9:51am Monday 21st September 2009
By Paul Rhodes
WHEN performers can bring something extra to a live show, then the audience is in for an excellent night. The warm, intimate atmosphere of the house room concerts allows musicians to relax and open up, and so it proved.
Canadian duo Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac’s stock in trade are country tunes of small tale life (not unlike Iris Dement); many drawn from their separate upbringings in small town Canada. It was wonderful to see the guitars play, and their voices blend in harmony – almost under their noses.
The best country music makes virtue of simplicity and economy, but Madison Violet’s music veered too often towards the polite and unsurprising, with tunes like Skylight also over literal. When MacIsaac picked up the fiddle or mandolin their rootsy talents were obvious, but the difference between them and their influences, particularly Lucinda Williams, is a lack of grit.
When the duo relaxed and upped the tempo, the music improved exponentially. Lauralee highlighted their deft knack with melody and Small Of My Heart had the audience humming in appreciation. Better still were the tunes that deployed humour. Never Saw The Ending cleverly sent up the incestuous side of small town life, and a ditty about peccadilloes brought nearly brought the house down.
The second set was noticeably more convivial, with MacIsaac in particular showing a slyly wicked sense of humour, and there were glimpses of how far the duo could go.
With their super harmonies, and more imaginative original material, Madison Violet could yet be a household name outside their homeland.
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