Alela Diane at Scala

Alela Diane & Wild Divine

Peggy Sue

Dylan LeBlanc

Scala, 12 May 2010

Louisiana singer-songwriter Dylan LeBlanc looks like a cross between Ashton Kutcher and a young Townes Van Zandt. So yes, he's easy on the eye and has a kind of cool, authentic cowboy thing going on.
The Townes Van Zandt comparison probably goes further though, as like the cult singer Dylan sings lonesome-sounding laments, beginning the set alone with just a pedal steel player to help his blues along. Musically he does that mumbled vocals style of folk-infused country and I must admit that after a while his voice becomes a little annoying but when he does actually sing a little clearer and louder his songs sound pretty good, the best being reminiscent of Ryan Adams in his Heartbreaker days. He brings Alela Diane's band Wild Divine out for a couple of songs and things definitely improve when it gets a little rockier and the songs don't sound so introverted. Rather nicely Alela Diane comes out to duet on one song and their voices definitely sound good together but the best number of his set has to be a rocking Hank Williams' cover.

Second in support came Peggy Sue, a trio from Brighton comprised of a male drummer and two guitar-playing frontwomen, one a tomboyish, curly-haired blonde (Rosa Rex) and the other a long-haired brunette (Katy Klaw) who looks a little like a young healthy-looking Amy Winehouse back when she was a jazz singer. Much of their appeal comes from trade-off in lead vocals as well as harmonies from the two girls. Together they sound particularly powerful and sometimes menacing. I guess it's best described as indie folk but with so many samey sounding new folk acts around at the moment it's kind of refreshing to find an act that manage to stand out and keep you interested throughout. It's folk but with a punk attitude. There's one song in particular called Watchmen where Rosa Rex puts down her guitar and takes up drumsticks and plays a pretty mean rhythm over the drummer that sounds almost tribal and is pretty arresting to hear. Definitely looking forward to seeing them again.

Alela comes out looking tinier than ever and a little like a flapper girl in her black fringed dress and bob hairdo. Although last time she had a band with her which included her dad Tom Menig and her now husband Tom Bevitori, apparently things weren't as happy as they appeared and she now how a new band dubbed Wild Divine and only her dad and husband have survived the transition.

With Bevitori moving to guitar (which he seems more natural at than bass), it has freed Alela up to move around a little and by the second song she's taken the mike off its stand and is, somewhat awkwardly but sweetly, rocking out in the middle of the stage and looks like she's enjoying things a little more. The material on this new album, which has upset some purist fans, is infused with the spirit of country rock so it's more upbeat and louder than the intimate acoustic shows of the Alela of old. The main part of the show she concentrates on the new album starting with To Begin and Elijah and only slipping in Take Us Back from the previous album.

This new approach allows her to concentrate on her vocals, which are as ever heavenly and pure sounding, whether people dislike the fuller instrumentation or not, for me at least it's the defining element of her music and it's still the central force on stage. Which is a good thing as she's definitely got one of the most unique and pleasing voices out of the current rave of new folksters. Not that she remains without a guitar all the time, in fact, due to her own guitar not working, tonight she's strumming away on Dylan LeBlanc's borrowed acoustic for many of the songs.

Of the new tracks, Heartless Highway, a song about the weariness of being constantly on the road, sounds particularly good, building up effectively with some nice licks courtesy of her dad (it's not surprising to learn he's in a Grateful Dead cover band, you can tell he's suppressing the urge to jam full out), as does Suzanne and the heartbreaking The Wind. They all sound so good in fact that at first I don't realise that only one older song has been played. But when the band momentarily abandon the stage leaving Alela alone with just her guitar there are cheers and whistles as she begins the opening chords of probably her most beloved song, The Rifle, which gives her longterm fans a dose of the old, more stripped down Alela. After a gorgeous stark rendition of Oh My Mama, the band return for some more Wild Divine numbers before ending on a surprise: a rather bluesy, full band version of The Pirate's Gospel and it is odd to hear it with drums and bass but it doesn't lose it's punch or subtly in the process, just breathes new life into a song that she's probably become fed up playing.

Funnily enough the last two times I've seen Alela she's played cover songs by some of my favourite artists, the first time she played Fleetwood Mac's Gold Dust Woman and the last time Townes Van Zandt's Rake. This time she brings out Dylan LeBlanc to play a rather lovely version of Neil Young's I Am A Child. She is a woman after my own heart it seems, well record collection-wise anyway. She then ends with a full band versions of two songs from To Be Still: White As Diamonds and Every Path and the band truly live up to their name: divine.

There's something timeless about Alela's voice and songs, like they could have come from any era. I really think Alela is an artist that people will be looking back at as one of the best singer-songwriters of our time.