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Butch Walker Setlist
Jonathan Tyler Setlist
Tour Dates
05/29- Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe *
05/30- Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's* 06/02- Columbia, MO @ Rose Music Hall* 06/03- St. Louis, MO @ The Duck Room * 06/04- Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom* 06/06- Austin, TX @ Stubb's* 06/07- Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre* 06/10- Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre* 06/12- Scottsdale, AZ @ Livewire*- 06/14- San Francisco, CA @ Great American* 06/16- Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge* 06/17- Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge* 06/19- Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge* 07/02- London, UK @ Borderline 07/03- Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute 07/10- Edinburgh, UK @ Electric Circus * w/ Jonathan Tyler & The Dove & The Wolf Read More
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Father’s Day arrived a little early this year—
That theme was clearly present as Georgia singer-songwriter Butch Walker played a stark, two-hour+ (mostly solo) set that ran the gamut of emotions and honored his recently deceased father.
A large satellite truck parked out front of the Cedar Cultural Center meant that the performance was being webcast live, but that didn’t deter Walker from providing the type of show he wanted- maybe taking a page from Ryan Adams’ own 2007 performance at the same venue, by playing in near darkness for the entire show.
Before Walker took the stage, female French “ambient folk-pop” duo The Dove & the Wolf (Paloma Gil and Louise Hayat-Camard) played a short but endearing set of songs, mostly culled from their self-titled, produced/released EP, and upcoming full-length. Paloma (which means “dove” in Spanish) had just had a birthday the day before and Lou (close to “loup” in French, which means wolf) were feeling playful and relaxed enough to jokingly remind everyone who they were after every song.
Both harmonized well on songs like their latest, ‘The Words You Said’ and a partially French-sung cover of ‘My Way’, playing delicate but mostly sad songs in a way reminiscent of Sweden’s First Aid Kit. Walker obviously handpicked the duo to open, as the girls would return to provide backing vocals, for much of Walker’s own set.
Dallas-based Jonathan Tyler was next, playing solo acoustic guitar with a wide-brimmed hat and harmonica mounted around his neck. Tyler is best known for working with his band, The Northern Lights, and though he admitted that they hadn’t had new music in five years, said an album is due in August.
His Dylan influences were clearly on display with an mid-set cover of ‘Girl from the North Country’ (in which he noted Dylan’s university roots to the area) and he answered audience calls for Northern Lights songs, by playing their most recent ‘To Love is to Fly’ and ‘Gypsy Woman’ to end his set.
Lights dimmed to almost nothing and Butch Walker took to the stage, seated at a corner piano for the first four songs and starting with the title track from his latest and Ryan Adams-produced album, Afraid of Ghosts (Dangerbird Records). The album, recorded in just four days, centers mostly around the death of his father, “Big Butch” who recently passed away from pancreatic cancer.
After the second song, Walker noted, “you’re such a great audience, you’ll always be one of my favorites” referring to the warm local reception he’s always received, then launched into an impromptu Journey cover that had the crowd singing the chorus back and swaying as one.
Playing without a band, songs like 2004’s ‘Don’t Move’ resonated with additional emotion and gravitas with most in the audience transfixed by his impassioned delivery. Walker told of the toils of being a mid-40s musician and related a story of unceremoniously injuring his knee, in between songs like the recent ‘Chrissie Hynde’, which sounds similar to producer Adams’ own work, and deserves further radio airplay.
Strapping on an electric guitar, the obligatory Minneapolis cover of Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ with The Dove & the Wolf was sandwiched next to Tove Lo’s ‘Talking Body’, re-imagined as a chugging blues-stomp version of the pop hit, yet it all worked.
Before his Cedar gig, Walker had graciously agreed to a short in-store performance at local record store, The Electric Fetus, and was joined by The Dove & the Wolf on background vocals. The three-song fifteen minute set was followed by a meet-and-greet, in which he also re-connected with local fan and singer, Joshua Logan.
“Should we dig way back?” “…but, I don’t wanna sing this song”, Walker snarled and Logan was brought up to the Cedar stage to provide lead vocals for the Marvelous 3 song, ‘Freak of the Week’, much like he also did at Walker’s Nov. 2013 Varsity Theater show, to riotous applause from many who had seen the previous local performance as well.
A cathartic ‘The 3 Kids in Brooklyn’ ended the main set, with kick drum bombast, a sweaty Walker soloing on his guitar laid flat on the stage like a slide, and coaxing the audience to sing and scream.
The solemn encore was much like the show’s beginning- somber, stirring, and heartfelt, as Walker mentioned how important the show’s setlist was to him, describing it as filled with many of his late father’s favorite songs.
‘Coming Home’ was the last song the younger Walker played for his father by his bedside, and that transitioned smoothly into the Bette Midler cover, that had he and The Dove & The Wolf ladies huddled and harmonizing around a central microphone.
The closing ‘Fathers Day’ was performed with Walker shrouded in darkness, its poignant lyrics (i.e. “you don’t become a man until you lose your dad, you see”) causing a grown man next to me to sniff and sob uncontrollably.
The ghosts Walker still lives with regarding his late dad may have not been exorcised, but have suitably been confronted and come to terms with. And, with that realization and the sharing thereof; he, in turn, has provided comfort and musical solace to those that chose to accompany him on that journey, either via the record or in concert- his father would be proud.
That theme was clearly present as Georgia singer-songwriter Butch Walker played a stark, two-hour+ (mostly solo) set that ran the gamut of emotions and honored his recently deceased father.
A large satellite truck parked out front of the Cedar Cultural Center meant that the performance was being webcast live, but that didn’t deter Walker from providing the type of show he wanted- maybe taking a page from Ryan Adams’ own 2007 performance at the same venue, by playing in near darkness for the entire show.
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The Dove & the Wolf
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Both harmonized well on songs like their latest, ‘The Words You Said’ and a partially French-sung cover of ‘My Way’, playing delicate but mostly sad songs in a way reminiscent of Sweden’s First Aid Kit. Walker obviously handpicked the duo to open, as the girls would return to provide backing vocals, for much of Walker’s own set.
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Jonathan Tyler
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His Dylan influences were clearly on display with an mid-set cover of ‘Girl from the North Country’ (in which he noted Dylan’s university roots to the area) and he answered audience calls for Northern Lights songs, by playing their most recent ‘To Love is to Fly’ and ‘Gypsy Woman’ to end his set.
Lights dimmed to almost nothing and Butch Walker took to the stage, seated at a corner piano for the first four songs and starting with the title track from his latest and Ryan Adams-produced album, Afraid of Ghosts (Dangerbird Records). The album, recorded in just four days, centers mostly around the death of his father, “Big Butch” who recently passed away from pancreatic cancer.
After the second song, Walker noted, “you’re such a great audience, you’ll always be one of my favorites” referring to the warm local reception he’s always received, then launched into an impromptu Journey cover that had the crowd singing the chorus back and swaying as one.
Playing without a band, songs like 2004’s ‘Don’t Move’ resonated with additional emotion and gravitas with most in the audience transfixed by his impassioned delivery. Walker told of the toils of being a mid-40s musician and related a story of unceremoniously injuring his knee, in between songs like the recent ‘Chrissie Hynde’, which sounds similar to producer Adams’ own work, and deserves further radio airplay.
Strapping on an electric guitar, the obligatory Minneapolis cover of Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ with The Dove & the Wolf was sandwiched next to Tove Lo’s ‘Talking Body’, re-imagined as a chugging blues-stomp version of the pop hit, yet it all worked.
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Walker at The Electric Fetus
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“Should we dig way back?” “…but, I don’t wanna sing this song”, Walker snarled and Logan was brought up to the Cedar stage to provide lead vocals for the Marvelous 3 song, ‘Freak of the Week’, much like he also did at Walker’s Nov. 2013 Varsity Theater show, to riotous applause from many who had seen the previous local performance as well.
A cathartic ‘The 3 Kids in Brooklyn’ ended the main set, with kick drum bombast, a sweaty Walker soloing on his guitar laid flat on the stage like a slide, and coaxing the audience to sing and scream.
The solemn encore was much like the show’s beginning- somber, stirring, and heartfelt, as Walker mentioned how important the show’s setlist was to him, describing it as filled with many of his late father’s favorite songs.
‘Coming Home’ was the last song the younger Walker played for his father by his bedside, and that transitioned smoothly into the Bette Midler cover, that had he and The Dove & The Wolf ladies huddled and harmonizing around a central microphone.
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Setlist
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The ghosts Walker still lives with regarding his late dad may have not been exorcised, but have suitably been confronted and come to terms with. And, with that realization and the sharing thereof; he, in turn, has provided comfort and musical solace to those that chose to accompany him on that journey, either via the record or in concert- his father would be proud.
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Butch Walker at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (22 May 2015) |
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