Tag: Wailin’ Jennys

Wailin’ Jennys at the Birchmere

Ever since becoming captivated by their heavenly harmonies, I had been itching to see the Wailin’ Jennys in concert, waiting until they were close enough for me to drive to them. On 4/7/09 they came to the Birchmere, and I jumped. It was a wonderful concert. I had been up until 3 AM the morning of the concert grading papers, and had class that morning as well, followed by the three and a half hour drive to Alexandria, but my sleep deprivation was completely forgotten once the Jennys began singing. This was their set list:

  • Arlington
  • Beautiful Dawn
  • Intro: Manitoba, Man-it’-o-ba (This wasn’t a song, but a spoken intro of the Jennys’ impressions of the US while traveling it doing concerts. Very funny.)
  • Old Man
  • Bring me little water Silvie (which showcased the amazing range of Heather Masse, hitting bass notes as well as any tenor)
  • Drivin’
  • Deeper Well (an Emmylou Harris cover, and not a Jennys standard at the time)
  • Glory Bound
  • Motherless Child
  • One More Dollar
  • “Paint a Picture”? (not sure of the title on this one; it was a new one from Heather Masse)
  • Happy Birthday to You (in five-part harmony!)
  • Heaven When We’re Home
  • Payin’? Rayin? Pagin? Ragin? (very much not sure of the title of this one)
  • Weary Blues
  • Racing with the Sun
  • Avila
  • One Voice
  • The Parting Glass

The last two were the encore, and the best of the concert. The last was heartrendingly beautiful; the Jennys stepped to the very front of the stage, and the lights went down. The hall became so quiet I could hear Heather softly hum their starting pitch, then they began: a nearly perfect, achingly beautiful rendition of an old Irish tune.

And then, alas, it was over. The only thing that could have made it better was the inclusion of some of Annabelle Chvostik’s material (Apocolypse Lullaby, Devil’s Paintbrush Road), but considering that those were songs she had written before she joined, she probably wanted to retain exclusive rights to them after having left.

The only outright blemish of the evening? The audience, one of whose drunken members couldn’t resist shouting “Nice makeup!” to the Jennys. Nice rudeness, jerk. Feel free to be nicely absent the next time they perform there.

The Wailin’ Jennys

I’m an avid music fan, and I’ll listen to most any genre, as long as it has quality. To me, quality implies musicality and to some extent production, but most importantly it means songwriting skill, especially in the lyrics: if a group can write great lyrics, I’m almost always a fan. That being said, though, my standards for “good” are pretty high. Most of what gets on the major Billboard Top 40s makes my teeth grate. You can’t make good music out of formulaic, unimaginative music, regardless of how loud you record it, how slickly you produce it, or how often you replace it.

All else being equal I tend to listen most to high-end popular music, nerd rock, and classical. Three favorite artists? Paul Simon, They Might Be Giants, Mozart. Paul Simon because I don’t know of a better singer-songwriter alive or dead. They Might Be Giants, because, though I haven’t liked any of their later live band albums as much as their earlier accordion/guitar/synth albums, the Fathers of Nerd Rock Shall Not Be Denied. Mozart because, well, he’s Mozart. I’ve never heard any other composer able to make such incredible music sound so effortless.

I usually buy or receive on birthdays/Christmas about 10 new albums a year, and when I’m not listening to them, I listen to NPR. Car Talk is hilarious, All Things Considered/Morning Edition/Weekend Edition is just all-around excellent, and then there are tens more hours a week of stimulating, interesting, and moving programming. When I’m driving around, if I’m listening to the radio, I’m almost assuredly listening to NPR.

And sometimes, of course, A Prairie Home Companion is on. Do I wish that it was 20 years ago, and it didn’t seem like Garrison Keillor was running low on fresh ideas for the monologue? Sure, but how can you blame him? He’s been doing this for decades. And let’s be honest here; it’s still one of the best programs, in any medium, out there. It would take giga-American Idols to equal the quality in one APHC On An Off Night.

Early this year, I was driving around on a Saturday evening, turned on NPR, and APHC was on. It turned out to be a compilation show, combining memorable skits and acts from the past few years. One of which was three voices who very nearly blew me out of my seat: The Wailin’ Jennys.

The first thing I noticed (and I’m not alone) about them (Ruth Moody, soprano; Nicky Mehta, mezzo-soprano; Cara Luft (2002-2004), Annabelle Chvostek (2004-2007), Heather Masse (2007-present), alto) is their vocal harmony, so good it’s almost heartbreaking. They only sang three songs, but that I was all I needed: I was hooked. I scoured the Internet for info, bought the albums (sadly, only two so far, at least here in the US), pored over the lyrics, and listened to the songs. Lots.

And gradually it became clear that the best three-part harmony I’d ever heard was only the start of why this group is so amazing. For starters, they play multiple instruments, from guitar to harmonica to upright bass. Even better, they almost entirely write their own songs, and the songs have meat in them; you can read the lyrics and not feel like you’ve just gotten dumber. Even more importantly, it’s obvious they enjoy making music. Most importantly however, is the fact that all this is in just one group: three extremely talented individuals, doing what they enjoy, and making the rest of us much happier for it.

When I find something that I really like, it’s hard not to proselytize about it to everyone around me, and my brother, admittedly, gets the brunt of this. (He tries to get me to like bands he hears on rock stations, and I try to get him to like bands I hear on NPR. We’re sometimes forced to admit the other has a point.) Overflowing with musical elation, I told him all about the Jennys. He’d listened to them a bit before, and said they sounded good, but I didn’t hear enough zeal from him, so I sat him down to watch what I thought was most likely to convert him: a YouTube video of One Voice, a song which is an excellent introduction to their musicality, harmony, and songwriting. He watched it, and I must say he did an admirable job of not looking bored. When it was finished, I asked what he thought.

“You didn’t tell me they were cute, too.”

Sigh. Yes, Ben, they’re cute as well. :)