Angel Olsen at the Union Chapel

Angel Olsen
H.C. McEntire
Union Chapel, 30 May 2018

So I'm back to the good old Union Chapel yet again this month. This time it's to see Angel Olsen again for a special solo show. The first time I ever saw Olsen it was alone, without a band, supporting Neko Case and it was utterly perfect, so despite my reservations after my last Angel Olsen show, the beautiful intimate atmosphere of this old church made this irresistible.

A couple of years back I saw Olsen playing Koko and I must admit I wasn't too enamored with the crowd at that show. This time the feeling was lessened by the fact it was a seated concert and, as it's a church, there is a no alcohol policy (although there is a bar in an adjoining building). It's amazing what a difference it makes, especially for a quiet show like this, when alcohol isn't a factor and people aren't moving around or chatting all the time.

Other than the venue, the other nice surprise was that H.C. McEntire (the frontwoman of the band Mount Moriah) whose debut solo album I've been enjoying this year, was supporting the show. Turns out this wasn't a random pairing as McEntire was in Olsen's band for the past couple of years and, unknown to me at the time, I actually have photos of the Koko show where she's on stage with Olsen. 

Before she mentioned this fact I'm not sure the crowd was taken with her more country sound but after it did feel like they responded to her better. She definitely looked cool, wearing a suit and a fabulously tousled head of hair. Her album, Lionheart, deals with her years growing up gay in conservative North Carolina and is a beautifully honest and hopeful record, that is unashamedly country, with twangy guitars and peddle steel and all the Nashville flourishes. 

Live she is accompanied only by a guitarist (I missed his name but he was also in Olsen's band) and so the sound is much more stripped down than the sweeping country of her record. Not that this is a bad thing because the songs are so strong and McEntire has a lovely Lucinda Williams tone to her voice that is wonderful to hear.

The highlights include the gospel-tinged album opener, A Lamb, A Dove in which she defiantly sings, "I have found heaven in a woman's touch, come to be now I'll make you blush."  The foot-tapping southern rocker Quartz In The Valley is a feelgood upbeat moment and When You Come To Me, is a gorgeous ballad with some heartfelt vocals from McEntire. 

There's no doubt she sounds great on her own but I'd love to hear McEntire with a full band. Maybe next time.

It isn't long before Angel Olsen emerges from the shadows wearing a tight black mini dress looking every inch an indie superstar. She also has a kind of bemused look on her face, as if she can't believe she's here but it may also be because, as she tells us later, that she arrived late and only had ten minutes to soundcheck (there's a whole spiel about nearly dying on a ferry ride over here).

She tells us upfront that this show is about older material and trying out new songs. "No, I wont be playing any songs from that record," she grins. I have no clue what she's talking about and almost as if she has read my thoughts, continues "You know which one. My Woman?" I don't know if it's because she's fed up of playing songs from it but she holds true to her word, starting with Sans from her odds and sods collection, Phases.

She really did go far back into her catalogue too, which was refreshing, even pulling out Some Things Cosmic from her first EP, Strange Cacti, Lonely Universe from Half Way Home and, Unfucktheworld from Burn Your Fire For No Witness and, maybe best of all, White Fire, which ended with Olsen spookily playing her reverb-shrouded guitar, leaving it echoing around the rafters of the church. 

There were a lot of new songs and I don't know the names of any of them but they did sound more like her older material than the tracks from My Woman, all haunting, gothic-folk where Olsen using that beautifully evocative voice of hers, sometimes a deep croon and sometimes a gorgeous wail and always sounding like something that should be soundtracking a lost David Lynch movie.

She admitted though that she doesn't know exactly how the songs are going to sound like once she records them, telling us "I don't know what I'm going to do. I might add a piano part, or a guitar solo, I don’t know. Consequence of Sound or Pitchfork will know. They can suck my dick," she snarls before grinning. She then challenges people to put that on Twitter, but so far I haven't seen anyone quote her. I have no idea what grudges she has against those websites, so maybe it's for the best. She does admit that she had to quit Twitter for speaking her mind too much and saying inappropriate things (this leads into a story about having to behave herself while playing at a friend's wedding recently!)

I think Olsen did have a setlist but she seemed to be going with the flow most of the time, choosing what felt right. She was also very funny in between the songs, lighting the dark atmosphere created from her moody songs. It worked really well.

After returning for the encore to a cheering crowd, she said she had to pretend she hadn't prepared for it, "you do know everyone includes an encore on their setlist, right?" She then leaves the humour and grins behind for a truly spellbinding version of, maybe my favourite ever Olsen song, Windows, which sounds utterly dreamy with Olsen's voice more haunting than ever. It's a wonderful way to end the show.

Seeing Angel Olsen with a band is always a fantastic experience but seeing her alone on stage relying on her unique and moving voice - something that always sounds like it comes from another time altogether - is something truly special.