Lori McKenna / Jake Armerding / Mark Erelli – Club Passim (Cambridge, MA)
The opening performance of Lori McKenna’s five-night residency at Club Passim differed slightly from the shows that followed in that she shared the bill on this night with two of her fellow Massachusetts artists — bluegrass singer and multi-instrumentalist Jake Armerding, and singer-songwriter/guitarist Mark Erelli (currently member of McKenna’s band).
The three artists took turns covering songs *of their choice, just as they’ve done at this annual get-together for several winters past. The sold-out debut show included an additional player this time: Zack Hickman (from Josh Ritter’s band) was a notably brilliant presence on upright bass.
Somehow the focus still seemed aimed at McKenna, a local favorite for almost a decade, as she sat center stage between Erelli and Armerding. Her major-label debut, Unglamorous, was released by Warner Bros.’ Nashville division last summer, and she opened some shows for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (who brought her to Nashville’s attention in the first place). This mom of five from Stoughton, one-horse burg south of Boston, has gained star cachet. After all, a major-label deal in this day and age?
“I want to thank these guys for letting me share space with them,” McKenna said humbly, halfway through the show. She had a good point. All three men displayed powerful instrumental chops. Erelli switched between electric and acoustic guitar and Armerding between acoustic guitar, mandolin and fiddle, either accompanying themselves or backing the others. Armerding sang lead and Hickman added horn on an animated stomp through the Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Later, Armerding surprised everyone with George Michael’s “Faith”. “I’m an ’80s kid,” he said with a “sue me” shrug.
Toward the end, the lanky Armerding stood bowing his fiddle and turned out a beautiful, spare, Appalachian folk rendition of “Silent Night”. Among Erelli’s choices were R.E.M.’s “Fall On Me” and Elvis Costello’s “Alison”. McKenna’s included Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” and James Morrison’s stunning “You Give Me Something”. She imbued both with a striking yearning and fragility.
McKenna introduced Miranda Lambert’s melancholy “More Like Her” defensively: “Miranda writes songs like me. See, I’m not the only one.” After an aching reading of Steve Earle’s “My Old Friend The Blues”, she joked, “I’m so obnoxiously happy in real life, the sad songs even me out.” However, during Nirvana’s “All Apologies”, she echoed Kurt Cobain’s inflections of inner struggle with a hard, wearied tone that moved between bitterness and despair.
The night capped a triumphant year for McKenna. At one point she humbly attempted to even the playing field. “I have to prove I can keep up with you talented people, that’s why I’m here,” she appealed to her co-stars. But Erelli was having none of it. “I thought you were here,” he replied, “because you sold out the whole damn week at Passim.”