I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 16, 2019] I’m With Her

I’m with Her is something of a folk and bluegrass supergroup made up of Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins.  I knew each of them from previous Tiny Desk Concerts and knew I’m With Her from a Tiny Desk Concert as well.

I was pretty excited to see them as both Sara and Sarah were on my list of artists that I wanted to see live (I was otherwise unfamiliar with Aoife).  One thing that always come up is their name–did they name themselves after the Hillary Clinton campaign?  In fact, no, the three got together and named themselves before Clinton used the slogan for her campaign.  Technically the band came first, but the Clinton campaign didn’t take it from them either, evidently–coincidental naming.  The band says that the exposure certainly didn’t hurt–but if it had been the other side’s campaign, they definitely would have fought it.

But on to the music.  The women sing in absolutely gorgeous harmony.  Individually, their voices are wonderful, but as they add one and then a second harmony…swoon.  They also switch instruments constantly–fiddle, mandolin, ukulele, guitar, banjo.  Everything sounds a little different.

They opened with their new single, “Call My Name.”  Sarah Jarosz stood center, Sara Watkins on our left and Aoife O’Donovan on our right.  Jarosz and O’Donovan played guitar and Watkins played a soaring violin.  And their voices sounded amazing.

They switched lead singer for every song as well.  And it was great to really be able to put a name to who sang what.

Watkins took lead and switched to mandolin for “Ain’t That Fine” and then she switched back to violin for “Crescent City” which O’Donovan sang lead on.

Jarosz and O’Donovan shared a guitar when Jarosz switched to banjo or mandolin (I didn’t know this but Jarosz is a highly renowned mandolin player and she showed us that many times during the night.)

O’Donovan said they’d take us down south for a Jim Croce number.  Jarosz sang “Walking Back to Georgia” and then played mandolin on the stunning “Wild One.”   Their voices always sounded great together, but there was a wonderful haunting quality about this particular song.

The loudest song of the night was “I-89” when Watkins picked up an electric guitar and played a loud fuzzy riff.  As a complement, Jarosz played a banjo.  It was followed by “Panagea,” when the band did my favorite thing and sang in small harmonious bursts in between Jarosz’ lead vocals (and lead guitar solo).

For “Ryland” Aoife was entirely solo for the beginning–playing a gentle guitar and singing before Watkins added strings and then Jarosz added her excellent harmonies and a mandolin solo.

Sara told us that they were invited to put music to a poem that Johnny Cash had written for a project called Forever Words.  They played “Chinky Pin Hill,” on which Jarosz plays a cool, dark-sounding banjo and sings lead.

I don’t know the album super well, but there are few songs that I really like, including “Overland”–I love the frustration in Watkins voice in the verse but the beautiful soaring harmonies in the chorus.

Up next was a John Hiatt cover of “Crossing Muddy Waters” with a great violin solo from Watkins.  None of these amazing musicians ever really showed off her fantastic chops–this wasn’t a show off event by any means–but it was fun to hear them let loose occasionally.

After this song a new microphone was brought to the stage and the three performers came to the front (where I could see Sara Watkins’ amazing shoes).  They gathered around the central microphone for the wonderful instrumental track “Waitsfield” which finally allowed the musicians to show off in true bluegrass fashion.

Then they each did a song from a solo album (with accompaniment, of course).

First was Watkins’ “You and Me” from her 2012 album Sun Midnight Sun.  It was followed by Jarosz’ “Still Life” from her 2016 album Undercurrent.  She said that she and Aoife had written the song together and that all three of  them play on her album for his song.

The third was, “Thursday’s Child,” a beautiful song from O’Donovan’s 2013 album Fossils.

This little solo section was a wonderful break in the show and really allowed each performer to shine individually a bit.

They moved back to their other mics for an amazing cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Carey.”  They each took a verse and all hit those high notes perfectly.  And when they harmonized, it was better than the original.

Up next was one more song from O’Donovan.  “Hornets” is from her 2016 album In the Magic Hour.  It was tremendous with Jarosz and O’Donovan singing a duet.

They closed the set with my two favorite songs from the album, “See You Around” and “Game to Lose.”  Both songs showcase this band’s immense talent with melody and harmony.  I love the way Sarah Jarosz sings the melody of the first song and the other two bring in their harmony voices for the amazing bridge.  “Game to Lose” is just a dynamite song.  Jarosz plays a quiet mandolin, Watkins plays a mournful melody and the three sing clipped vocals lines until O’Donovan takes over with the “how much longer” solo vocals part as the song introduces some dramatic chords.  And that’s all in the first minute.  What a great way to end the set.

They came back for an encore and invited Billy Strings to come play with them.  I have more pictures with Billy because by t hen I wasn’t so nervous about taking my phone out for pictures.  I am always discrete, even if the guys in front of me are waving their phones around with their brightness all the way.

The encore was a fun pseudo medley with each performer playing a song and, when appropriate, someone took a solo–Sara, Sarah or Billy (I guess Aoife doesn’t solo?).

Aoife’s song was “Toy Heart,” a traditional song that featured some big powerful vocals from all three of them and some nifty soloing from Jarosz and Billy.

Then Sarah Jarosz did a super fun version of Dolly Parton’s “Marry Me” and the audience really enjoyed the lyrics (which are quite funny).  There was also a mandolin and fiddle showcase mid-song.

The final song was “Don’t You Hear Jerusalem Moan,” a song that opens with a dark fiddle solo and some great wailing harmonies.

It was such a fun show.  I’m so glad we went.  And I’m thrilled to have learned about Billy Strings.

SETLIST [bracketed names indicate lead vocal, bold songs are from the album]

1. Call My Name [new single] [SJ]
2. Ain’t That Fine [SW]
3. Crescent City [AOD]
4. Walking Back to Georgia [SJ] (Jim Croce)
5. Wild One [SW]
6. I-89 [AOD]
7. Panagea [SJ]
8. Ryland (Under the Apple Tree) [AOD]
9. Chinky Pin Hill [SJ]
10. Overland [SW]
11. Crossing Muddy Waters [AOD] (John Hiatt)
12. Waitsfield
13. You and Me (Sara Watkins) [SW]
14. Still Life(Sara Jarosz)  [SJ]
15. Thursday’s Child (Aoife O’Donovan) [AOD]
16. Carey {Joni Mitchell)
17. Hornets (Aoife O’Donovan}
18. See You Around [SJ]
19. Game to Lose [all harmony]
    encore
20. Toy Heart [AOD]
21. Marry Me {Dolly Parton)
22. Don’t You Hear Jerusalem Moan [SW]

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHtovnV2yCo