My Lady Fair

I stopped by The Dakota Tavern for an early show of acoustic music. There were some minor irritations. First, there was some chatterboxes in the opening set. Why would they pay to sit and blab? Turns out they were friends with the barstaff and got in for free. Then a highly intoxicated woman made a scene until she was finally persuaded to leave. Finally, people complain about kids taping shows through their smartphone. But that's nothing compared to old men and their cameras. The "digital natives" may record for 30 seconds or take a selfie now and then. But you will hear the click-click from the fogeys' SLRs for the entire night.

The music, on the other hand, was wonderful. Andrew Austin mostly sang pop songs about love (If This Is Your Love). Combined with basic guitar strumming, and it was a pleasant but not memorable set. The one stand-out was the bitter If It Ain't This Town. Headliner Olivia Chaney played an exquisite set. Whether on her guitar flicking out shimmering notes, pumping the harmonium, or playing the piano, she had entrancing arrangements. I especially enjoyed the classical/medieval There's Not A Swain. Though it was primarily folk songs from the British Isles (You Rambling Boys, False Bride), she also gave us Chilean (La jardinera) and French (Ballade des dames du temps jadis). With a nod to Canada, she played Joni Mitchell's A Case Of You for the encore. Her own original songs (Holiday, King's Horses) were more pop and lacked the rich lyricism of the covers. Jordan Hunt added some nice accompaniment on violin and harmony. Chaney is a rare talent and a joy to watch.