Kathleen at the ‘Comber
I could call it a grand slam, but since Kathleen Edwards is from Ottawa and refers to hockey in at least two of her songs, I’ll label last night’s show at the Wellfleet Beachcomber a hat trick.
From a sweet version of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” to “When Will I Be Loved” (a hit for the Everly Brothers and Linda Ronstadt) to a show-closing cover of the Outfield’s “Your Love” (click here for video of Edwards performing it earlier this year), she showed impressive range. She also tossed in the opening licks of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” (wish she’d played the whole song) just for laughs.
My favorite cover, though, was her solo take on “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” a hit in 1968 for Jeannie C. Riley. Edwards was chatting about some funny beer she’d seen at the bar. “P.B.I.?” Someone helpfully shouted out, “P.B.R.” Edwards continued to try to guess: “D.U.I.? No, it was Harpoon I.P.A.” Which, she said, reminded her of “Harper Valley P.T.A.” She couldn’t quite remember all the lyrics, but watching her joy as she was winging it was a blast.
In fact, Edwards’ energy was part of what made the show so great. Her three studio CDs are solid efforts, but Edwards shines on stage. She’s written some clever songs and she clearly loves sharing them. Her strength, her vulnerability and her sense of humor were on full display. Edwards is a great entertainer who seems bound for much bigger stages.
She started the show with “One More Song the Radio Won’t Like” (luckily for us there’s at least one station around here that plays her songs). Edwards records for Rounder Records, the home of many a folk-rocker, but she leans a lot more toward the rock end of things. “Back to Me” is as potent as Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream,” and when Edwards and her band stretched out some other songs, they sounded like a combination of the Cowboy Junkies and Crazy Horse. Throw in a little bit of Nashville twang on some songs and some Louisiana swamp vibe on others, and you’ve got the recipe for what’s likely to be the best concert I’ll see this year