Lara and I saw Gillian Welch and David Rawlings last night at the Bijou, a small, very intimate theater in Knoxville. It was incredible. I still think her “Time (The Revelator)” CD is one of the best I’ve ever heard. I haven’t picked up a copy of the new one, Soul Journey, but the cuts from it that they played last night were great.
Highlights:
— There was a lot of banter with the audience, and Gillian and David departed from their set list almost as soon as the show began. It felt very impromptu and informal. After David played a scorching guitar piece, someone in the audience hollered: “What kind of guitar is that?”
“A good one,” David deadpanned.
— Beautiful encore version of “I’ll Fly Away.”
— After “I’ll Fly Away,” they came back out one more time, stepped out from behind the microphones and stood at the very edge of the stage to do an acoustic-beautiful version of “Long Black Veil.” The theater was dead silent. Totally sublime. It was like having Gillian and David in your living room.
If Gillian comes to your town, check her out. You won’t regret it.