“Those who suffer understand suffering and thereby extend their hand” – Patti Smith

I can’t say I’m a country music fan.  There are select few country artists I like (and even with them a little goes a long way).  Gram parsons is one of them.  Something about him has always mystified me but I cannot put my finger on it.  The pain of his songs just soaks right through your skin.  Maybe I’m overly sensitive or maybe I just understand.

When Emma Swift played on this night, the first few songs left me unimpressed.  I felt like I’d heard so many that sounded like her which, unfortunately, bores me to death.  Then she covered Gram Parsons’ “Brass Buttons.”  Now just covering “Brass Buttons” doesn’t make me automatically like a musician.  It just tells me they have good taste (that is, unless they totally butcher it).  When an artist is in sympathy with a song (and I know I’m sounding dangerously like Robert Fripp at this point!) something visits that person- a certain spirit, vibe, glow, whatever . . . .  I personally felt a shift.  I can’t explain it but it was like she found her voice.  Maybe something was making Emma uneasy, I don’t know.  Only she can say.  All I can speak of is what my experience was.  It was like the intensity level was ramped up 200%.  Her speech about how she pursued Gram Parsons’ suits was endearing (I can always relate to being a fan).  But this was not enough to truly turn my previous opinion around.

What turned my opinion were the rest of the songs and how they were delivered.   It was like she just became . . . Emma Swift.   Some songs translate better live but, having never heard her before, I had nothing to compare them to.  This made the experience more special.  I could feel the pain in the songs.  Not all of them were painful but they were genuine.  If music (no matter what it is or who does it) does not appear genuine to me, I’m done.  I can’t name you what other songs she played.  I was there for the headliner (Robyn Hitchcock).  Emma Swift was the unexpected bonus.  She was a pleasant, modest person delivering “messages from the Great Beyond.”  But we know the Great Beyond is inside all of us anyway, right?  In my not so humble opinion, I think Gram would have enjoyed it.

Yes, a post about Robyn Hitchcock’s performance is forthcoming.