I have always been interested in how people find out about an artist. Back in my youth, and hay, I admit, it wasn't this century, it seemed so much simpler. We gathered around the radio on a Sunday night to listen to Radio One on the BBC and catch the 'Hit Parade'! It was easy but it also meant that we all listened to the same stuff, but now, ha! We have the internet, blogs, Sound Cloud, My Space, FaceBook, YouTube etcetera, etcetera, etcetera......
So how did I get to hear about Anna Coogan, you might ask. Well, a friend invited several of us to his house to attend 'a house' concert. This was a new idea to me but seems fairly popular on the other side of the pond. Put simply, an artist is invited to perform in a 'fan's' house and the attendees pay a nominal sum for the pleasure! As it turned out, it was a pleasure, a pleasure indeed! Afterwards I spoke with Anna and when she told me that she was playing a gig in CCA I took the opportunity to go and listen to her again.
Therefore, on a relatively mild October evening I went to the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) on Glasgow's Sauchiehall St, named after the sauchie haugh or willow meadow which once surrounded the area around the early 1800's, and settled down in anticipation of a great show.
Anna, born in Seattle, raised in Boston and now resident in upstate New York was once a whitewater kayaker and a fisheries biologist! She is also a former opera singer with a fine sense of song writing in the 'story telling' mould. Indeed, some of her latest songs (a few of which were 'outed' at the CCA) will be recorded over the next few weeks have a strong Scottish flavour, based as they are on a book of Scottish poems. She acquired the book for 'hee haw' (as we say around here!) from her local library. The opening song was True Love (I believe, but it may have a different title!) and it is a wonderful example of her current infusion of Scottish lyrics and musical phrasing. It is full of insightful imagery of Glasgow, the Clyde, Scottish hills and glens and all this from a young Americana singer
On the night, Anna who has been compared to artists such as Kelly Willis, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, was dressed in a bright red and white dress and the almost obligatory 'cowboy boots'. She settled on to the stage and played a handful of songs whilst accompanying herself on a clear, crisp electrified acoustic guitar. Her 'patter' between songs was entertaining and informative as she explained how she came to write each song. The song Auchengeich was about the mining disaster of 18 September 1959 in which 47 men died. The youngest was 22 and the oldest 62 years of age. It was a particularly emotive example given that the Auchengeich mine was in Lanarkshire, just 20 minutes down the road from Glasgow.
Another example of her attention to detail in her lyrics came in her rendition of the wonderful song from her The Nowhere, Rome Sessions album from 2012 called Red Shoes, Black Dress. The song, about procrastination in love, includes the lyrics:
"Some day when you wake up, babe, you won't be so young any more. You won't be so young any more. So the next time babe, that you fall in love, don't you make her wait, oh give her the stars above, give her the sun and moon. Take her on a honeymoon, oh give her a Diamond ring, oh give her everything. Don't you make her wait......".
Her explanation about the song she wrote with J D Foster called Just To See How It Feels about thinking what it would be like to not be married was also illuminating especially as she wrote it during a visit from her in-laws! Come Ashore from her 2011 album The Wasted Ocean was a real delight and the stripped down version added to the intensity of the lyrics. Another thoughtful and insightful song was The Birth Of The Stars, written in the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombings last year, however, even a song such as this was sung with an upbeat sense of hope. I am always extremely impressed by an artist who can command a stage and has the confidence to sing solo such poignant lyrics! By the reaction of the enthusiastic and receptive audience, I would say that I wasn't the only one to appreciate her heartfelt lyrics and melodic guitar playing.
Anna brought her show to a close with May You Have The Wind At Your Back which has a very Scottish phrasing to the musical accompaniment and a wonderfully soulful sound to it. She also invited the audience to participate in the final chorus singing "May you have the wind at your back tonight, may you have your limbs, may you have your life, may you hold on to each other tight, may have the wind at your back tonight ". Given the oblong nature and acoustics in the voluminous venue at the Centre for Contemporary Arts it was a very effective & emotive experience and I feel that this song will serve her extremely well in the years to come.
I for one, am looking forward to the results of her imminent recording sessions........
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