PETRA JEAN PHILLIPSON and Friends

Sat 2nd Dec 2006

Simply Music presents
A Tribute To Karen Dalton:
The Lost Voice of Greenwich Village
Performed by:
PETRA JEAN PHILLIPSON and Friends

Doors 7.30
£7 via WeGotTickets

"My favourite singer in the place was Karen Dalton. She was a tall white blues singer and guitar player, funky, lanky and sultry." [Bob Dylan in his bestselling book 'Chronicles']

Karen Dalton was one of the ultimate free spirits, someone who lived life completely on her own terms. She was also, as her recorded legacy shows, a superbly talented singer, whose emotive voice was revered by all who heard it. Arriving in New York’s Greenwich Village’s burgeoning hip folk community in the early 1960s this Oklahoma native was at the epicentre of the coffeehouse scene right from the start of the decade, singing and playing alongside such legends-in-waiting as Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin, John Sebastian, Richie Havens, Phil Ochs and Fred Neil.

"If there's anyone that I'm inspired by and have modeled my way of singing, it's her….. I've really got no idea why Karen Dalton is unknown. She is one of the most amazing musicians in the universe.” [Devendra Banhart in Splendid Magazine]

Karen Dalton was not a writer but she made every song her own. On her two albums she covered songs by Paul Butterfield, Richard Manuel, Dino Valenti, Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Leadbelly, Jelly Roll Morton, George Jones, Richard Tucker as well as suberb personal versions of more traditional folk tunes. Her unique legacy was in the performance, making each song resonate as she he poured out all the pain of her emotionally turbulent life.

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Petra Jean Phillipson is a long standing fan of Karen Dalton’s albums. In her own right as an artist Petra shares KD’s ability to perform in a consistently fragile, melancholy mood that sustains without becoming maudlin. Tonight she presents her heartbreaking renditions of the Karen Dalton repertoire in a special one off show. Supported by a host of London’s folk underground alumni this promises to be a stunning night of music.

Becoming something of a treasure on the London acoustic scene Jason McNiff is a troubadour and one of the best Americana singers that we have in this country. His vocal delivery, guitar playing and lyrical content invite comparisons with Dylan at his mystic best. Frankly, anyone who purchased anything by James Blunt should be made to listen to his album ('Another Man', 2006) to see what singer-songwriting is really about.
The subject matters will be familiar to McNiff fans. 'The Pilgrim' is mentioned in at least three songs and there is a song about the poor foot soldier. The last two tracks, 'Pilgrims' and 'Hat', with the organ swelling up in the background, are religious in their intensity. Written in various countries across Europe, you get the depressing feeling that it will take another country to recognise his talent before we wake up and realise what an underrated treasure we have in our midst.

Duke Garwood was born south of the river, some time last century. Garwood has been compared to Mark Lanegan, Devendra Banhart and the Reverend Robert Wilkins – among others. NME said: “Garwood’s impressive set of blues shines a modern torch on the dusty archives of blues-folk legends Jackson C Frank and John Fahey.” The Wire said: “Flavourful avant blues…Duke Garwood is British but sounds as though he roams the Vermont Hills with the Child Of Microtones gang.”

The General and Duchess Collins have been about since Ernest Hemingway said 'no more' to the same old storylines, and moved into childrens fiction. Though due to personal issues, and some transport problems (The Generals CB 200 has been in the pound) have only now chosen to release a record that sheds some light on what was happening between the birth of christ and online food shopping. Its too late to ramble in depth. Suffice to say, this is just the tip of a very small iceberg.

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