Welchin' and Jonesin'

Well, lookee here! Norah Jones is touring this summer, and through the month of June, her opening act will be Gillian Welch!

Now, I really like Norah Jones, and I love Gillian Welch... but isn't this a bit of a strange pairing? It's like Lucinda Williams opening for Diana Krall. It's like Steve Earle opening for Tony Bennett. It's like having a home-made oatmeal cookie with a glass of red wine.

Don't get me wrong; I'd love to see them together on the same evening. Too bad Gillian's last night on this tour is the gig just before Norah hits Massey Hall in Toronto. Damn. Maybe she'll swing by this way on her own.

See Norah's tour dates (including those with GW) here.

Speaking of the wonderful Ms. Welch, her web page is offering a live clip from her Time (The Revelator) DVD. Click here and choose your connection speed to see her and the amazing David Rawlings performing "Red Clay Halo" (steams through Realplayer, Windows media player and Quicktime). Check out Rawlings' smooth capo action during his solo. What an amazing player.

I love this song, though it's one of the more "traditional"-sounding tracks on Revelator (maybe it's because I'm from a place known for its red soil). I find it intriguing how on many of the songs on this CD, she's able to sound so very traditional, but yet there's also a very contemporary aesthetic at work, mostly in her approach to lyric writing.

And speaking of rootsy gals, I've been really enjoying Ottawa alt-country chick Kathleen Edwards' Failer CD. She's been getting lots of Stateside exposure lately. I missed seeing her on Letterman last night. If you like Lucinda Williams, you'll probably like Kathleen.