Tear In My Beer

Saturday night, I was at The Dakota Tavern for an early show of country-flavoured music. Dahmnait Doyle started in the late 90s/early aught. She is still active in the music scene but tonight was her first show with solo material in 14 years. There was plenty of hurtin' songs in her set though the heartbreak and regret encompassed more than failed romances. Even those arrived after years and decades of trials and tribulations. I enjoyed the lyrics of this deeply personal set, but I wasn't quite as engaged with the arrangements. It sometimes veered into bland new-country. All these songs were written in the last 1.5 months, so perhaps there was work down the road.

Sarah Cripps was also country, but darker and more unsettling. Her bluesy Gothic tunes ran the gamut from slow burning ballads to in-your-face rock numbers. Her lyrics weren't quite as intensely personal but still finely crafted. This was a great set of indie gems. If Cripps hasn't written a murder ballad yet, she should, as her talent is perfect for that.