Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony Tour
Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony Tour
George's Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville, Arkansas, February 25, 2023
My wife fell in love with Larkin Poe when we first saw them play at the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin Tennessee in 2016. There we first saw the Lovell Sisters turning in an exciting set of original music from their to-be-released recording Peach (Tricki-Woo Records, 2017). We had an opportunity to meet Megan and Rebecca Lovell then and on five additional occasions since, including before their show at Fayetteville, AR's famous George's Majestic Lounge. Each time they were gracious, grateful, attentive, and respectful. I appreciated their kind treatment of my wife, a fangirl in middle age. Having watched them grow over the last 10 years, becoming celebrities, they remain refreshingly grounded, committed to their art, and beautiful young ladies, inside and out. Props to the elder Lovells, you done good.
Larkin Poe blew into Fayetteville, AR supporting their newly released recording, Blood Harmony (Tricki-Woo Records, 2022). Blood harmony is a term I first heard associated with the Louvin Brothers. It is the harmony achieved by and between close family members. That harmony does not need to be limited to vocals. It can also apply to performance dynamics. The Lovell Sisters have a sharply refined empathy with one another that manifests in a tightly executed, taut, and sinewy show.
The band's setlist has remained consistent since the beginning of the Blood Harmony tour, opening and closing the shows with music from the new recording, cloaking an interior of older numbers that are solidifying into the band's concert book. Kicking things off with a driving "Strike Gold" from Blood Harmony, the sisters follow up with a writhing and serpentine "Kick The Blues" and an explosive"Summertime Sunset" (with a lethal backbeat issued by new drummer Ben Satterlee) from the new recording before looking back with "Holy Ghost Fire" and "Back Down South" from Self Made Man (Tricki-Woo Records, 2020).
The performances of the new songs, as well as their original production, reflect the presence of Tyler Bryant, who produced the new recording with the band. The effect was the band hitting the musical gym and adding poundage to their collective presence. Bryant's presence extends farther than just production. Rebecca Lovell's lead guitar playing has grown more confident, exploding from carefully scripted, lyrical lines gingerly placed in all the appropriate places into a torrential and molten cascade of riffs and notes increasing the specific gravity of the music to near-critical mass (as can be heard in the staccato section of "Summertime Sunset").
The central portion of the performance reached back to material released previous to Self Made Man. The group's popular cover of Eddie "Son" House's "Preachin' Blues" is now a concert staple as are "Blue Ridge Mountains," and "Bleach Blonde Bottle Blues" from Venom & Faith (Tricki-Woo Records, 2018). The R&B ballad "Might As Well Be Me" has been in the band's setlist for the past several years and was finally committed to record on Blood Harmony.
Ending a well-paced and programmed show was "Bad Spell," (performed later on The Jimmy Kimmel Show) "Wanted Woman - AC/DC," "Bolt Cutters & The Family Name," and "Deep Stays Down" all but "Wanted Woman" from the most recent album. Larkin Poe has been approaching a quasar of superstardom slowly, but things appear to be picking up. Good for this fine band and the Lovell Sisters. They deserve this.
Opening for Larkin Poe was Austin guitarist/vocalist Zach Person. Following The White Stripes and the Black Keys, Person was accompanied only by drummer Jake Wyble who also doubled on assorted electronics. At first blush, Person might be mistaken as one more Jimi Hendrix wannabe. That is until he started playing, and a whole 21st-century universe emerged. Person's set was short and featured his original compositions: "Can't Stop Running," "Send Me Away," "Remnants," and "Wanna Fly." His guitar tone was full and overdriven and his judicious use of a wah pedal was both strategic and dramatic. Person's singing was refined as was his controlled feral stage presence. His attention to the audience was so keen he quoted "Voodoo Chile" when he heard it mentioned in the first row of fans. That was a great touch that made a good night great.
Setlist: Introduction; Strike Gold; Kick The Blues; Summertime Sunset; Holy Ghost Fire; Preachin' Blues; Blue Ridge Mountains; She's A Self-Made Man; Back Down South; Mad As A Hatter; Bleach Blonde Bottle Blues; Southern Comfort; Might As Well Be Me; Bad Spell; Wanted Woman - AC/DC; Bolt Cutters & The Family Name; Deep Stays Down.
Musicians: Rebecca Lovell: guitar, lead vocals; Megan Lovell: lap steel guitar, vocals; Tarka Layman: bass, keyboards, vocals; Ben Satterlee: drums.