|
 End
of the Road
By
Mike Hotter
Last
Town Chorus
Valentine’s,
May 16
Asked
recently by a downstate magazine the reason she chose the
lap steel as her primary instrument, Megan Hickey (who ostensibly
is the Last Town Chorus) replied that there were too
many six-stringers in the world already (oh, how true), and,
“you know, I’m not Hendrix.” That didn’t stop a fair amount
of local guitar enthusiasts from attending last week’s early
Last Town Chorus show to see how she wails on that there magic
twanger. We read that she can make grown men weep with the
thing, and while I didn’t feel very weepy this evening, I
can attest that Hickey pours forth a stirring, resplendent
sound from underneath her ever-sliding and -plucking hands.
Touring in promotion of her latest CD, Wire Waltz,
Hickey made Albany her final stop, and she mentioned that
the only thing separating her from her couch in Brooklyn was
this show and a three-hour drive. The dark gods of the road
conspired to make this last set a treacherous one. The loud
pounding of a band sound-checking upstairs distracted the
band and the audience enough for Hickey and her acoustic guitar
accompanist to abandon a couple of tunes. Hickey plays gorgeous,
depressive music, much in the same mold as Cat Power and Tara
Jane O’Neil. Most of these songs depend on setting a mood,
and Hickey found a hard time setting it this evening. Certain
songs would break free of the morass, most notably “Change
Your Mind” from the band’s first CD. Hickey played a soaring,
distorted solo that made one think of skies arcing the canyons,
pretty impressive in the confines of a rock & roll den.
But the show seemed too much like a chore to endure for both
the performers and the audience, however pretty the sonic
wallpaper. Buzzes from faulty equipment and uncomfortable
banter that bordered on confrontations with partying dudes
in the crowd didn’t help matters. Hickey did get it together
for her signature cover of Bowie’s “Modern Love,” though even
this seemed feigned on this particular night. Hickey went
a long way toward redeeming the show with a marvelous cover
of Lee Ann Womack’s “Painless,” playing a call and response
between her plaintive voice and her keening lap steel to make
this the most affecting song of the night and something bright
to take away from what turned out to be a rough end for the
Last Town’s tour.
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