Anne McCue

@stoger wrote:

Two Mcshows I wish I could make: Sunday night the 12th at New Orleans’ 12 Bar, plus Tuesday night the 14th at Otherlands in Memphis, with Susan Marshall. Dang it.

Jammin’ in Memphis June 14th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RgkyKgiXEo

lwj

Going to see Anne tonight!

Tom

@tonyg wrote:

The forum sends its regards. Have a great time.

I will pass on the sentiment, tonyg – thanks!

Tom

@tonyg wrote:

Report? 😀

Cool Anne McCue show last night! When I ordered our tickets from Ticket Alternative ($15 + ONLY $2.25 in fees! I love this “alternative” to TM/LN!!), I noticed on Smith’s Olde Bar’s Web site that there was another show scheduled for the same night – a “3 for $5” round-up of three local acts. As I have described here in the forum before (in my report on the Blaze Foley documentary screening / Gurf Morlix performance), there are two stages at Smith’s, the main one upstairs & a tiny one in the “Atlanta Room” downstairs. Not able to believe that a musician of Anne’s caliber would play downstairs in a room that seats 50 people max, I assumed that the local acts’ gig was being “bumped” for Anne’s show.

Well, color me “surprised” when we get to Smith’s and headed upstairs only to be redirected down to the Atlanta Room! Turns out that Anne was indeed playing the tiny room, scheduled to perform two solo sets! Anne was running late (due to a “kerfuffle” with the rental car people in Nashville, she explained when she took the stage), so we waited outside the room in the bar & chatted w/ a nice couple who had seen Anne a few years ago here in Atlanta at a house party. By the time the room was opened & Anne arrived (about 9:00 PM), I was disappointed to see only 15 people in attendance (exactly – I counted) for her first 1 hour set. It was down to 11 for her second, slightly shorter set. Although an embarrassing statement on the Atlanta metro area’s apparent lack of taste in fine music, it was nonetheless a good opportunity to interact with Anne both during and after her sets. Plus, the few people who were there thankfully were very energetic & receptive to Anne’s performance. She was in great spirits & was quite the charming entertainer from the stage. Our forum’s intrepid road warrior stoger had told Anne ahead of time that Sarah & I would be in attendance, so I’m not sure if she really remembered me from Lu & Tom’s wedding year before last or not (the only other time I have had the opportunity to chat with her), but she seemed to recognize me. She had her “merch table” in a briefcase, and I picked up a copy of her new “Live in Nashville” DVD, which she signed for me. As we chatted, I told her she needed to open again for Lu, which she readily expressed a willingness to do (Well, TO? 😉 )

We sat front and center at a little 4-top cocktail table w/ the couple we met while waiting for doors. Anne chatted us up in-between songs, once mentioning Lu from stage. After she played “These Things”, the gentleman who I met before the show asked what album it was from. Anne replied that it was from her first album, Amazing Ordinary Things, and that it was also on her live album, Ballad Of An Outlaw Woman. She then explained that the live album was recorded live over a 3-night stand at the Fillmore in San Francisco, when she had opened for Lu. I then mentioned that Lu recorded a live album over three nights at the Fillmore as well (Live At The Filmore), to which Anne replied, without missing a beat & with her tongue planted firmly in her cheek, “Well, it was my idea first – she copied me”. 😆 She then went on, “Yes, I have been a big influence on Lucinda Williams, as many of you I am sure can tell”. 😉

Among the songs she also played were (in no particular order), “Stupid”, “50 Dollar Whore”, “Milkman’s Daughter”, “Hellfire Raiser”, a great cover of Bessie Smith’s “Empty Bed Blues”, and a cool “Whole Lotta Love” / “Voodoo Chile” medley. She shared a couple of great anecdotes while introducing songs, one about her father (before “Milkman’s Daughter”) and another one about traveling to the West coast of Australia to perform a song for a movie. She was actually filmed performing the song in a bar where the movie’s two main protagonists met. Since it was a cruciual scene to the storyline of the film, she felt sure she would make the final cut, only to later receive a long, apologetic e-mail from the film’s producer explaining how he had to eliminate one of the the two main characters from the film, resulting in Anne’s scene being cut.

It was a very enjoyable evening with a wonderful artist. We also found out that, after driving to Charleston & Columbia, SC for gigs tonight & tomorrow night, Anne will be back at Smith’s this Friday night, playing upstairs this time, in a show with James Hall, Shane Alexander & Little Country Giants. She is second on the bill, so I think I will go back and see her again!

Tom

@tonyg wrote:

I am sure you clapped real loud to make up for the lack of patrons.

Indeed we did, tonyg, indeed we did. Did a bit of hootin’ & hollerin’ as well… 😉

Tom

That was from the second night – I ended up not going as something came up last minute with the Humane Society I volunteer for. She did perform that song the first night, however…

Tom