bandmates throughout the show, making them smile and enjoy each other. Evan Ringel joined on trombone for several songs and was a great addition. 

I was a little surprised that we only heard four songs from the new record but that may have been because they played the Cradle two nights in a row and the set lists were completely different; they played other songs from Terms of Surrender on night one. The setlist was heaviest on Heart Like A Levee and it was a good reminder of just how beautiful that record is. I loved the crowd singing along to the end of “Highland Grace,” as MC stepped in front of the mic and led us all in a chorus of “Loving her was easy, the easiest thing in the world.” And one of the encores was “Happy Day (Sister My Sister)” with Phil taking the lead on piano. Another highlight was a full-band version of “Jesus Shot Me In The Head.” I’d only ever heard it solo and it was pretty wonderful to hear the band get somewhat experimental with their sound on that song; for a band that thrives on interconnectedness to off on individual paths and then come back around at the end is pretty cool. The experiment threw some people off (do we dance? meditate?) and MC thanked the crowd for letting the band “go there.” They brought Lilly Hiatt back on stage and played the Creedence Clearwater Revival tune, “Green River,” with her on vocals. She absolutely crushed it–it was as if that song was written for her to sing. 

Perhaps the best moment of the night was Mike’s gratitude to teachers. One dollar from every ticket sold on the tour, since September, has been donated to the Durham Public Schools Foundation. But beyond this generous gesture, Mike also asked teachers to raise their hands and asked several what they teach. High school English, Agriculture, Fifth grade. Mike’s parents were teachers. His wife is a teacher. He knows from his family that it’s a very hard job and you could feel in the room that it mattered a lot just to be recognized. As a teacher myself, it felt really good to have our work acknowledged in that way.

It was a hometown show with a hometown feel, which is to say it felt easy and familiar. People didn’t really rush out–they lingered for a while afterwards and headed out into a misty, humid night. It was a special evening and maybe we were all trying to hold onto it just a little longer.

 

Check out a couple more pics in our facebook gallery. And if you haven’t yet heard Terms of Surrender or Lilly Hiatt’s work, get them today!