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| Caitlin Cary,
Mark Eitzel |
| June 13 at the Knitting Factory |
| BY WAYNE LEWIS AND ANDREW
MARCUS |
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| Despite what
you may assume, Caitlin Cary's While You Weren't
Looking is not your run-of-the-mill, sideman-delivers-something-decent
kind of surprise. In fact, her newly released full-length
solo debut proves Cary every bit the vocal and creative
equal of her celebrated former Whiskeytown bandmate,
Ryan Adams. If you've heard "16 Days," "Easy Hearts,"
or any other signature tunes of that band -- and fumbled
for the notes to check if those effervescent backing
vocals were Linda Thompson, or the violin that of some
folk-circuit veteran -- then you already knew Cary'd
do just fine on her own. Little did you know she'd deliver
the most consistently inspiring folk-rock album since
Steve Earle's Transcendental Blues. The sound
of a major talent arriving as a major artist.
Opening for Cary at the Knitting Factory is Mark
Eitzel, who from his days fronting San Fran no-hopers
the American Music Club through his solid solo career
has remained at the forefront of pop music's pack
of gutter poets. If his melodies are sometimes underplayed
or flattened out into sing-speak, his lyrics are uniformly
outstanding. He pursues his chosen subjects of broken
hearts, wasted barflies and regret-ridden whores with
the same kind of focus that Johnny Cash has applied
to love, God and murder. Despite his agreeable stage
manner, the tuning break can sometimes be the only
respite from depression during Eitzel's live performances.
While we all need a shot of the blues now and then,
the upside to this show should spring from Eitzel's
new covers collection, Songs for Courage &
Confidence; relatively less bleak tunes like Bill
Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and Phil Ochs' "Rehearsals
for Retirement" can balance things out with a little
light. With Tim Easton.
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