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This was my second time seeing British chanteuse Gemma Ray; the first was back in July 2010, also at the Rockwood. At that show, she played all by herself, and I remember being mesmerized by her sultry, soulful voice, as well as her spooky, tremolo-laden guitar playing, which evoked lonesome desert music, spaghetti westerns, and film noirs. For this gig, which kicked off a two-week U.S. tour, she brought along organist Rory More (who played a bulky, vintage-looking Hammond organ that had to be carted out of the club after the set by five guys!) and her long-time collaborator, drummer Andrew Zammit. More’s swirling keyboard playing and Zammit’s supple stickwork provided just the right shading and color for Ray’s distinctive songs.
About half of the set was unfamiliar, as Ray introduced material from her new, soon-to-be-released fourth album, Island Fire. New LP tunes like “Rescue Me”, “Runaway”, and “Put Your Brain in Gear” seemed to have a lighter, ‘60s-esque pop feel, in contrast to the darker tones of some of her previous music. (However, she still broke out her trademark kitchen knife to whittle ominous effects from her guitar strings at the end of “Runaway”.) They fit in nicely with older numbers like “100 MPH (in 2nd Gear)”, “So Do I”, and the closing “Dig Me a River”, all from her 2009 LP Lights Out Zoltar!
As well, she played a few selections from her 2010 covers album It’s a Shame About Gemma Ray (a tongue-in-cheek reference to The Lemonheads’ 1992 It’s a Shame About Ray), done up in her own style. At the 2010 show I saw she did Gun Club’s “Ghost on the Highway”; this time we were treated to her retro-surf/torch version of Mudhoney’s 1988 debut single “Touch Me I’m Sick” and “Bei Mir Bist Du Shein”, a popular Yiddish tune made famous by The Andrews Sisters in 1937. Even a few minor “first-show-on-the-tour” kinks, namely some crackling sounds emitting from the big organ’s wires (which prompted Ray to comment, “We’re still getting our heads around that beast”), didn’t distract from what was a gratifying set.
After Ray’s set, I decided to stick around for Brooklyn brother-sister folk duo This Frontier Needs Heroes, and I’m glad I did. Brad Lauretti sings in a groggy, yet affecting voice, and is complimented to great effect by his sister Jessica’s alternately strong and sweet pipes. Their hushed and haunting campfire songs kept the audience enraptured throughout, me included. Overall, it was a most enjoyable ending to a rainy and damp Leap Day in New York!
