I’ll be be honest with you, reader - I haven’t religiously listened to the radio since 2003. I have no idea what the latest hit is playing on the airwaves, but from my former life as a teenybopper circa 1998 I can tell you that this is peak time for capitalism in the form of cookie-cutter wrigglin’ and writhin’ music. Having thankfully grown out of that phase, I can also tell you that nothing quenches the thirst brought on by a summertime heat wave of same old candy pop hits than a talent- and passion-driven in-store performance by Martha Wainwright at Amoeba Music - a treat to those who prefer the smaller, more intimate venues that deliver as much punch as the standard stadium-sized event.
Martha has always been an accomplished artist, a living, breathing poster child for the credence “no man is an island”. With parents Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle, aunt Anna McGarrigle and brother Rufus Wainwright, her magnetism might as well have been written in the stars. At quarter after 6:00 p.m. Martha came onstage with her four-piece band, her blonde hair tinged with blue, and soft-spoken in demeanor until her fingers started strumming “Bleeding All Over You,” a song that features the title of her album and central lyric to make right-wing evangelists squirm in mild displeasure: I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too. The performance was ethereal, with accompanying vocals that seemed to symbolize the tumultuous feelings that come from a love complicated with too many cooks spoiling the figurative soup - a great first impression for the new listener, and a pleasant reminder for long-term admirers.
The tracks that followed mainly were from her new album release: “Comin’ Tonight,” “The George Song,” “Jesus and Mary,” “So Many Friends,” and “Factory“, from her self-titled debut album. She played with eyes closed, legs stomping, becoming one with her guitar and the band, thereby welcoming the audience to loosen up and feel the power behind the music as if no one was watching. Even when her guitar string broke during “You Cheated Me”, she stopped, initiated an impromptu Q&A/trivia session as she switched guitars, then started from the top, confirming the apparent symbiotic relationship between herself and her band.
Martha Wainwright’s singing style is at best a refreshingly unexpected lack of restraint - raw and with life - in a way that reminds the listener that the human condition isn’t a disease; it is who and what we are despite the situation. I could be that audience-goer who writes about the significance of a bridge, such as when she sings in “You Cheated Me” - When all the bills have been unrolled/And your story has been untold/Tell me if it was worth it/To see the whole damn thing unfold - when really, it is something you would simply have to hear for yourself. The significance is interpreted by the one doing the listening. As for me, while rocking my head against the limits of my neck in the vinyl section between George Harrison and The High Society, I might as well have been in Coachella Valley with a leather band around my head, wearing a flowing skirt. The feeling of a summer festival inside the walls of an air-conditioned music store? Mission: accomplished.
(Visit her official website for more information and to sample tracks from the album.)
Photo by Stig Nygaard via Flickr
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