Soothe Sayer

On Monday, I was at The Drake Underground for an early show. Kate Goldman opened the evening. Her solo set was the standard mix of pop and americana. I was expecting a larger crowd for Olivia Chaney than her previous times at The Dakota since she was exposed to more mainstream audience through Offa Rex, her collaboration with The Decemberists. But those of us who were there was treated to a warm, quiet set of contemplative English folk. To be fair, most of the songs from her new album were closer to pop. Alternating between guitar and piano, she led us through run-down cottages and wind-swept hills. Her violinist added some atmospheric notes or quiet singing. As she wryly noted, despite her label's protest, she included another Henry Purcell piece on her new album. This time, it was her plaintive arrangement of O Solitude.

Chaney finally brought some merchandise to her show. Because she was touring both Canada and the U.S., and due to restrictive Canadian border rules, her team did not actually bring any merchandise. It was a local distributor who provided her latest CD for tonight. As such, I wasn't able to buy any items from her back catalogue.