Videos by American Songwriter
Nashville’s inaugural SoundLand couldn’t have started on a better note.
At the Jonny Corndawg/ Dawes/M. Ward show at the War Memorial, the spirit of collaboration was in the air. Dawes ended up backing Corndawg, truly a man stuck in time, for his entire set. The bearded country singer noted how he had just returned to Nashville from LA, and was so excited he stayed up all night watching Song of The South. His charming, off-kilter country songs from his new album, Down On The Bikini Line, were greeted with enthusiasm, especially the a capella, tightly harmonized closer about kissing below the belt.
Look for a collaboration from this ad hoc group, now calling themselves CornDawes, in the near future. They’ve already written three songs, including one about chopping onions.
They were also joined at one point by Deer Tick’s John McCauley, who came out to lend his raspy vocals on a spontaneous “Middle Brother.” “I wrote this song when I was drunk,” quipped McCauley. “Imagine that,” said Corndawg.
Dawes’ set took things to the next level, bringing the seated crowd to their feet to dance. In addition to possessing a golden voice built for radio, Goldsmith is also an ace guitarist, leaning into his guitar solos with Springsteen-like passion. It wasn’t long before he invited McCauley, his brother from Middle Brother, up to sing “Million Dollar Bill.”
Even the afro-sporting drummer got some – taking lead vocals on Nothing Is Wrong’s “How Far We’ve Come.” Dawes closed with their current hit single, “Time Spent In Los Angeles.” “We always get a little nervous playing in Nashville,” said Goldsmith. “We figure you guys really know your music.”
The M. in M. Ward could very well stand for music. His headlining set showed off his special affinity for his instruments, in this case acoustic guitar and piano, and his ability to hypnotize and captivate the audience with his dusky, almost Billie Holiday-esque vocals. He began with a solo instrumental of The Beach Boys’ “You Still Believe In Me,” drawing everyone in. On “Fuel For Fire,” he played a wheezing harmonica first into and then off the mic, drawing everyone in further, as the sound carried to the back of the hall.
The night’s most welcome surprise came when Ward brought on Kurt Wagoner of Lambchop for a jazzy cover of Neil Young’s “Lonesome Me,” with Ward playing slide guitar. Wagoner’s idiosyncratic voice warbled like a country Aaron Neville’s, but the audience ate it up with a spoon.
A reflective reading of Daniel Johnston’s “Story of An Artist,” (“some would try for fame and glory, others aren’t so bold”) sung by Ward at the piano, cast a heady spell. “This is a town that was built on the arts,” he noted. “I imagine this song is about a lot of people here.” The night also featured also Ward’s first live solo performance of the Monsters of Folk song “Slow Down Jo.”
The intimate coffee house vibe was broken up by the return of Dawes, who helped Ward rock out for the final portion of his set. The highlight of their pairing was the rollicking rendition of “Big Boat,” an enjoyable rave up from 2005’s Transistor Radio. You’ve got to admire a band that can play country songs, their own distillation of 70’s rock, and then M. Ward’s tunes like they’d been playing them all their lives. I guess this is why Robbie Robertson likes these guys so much.
SoundLand has other collaborations in store, namely Friday’s Super Jam, featuring The Apache Relay with special guests. But the War Memorial show will be a tough act to follow.
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