Gillian Welch performing at the Wilbur Theatre December 12, 2011
Article by Julian Weisser
Photos by Brena Sena
Buckets of praise have been poured on Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. After they met while auditioning for the only country ensemble at Berklee College of Music they have made a name for themselves as song crafters and performers following a long line of traditions. In this age of technology their sound is churned in the soil of a distant past: that is exactly what makes them so refreshing. Their approach to roots quickly made them favorites of listeners that preferred their music stripped down to the core essence.
Welch and Rawlings took the stage at the Wilbur theatre to thunderous applause from a crowded house. They carried with them two guitars, a banjo and a small vintage set of sliding drawers containing harmonicas that they gently placed on a table a few feet behind their microphones. The pair strummed at their guitars a bit as they hummed. All of a sudden Dave Rawlings was playing the unmistakable introduction to “Orphan Girl,” a fan favorite off of Welch’s debut album Revival. The close harmonies had such warmth on the choruses that Welch and Rawlings completely silenced the crowd that had been cheering loudly at the beginning of the song.
It is not often that you attend a show when the artist requests the audience use no cameras or phones and have the rule respected. It made for what was the most intimate show possible. In between each song one could hear every little sound that was being made on stage and picked up by the ultra sensitive microphones. Every whisper between the pair and every little playful lick teased out of the f-holes by Rawlings could be heard if one listened hard enough.
The next song the duo played was “Scarlet Town,” a tune led off by spiraling notes emanating from Rawlings’ 1935 Epiphone Olympic, a tiny archtop guitar. The song is off of the Gillian Welch’s new album The Harrow & The Harvest. Rawlings uses his unusual guitar to great effect throughout the pair’s albums and performances, generating widely varied sounds by changing his picking techniques, the location of his capo, and microphone placement. At one point during the evening Rawlings had his capo on the 11th fret of the little guitar.
Dave Rawlings playing his 1935 Epiphone Olympic
This was the first evening of a two-night stand at the Wilbur theatre for Welch and Rawlings. They had originally been scheduled to perform on October 27th but had to cancel because Welch got laryngitis. There were many pluses to having the event rescheduled. “Boston ended up being the end of the tour so we decided to take it out in style,” explained Welch. Indeed, things had been improved; the banjo was now “15-17% fixed,” a small crack was repaired on Welch’s guitar, and to his great relief, Rawlings had grown back his fingernail. “It’s tough to play with no finger nail,” he stated plainly.
After the song, Gillian told the audience the story of her boots when someone in the audience yelled out a compliment about them. “I got these boots new at the beginning of the tour and I got fully committed to them. I shipped the old ones home in a box. I broke them in on the road, not the best way to do it. Worn-in pain.” Welch then picked up her banjo and started playing “Rock of Ages” off of Hell Among the Yearlings. They played “The Way it Goes” next, a fast paced, sad but resolute song off of their latest album.
Dave Rawlings told the audience how they kept getting shocked during the mic check and ended up having to turn the stage carpet upside down. “I guess we could have changed into tennis shoes,” mused Rawlings. “God, I don’t even think I could sing!” declared Welch to roars of laughter.
Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings traded off on banjo throughout the night.
The duo performed many more favorites including, “I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll,” “Elvis Presley Blues,” “Red Clay Halo,” and “Revelator” from their 2001 release Time (The Revelator). “Revelator” was particularly spectacular with Rawlings digging into the Olympic and playing with the intensity of a Crazy Horse show; emulating a fuzzed-out solo with all of the signature double stops and wails from decades prior. “Dark Turn of Mind” was a gorgeous performance of a fantastic song featuring haunting vocals and a rolling guitar that took the listeners drifting down a lazy river of song.
Gillian spoke briefly about her past and what it was like living in the hub; “I was too shy when I was in Boston. I never went to open mics and I pretty much kept to the quiet of my apartment.” Welch is not as shy as she once was; “This is a lovely theatre. We’ve never played here before,” she said before the pair broke into their final song, a spirited take of “Jackson,” channeling the departed Johnny and June. The past may be long gone but we can hope that there will always be more time to revisit it with Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings.
