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Chambers Music - Kasey Chambers (Slims, San Francisco, CA 8/7/12)

A friend in Seattle told me she'd seen Kasey Chambers Sunday night, and she was amaazing.

Then another buddy, who told me he'd seen her years before (and even bummed a cigarette from her at the break) told me he was getting ready to see her at the Rio in Santa Cruz on Wednesday.

But me, I'd never seen Kasey live, so it was a treat to catch her at Slim's, the venerable South of Market San Francisco joint founded by Boz Scaggs awhile back. The gig had originally been scheduled for the Fillmore and I'm figuring didn't sell enough tickets, but it made more sense for her to be in the intimate room, hallowed ground where I've seen the likes of Ricki Lee Jones and Buddy Guy in the past.

Sarah Jarosz, who could easily headline a show on her own merits, opened, yielding the stage to "the beautiful Kasey Chambers,'' but not before impressing with a set that included a lovely rendition of Joanna Newsom's "The Book of Right On'' (she said she learned the tune from Crooked Still's Aiothe O'Donovan.) Cellist Nathaniel Smith and violinist Alex Hargreaves provided sensitive, jazzy accompaniment for the dazzling trio.

Then it was Kasey's turn, and she owned the stage.

From signature standards like "Pretty Enough,'' which she reprised later in a bluegrass version (complete with riffs from "Stayin'Alive'' and "Video Killed The Radio Star'') aimed at Aussies who might not be hard-core country lovers, her piercing, neo-Appalachian outback sound filled the room.

Backed up by her dad, the cowboy-hatted pedal steel playing Bill Chambers (a former "fox hunter,'' she informed the crowd), and fiddler/backup vocalist Ashleigh Dallas, Chambers moved through her repertoire, from "Beautiful Mess'' to a lovely new song about the birth of the baby Jesus ("Sample lyric: Joseph was a bit confused, the rest of us were, too,'' and a hard rocking version of "Barricades and Brickwalls'' that wouldn't be mistaken for a folk song. And she did a lovely job with "The Captain,'' a tune she wrote when she was 17 and said she has performed at every professional show since. Not to mention a cover of Lucinda Williams' "Happy Woman Blues'' ("I could play Lucinda all week") from her latest cd, "Storybook.''

But perhaps the surprise of the night was "Where Do I Come From,'' a duet between Bill and Kasey that could easily top the charts of No Depression's "father/daughter song" discussion group. Originally part of a now out of print collection from "Poppa Bill and the Little Hillbillies,'' Bill's whiskey tenor is the perfect complement to Kasey's soulful twang.

Check it out, and see if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, and a smile to your face.

<a rel=nofollow href="http://youtu.be/NT6LXVdyS9o"></a> Talent, it seems, runs in the family Onward, to Santa Cruz.

Tags: Native, daughter

Comment by Kyla Fairchild on August 10, 2012 at 9:35am: Saw the Seattle show and it was fantastic. One of the best shows I've seen in a long time. So glad I didn't miss it. Loved the duet with Kasey and her dad. So glad someone captured that on video!

Comment by Paul Wilner on August 10, 2012 at 10:03am: Thanks, Kyla. It was a great vibe - and she has great pipes, and soul, obviously...A live show very much worth catching (even on a Tuesday night.)

Also just checked out a great version of "I Drink,'' a great Bill Chambers version of a Mary Gauthier song recommended by my ND pal Andrew Hilton.

Comment by Tim M. Otto on August 10, 2012 at 7:04pm: Paul, I saw Kasey in 2003 here in Portland. I think Nashville is envious of the fact that she's from Australia not the South. Anyway, she was great then and I'm sure she still (country) Rocks it now!

Comment by Paul Wilner on August 10, 2012 at 7:26pm: Yeah, she ripped it up with "Brickwalls and Barridades'' at the show. Like I said, not just a folkie crooner. Cool that she's got such a wide range of subjects and styles going on...

Comment by Eddie White on August 14, 2012 at 3:25am: Take it from an Aussie, Bill Chambers is as good as we get.

Check out his debut album "Sleeping With The Blues".

Kasey is a chip off the old block but if I had to choose I'd take the old block !

Aussie gal Catherine Britt a protege of Billy Bob Chambers, has a new album called "Always Never Enough" worth checking out.

Eddie White

The Cosmic Cowboy Cafe

2RRR 88.5 FM

Sydney, Australia

Comment by John Scholten on August 14, 2012 at 7:19am: Bill Chambers has produced my latest album which includes four co-writes with the man himself. So excited with the results.

Comment by Jewels on August 14, 2012 at 9:19am: Saw her show at The Santa Monica Pier the week before SF and she was so awesome,

I've loved her since Nic Harcourt played "Pretty Enough" to death back in the early aughts.

People at the pier didn't really know who she was but she gained hundreds of new fans that night with her honesty, warmth, humor and CHOPS!

Thanks for posting this vid, they didn't play this one in SM, also thanks for the tip about Bill's Mary Gauthier cover - SO BEAUTIFUL!

Comment by Jewels on August 14, 2012 at 9:28am: Thought I would share that version of "I Drink"

Too good not to!

<a rel=nofollow rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI3XTigtMG0" target="_blank"></a>

Comment by John Scholten on August 14, 2012 at 9:57am: Bill's latest album "Drifting South" is well worth a listen.

Comment by Ed Stofko on August 14, 2012 at 11:54am: I saw her in Dallas earlier this year. Fantastic show. I sat behind the mixing board which her brother was manning. She is so gracious and interactive with her audience. She has got some great stories which she shared with the crowd. Bill has some great chops. She is playing here again tomorrow but alas I won't be able to attend.