Ron Sexsmith & Caitlin Rose

It’s been almost a week since my world was rocked by these two at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh. Let’s get it documented.

As West Words and tnTracy well recall, Nashville-based Caitlin Rose opened for Chuck Prophet at Eddie’s Attic of Decatur, GA last year–or rather, opened for the opener, a two-woman outfit/subset of some larger group who did a fine cover of Alex Chilton’s “Thirteen” (think I have the age right, or is it “Seventeen”?); I can’t remember that middle band’s name. Anyway, Caitlin had her same sideman in Pitt, plus a third wheel of a pedal steel player who told me he splits his time between London and Nashville. We didn’t give her much animation at Club Cafe, and she finally lapsed into a JD Souther cover to close the set, though she promised us two covers. Her originals are mighty fine despite my/our silence, the first song my favorite and somewhat akin to Lu’s “If Wishes Were Horses” in tenor (“horses/ride/hide”–don’t know the title).

As for Mr. Sexsmith, he’s come a long way since Lu put “April After All” on her Starbucks Artists’ Picks series almost a decade ago; I have that record but also just bought the new Bob Rock-produced one Long Player Late Bloomer. He played most of that in Pitt., though his wife/merch person Colleen shouted out “April After All” early in the set, based on my having mentioned it to her a bit earlier in the evening. This may the coolest purveyor of swag/spouse figure I’ve ever met on a tour; the woman is reading Dickens on the tour bus, for Christ’s sake. She is a friend of Lu’s and was at The Wedding it turns out, though Ron was touring and couldn’t attend. in 2001 I saw Ron open for Lu at New Daisy Theatre on Beale St. in Memphis, and we discussed that (along with some Victorian novels) after the show. Club Cafe is tiny, but my luck has been good there, fourth professional meeting in Pitt. in 5 years, and in addition to Sexsmith I have seen (1) P.F. Sloan with the late Duane Jarvis; (2) Jon Dee Graham on a co-bill with the Silos; and (3) Chris Knight there. Unfortunately some apparent family members of the Rose sideman were behind me and insisted on chatting through the main set, but the Sexsmith fivesome drowned them out more often than not. They had Alberta plates on their tour bus, and apparently the drummer and road manager/sound guy had been detained at the border and missed two US concerts just prior to Pitt. Shades of Lu’s crew months back, opposite direction.

So I recommend the new Sexsmith wholeheartedly, and there’s talk he’ll be on a bill with Beck this summer in London. Colleen told a great anecdote about them going to Elton John’s show their off night in Pitt, despite it being sold out and also guest list being maxed out. “I called Elvis, who called Diana,” she casually stated, without any pomposity at all–Mr. and Ms. Sexsmith ended up watched the EJ show from the wings of the stage, it would seem. Then they play a 100-150 space venue the next night. One imagines these guys selling out 3,000, 5,000 and up venues in Canada (Colleen told me they had sold out Massey Hall in Toronto not long ago), but they’re just folks in most of the USA. But that’s OK. Emmylou not only recently recorded a Sexsmith tune, she made it the title of the whole album. Nuff said.