Caitlin Rose at The Borderline

Caitlin Rose

Treetop Flyers

The Borderline, 7 March 2011

It's interesting how the mood of a performer can affect the show. A bad mood doesn't necessarily mean a bad show, sometimes an angry artist can make for a more intense, powerful show (check out a pissed off Neil Young or an upset Cedric of The Mars Volta for evidence). However, with Caitlin Rose tonight the change of mood seemed to come over her midway through the gig and it was odd to see the feisty and defiant singer suddenly become timid and guarded.

The night didn't start out like that though. The mood appeared hopeful and full of excitement. This was probably Caitlin Rose's most important and successful headline show since the release of her debut album last year, playing the much-loved Borderline, where stars from Pearl Jam to Jeff Buckley have played. Sold out, the room was packed with people excitedly awaiting her arrival. Rather than waiting backstage though Caitlin was out among the crowd happily talking to people even coming right up to the front of the stage checking out the view as if she was an eager fan. When it finally comes time for her to play, she climbs up on stage this way too and anyone at the back would have probably been surprised to see her head suddenly pop up seemingly from no where.

I've seen Caitlin live before a couple of times and both times she exuded a nervous, charming energy, afraid of how a crowd unfamiliar with her would receive her music and determined to change their mind. There was none of that tonight, perhaps a sold-out London show understandably gives her a more assured air. Wearing jeans, a red sleeveless top and a leather jacket she had purchased today in London, she begins the show in familiar territory, just her alone on her acoustic guitar. Not surprisingly she sounds great, her voice strong and full of charm. There's no doubt acoustic acts always sound great in The Borderline. But this was not to be an all-acoustic show. Bringing out her old friend Spencer on pedal steel and a guitarist, she debuted a new song which I didn't catch the name of but sounded great and went down well with the crowd.

After a couple of songs as a three-piece she then brought on rest of band (a drummer and bassist) and Caitlin swapped her acoustic for a Telecaster. It was fantastic to hear these songs so fleshed out and close to the sound on the record, as I've only ever heard pared down, more acoustic versions before, and they really soared live. In particular the pedal steel in Finding My Way especially amazing, building up to big crescendo, as lovely and cool as Caitlin is I did find myself mesmerized more by the pedal steel player at that point, it's such fun to see it being played up close (and apparently Spencer shares a birthday with Neil Young's late pedal steel player Ben Keith, Caitlin tells us, which is a good sign).

But after this great first half Caitlin suddenly stops being bubbly, like a bad mood had taken over her. I don't know if it was because she was unhappy with how the band was playing (she did say they had only rehearsed once a few weeks back) or the reverent silence of the crowd but Caitlin went from talkative and happy to barely saying a word and looking miserable. Thankfully though the music remained good throughout despite the atmosphere going a little icy. Finally after playing For The Rabbits and the fantastic Shanghai Cigarettes, she decided to speak to us again telling us she had a runny nose and explaining that the stillness of the audience was making her uncomfortable but implored us to move a little for the last song. Still it didn't really seem to cheer her up.

When she came back on she said when she was in a bad mood she liked to tell dirty jokes, and explained that the Jackson Browne song she was about to sing sounded like it was about an unfaithful wife but really was about "jerking off". Seemingly gaining a little more enthusiasm she told us that whenever her mother saw a picture of Jackson Browne she would become all tearful and say in a sad voice "he makes me cry!" and admitted she was turning into her mother because now she does the same. She then sang the Jackson song, Rosie, which I never knew was about masturbation but listening to the lyrics it became obvious to me and everyone there and the clever lyrics in the chorus got a roar of laughter every time. Sticking with the covers she also tried out a J.D. Souther song, better known for being sung by Rose's hero Linda Ronstadt, Faithless Love, doing a fine job on a song that is pretty tough to sing.

Probably the highlight of the show though was when she led the crowd in the singalong to a song from her debut EP, There's An Answer In One Of These Bottles, sounding like a classic Patsy or Loretta song if I ever heard one and the crowd had fun loudly joining Caitlin and the boys on the chorus. She finally ended on the Randy Newman song Marie, which had been requested earlier in the night, which was short and sweet with just Rose alone on her guitar, ending as she had started. She left the stage looking rather moody despite the love and applause from the audience. I don't know what we did wrong but it was still a great show and her band sounded great, it was nice to hear the songs not only sounding more like the record but even rockier and rawer in some cases. I hope she was happier during the rest of the tour because on the strength of this gig she certainly has nothing to be sad about but it was odd to see the sudden change in her demeanor.

Also a note about the great opening act, Treetop Flyers, who I had seen previously with Alessi's Ark over a year ago. Unlike that show though this was fully acoustic with a big double bass booming away through the songs mostly made up of their first EP and previewing a cool-sounding new single which is out in May. The nicest moment though came when the guys decided to commemorate Townes Van Zandt's birthday, which the gig happily fell on (and coincidentally, although I don't think they knew it, they were standing on the stage where Townes played his last ever show), nicely covering When She Don't Need Me. It didn't sound quite as moving as Townes' melancholy vocals but it was a sweet tribute and ended their set on a high note. Definitely one to watch.

Below is Caitlin performing Randy Newman's song Marie, the last song of the night: