Touring with the Belles

By Daniel Fryland

Nashville is a great city for music. Unfortunately, word got out and the music scene is clogged with competition. So the second gig in Tennessee was at the Square Market and Café in Columbia—about an hour outside of Nashville. In keeping with the rest of the tour, Alex took the time to experience the character of the locale and ordered his first hot brown while we waited for the van to arrive.

The Square Market and Café is much more of a restaurant than a music venue, and the Black River Belles showed their versatility by playing for the space. Helena’s usual raucous stage presence was toned down to a warm enthusiasm, and songs like “Steam Powered Airplane” were played much more quietly while retaining much of the intensity that characterizes the Belles’ performances. The response to the music was positive but restrained, since the audience was there primarily for a meal.

After the gig we drove back to Nashville. The schedule allowed for a relaxed day on Saturday before the trip to Louisville on Sunday. Saturday night Helena, Sara, Erin, Carlos, and Alex decided to go to the mythic Station Inn to see Jimmy Stewart, Chris Stapleton, and David Grier (more on this to come—your faithful reporter was rather exhausted and so called it an early night).

On Sunday we rose at the crack of noon for the drive to Louisville—a mere three hours, which felt like a trip to the corner store after the beast of a drive from Dallas to Nashville. We arrived just in time to settle in before heading the the Belles’ next show at Java Brewing Co. on Frankfort Avenue. The Belles’ seemed well aware of their new environment, and, as always, tailored the performance to the audience. “Blue Moon of Kentucky” appeared much earlier in the set than it normally does, and on “Steam Powered Airplane,” Helena switched the chorus from “Rather be sitting on a deck chair high over Kansas City,” to “Rather be sitting on a deck chair high over Louisville City,” and she managed to pronounce the name of the city correctly—(more like “LOO-uh-vul” than “LOO-ee-ville”) quite a feat for a non-native.

The audience was much more focused on the music than at the Square Market and Café. The intervals between songs were nearly silent. “So attentive,” mused Helena, “you guys would make an awesome kindergarten class.” The gig ended around 9:00 at which point we finally found the time to find some dinner. Unfortunately, the food from the sketchy Mexican joint left most of us regretting the decision the next day—though we all seem to have recovered by now, so the Belles should be sounding great as always tonight at “The Monkey Wrench.”

By Carlos Lorant

Hey everybody,

At the French Quarter Café in Nashville, the Belles made good use of a resounding sound system aided somewhat by a sound guy, who asked them to play “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” as they were setting up.

It is difficult to convey the difference between a gig here and a gig in any other city. A heightened sense of the importance of music seems to pervade Nashville; the city’s proud musical legacy seems to hang like a fog.

The band managed a lively show despite exhaustion from travel. “I don’t know how people who tour constantly do it,” Helena told me later. Still, after a full set, the Belles were ready for a much-needed break, although Sara, being the only Belle over twenty-one, was invited to and did attend a late night jam session at the 5 Spot, a local bar. And so, the Black River Belles made their Nashville debut, a milestone for any band.

Our arrival in Tennessee also marked the birth of the tour van. Using washable window paint as her medium, Erin covered the tinted glass of the band’s 2001 Honda Odyssey with such Belles-related imagery as boots and a flaming fiddle on one side, and a bass, a guitar, and a cowgirl on the other. “There was cackling,” Erin reminisced days later.

There was to be no question about it. This van meant serious business.

One lesson I’ve learned on the Nashville Highway: never assume you’re the biggest badass on the road, even if your van is emblazoned with awesome instruments that are on fire. Let me tell you a story.

As we were on our way to a gig in nearby Columbia, three older women passed us in a black sedan, giving Sara, Erin and me icy glares. Maybe it was the cuss word on one of the windows, which reads, “kickin’ ass, taking names.” Whatever it was, they looked like they wanted to drive us off the road. So, we did the responsible thing and passed them, our eyes fixed on theirs, serious business faces on until they were out of sight. The triumphant tour van erupted into applause.

We had barely begun to celebrate when the sedan began viciously tailgating us. With the persistence and agility of a shark, the sedan slipped into the right lane. As they started to overtake us, we saw the driver, looking straight ahead, pointing her index finger at us with her thumb held up in the shape of a gun. Soon, the sedan had broken away from us and was getting off at the next exit, leaving us in the dust, dumbfounded.

It was our asses that were kicked that day, our names that were taken. I’ll never forget those glares as long as I live.

by Alex Kotlikoff

Yo! Sorry this post is late. I sat in a box for ten hours yesterday on our way to Nashville. Anyway, it’s hard to capture the coolness of the Belles latest venue, but I’ll try. First off, the gig occurred in one of America’s hippest cities, Austin, Texas. You can feel culture here. No lie, the music is everywhere and so are the vintage clothing stores.

Momo’s club is the dig I’m discussing today, and I’ll start with the entrance: A half-drunk hipster greets us at the door. He’s wearing black boots and a blue coat, probably a relic from the 1940s.  His glowing cigarette is reflected in his aviator sunglasses, and yes, it is nighttime. But as I always say, the sun never sets on a badass. He asks us where we’re from, and then informs us that he dated a fiddler from Oberlin. There’s more than one? I guess so. Sara’s obviously better. (As a side note, he thought my new lizard boots were cool! Although he “fucking hated” where I bought them. No matter, I pass.)

Here’s the upstairs. An elevated stage sits in the back with three monitors for each musician and a large sign that says “Momo’s” on the back wall.  The bar in the middle of the room is decked out with all types of alcohol, and a bartender is ready to give out drinks to those over 21 – only Sara, in this case.  I’m pretty certain that Momo’s is the kind of place that attracts high quality musicians.

The Belles opened with Buckets of Rain and three new hipsters gave vocal approval. I believe even Dylan would have been impressed. Sara’s fiddling rose above the rhythm section and filled the room with such warm melody that my mouth demanded a smile. “Sara is on fire tonight,” Carlos whispered to me halfway through the performance. I agreed. The band only played for an hour and the audience was small. But, when the Belles played Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) in the middle of the set, the Momo’s bartender said, “I think that’s the best cover of Landslide I’ve ever heard.” Quite the compliment from someone who’s probably heard a lot of what Austin’s produced.

OK, since I need to get this post up, I’m gonna cut it short. Overall, it was sweet despite the small crowd.

Oh yeah, and I played too.

Much love,

Alex

by Daniel Fryland

The Crooked Tree Coffeehouse is a converted house in bright greens, yellows, and oranges. When I arrived, Erin and Sara were already there and had finished setting up the PA and mics. Unfortunately, a shortage of microphone cords left Erin’s voice un-amplified. While Erin tried to prompt the girls to start early, I swallowed down one of the best espressos of my life. Earlier today Alex purchased a pair of lizard cowboy boots, so when he urged Erin to patience she dismissed him: “You and your lizard boots…”

Right at 9:00 the Black River Belles launched their set with “New Railroad.” After such a powerful opening, Helena introduced the band and the tour. Appealing to the audience, she asked for donations, saying, “the baby Lord Jesus is in your heart and he’s like ‘yo, put dollars in the case.’”

Tonight’s rendition of “Buckets of Rain,” brought forth an onslaught of Southern sass. “That song was so intense and soulful that my clothes just started to remove themselves… I mean, music is powerful, we already knew that. But who knew it could undress us?” mused Helena between songs. To say that the Belles filled the space would be grossly inadequate. Sweet bluegrass tunes inundated Crooked Tree with joy. The intimate feel of the venue conducted Erin’s bass lines right through the audience. Sara’s sassy melodies begged us to dance. Following Helena’s vocal feature on “I Wanna Sing Rock and Roll” the audience broke into spontaneous clapping on beat with the tune.

Following a quick break, Helena, at the urging of her mother, displayed a rare instance of self-censorship. She explained, “my mom wants me to be chaste and pure, so, sadly, I’m not gonna be able to do Katy Perry justice,” and launched into “Hot ‘N Cold.”

“For this one I’m gonna call up a special guest artist from Lexington, Massachusetts,” said Helena as she called Alex up on stage for the Black River Belles’ first live performance of “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” In true bluegrass fashion the Belles started the tune in 3—Bill Monroe style. Suddenly, Sara set a barn-burning tempo in 4 for the rest of the song, and Alex picked a crazy guitar solo at this new tempo.

Tonight also occasioned the girls’ first performance of “Steam Powered Airplane.” The first verse drew laughter as Helena improvised impromptu lyrics (she had forgotten the actual first verse). This was in keeping with the overall upbeat and carefree atmosphere of the show, which culminated in a screaming rendition of Paul Denison’s patented ‘Whiskey’ verse of “Shady Grove,” which goes:

Whiskey in the summertime,

Whiskey in the fall,

Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey,

whiskey, whiskey, whiskey.

Three nights of gigs was beginning to take a toll on Helena’s voice, so the set ended slightly early. After a rendition of “I’ll Fly Away,” complete with audience accompaniment and a hard-grooving breakdown section leading to a final a capella chorus in three part harmonies, the night ended with what Helena described as Oberlin’s unofficial traveling song: “Wagon Wheel,” and, as always, “Make Me a Pallet.”

By Carlos Lorant

Hi everybody,

After a flightmare of a night spent stuck in Boston because of a snowstorm in Chicago, I finally arrived in Dallas, where the weather is unseasonably “cold.” The city, I soon learned, is not at all like its cramped, crowded Love Field airport. The drive through Dallas to get to Helena’s house was like a trip through some sort of gigantic suburb. Every ten miles or so of flat, sparse land we traversed, I found myself asking if we were still in Dallas. Every ten miles, we were still in Dallas.

The Neuhaus Café, one of the three Dallas venues on the Belles’ agenda this week, is two parts coffee shop, one part candy shop. Last night, it was the only packed place I had seen since leaving the airport. Opening for the Belles was Josh Goldberg, a singer, guitarist, and high-school friend of Helena’s, who, accompanied by inventive and expressive fiddle work from Sara, kicked off the show with a candid singer-songwriter set that showcased his cheerful stage presence. When he prefaced a bluesy number about ill-fated love with “here’s a more cynical one,” I didn’t believe him. Every so often, he would take an opportune break from strumming to readjust his thick-rimmed glasses before taking off into meandering vocal melodies that often ventured into a disarmingly confident falsetto and mingled with Sara’s remarkably adaptable violin and voice.

Josh’s set soon gave way to the Belles, whom Helena promised, in her usual self-deprecating way, would be “loud and obnoxious.” She was half right. From the first instants of upbeat opener “Red Clay Halo,” the band played with a vibrant energy that found its way into the toes of their audience, featuring crisp harmonies and a persistent rhythmic cohesion. “Angel From Montgomery,” a contender for strongest single performance of the night, saw the Belles locked into a brazen striding groove, which provided the framework for a dizzying fiddle solo, a rock steady bass line, and Helena’s coolly expressive vocals. At 7:01, Sara broke her first bowhair of the night. This became a trend, evidence of a busy bow hand.

Approaching the middle, a surprise appearance by opening act Josh Goldberg endowed the show with a sudden burst of energy, as the now-quartet crashed into a biting rendition of obscure artist Katy Perry’s little known 2008 B-side, “Hot N Cold,” treating it to lush four-part harmonies. The mood shifted with a chill-inducing performance of “Maybe Sparrow” which, along with a slew of slower songs, displayed a more reflective side of the Belles. By the end of the night, the emotional rollercoaster had finally come to a rolling stop with “Make Me a Pallet” (not included: an impromptu encore performance of Beyoncée’s “Single Ladies”) and your correspondent, still reeling from an eight-hour jetlag, was ready to go to bed, having at long last received his much-delayed bluegrass fix.

In other news, today Alex got some damn lizard-skin boots. According to the saleswoman, he has good tastes for a Yankee. We agree.

That’s it for now. Until next time!

Carlos

Hello from shining Dallas, Texas where the weather is a balmy 28 degrees! I just arrived about a day ago, and I’ve already doubled my bodyweight. Seriously, it has been a food extravaganza; oysters, BBQ, cake, and Dr. Pepper! It’s hard to go hungry in Texas.

Not a whole hell of a lot to say. We witnessed the first gig last night at “The Opening Bell,” a nice café venue adorned with pictures of the late Jimi Hendrix and Townes Van Zandt. The crowd was sparse, but the Belles were unaffected. After adjusting their monitor, the band launched into a loud rendition of “Red Clay Halo” a great bluegrass song in my opinion. It seemed others agreed and in no time the audience was fixated on the thumping sound of Erin Lobb’s bass, Sara’s old timey fiddle playing, and Helena Thompson’s seductively powerful voice.

The bluegrass sound is undeniably enticing. It invites the listener with a bang and then reaches a smooth running rhythm. It can be upbeat or minor, but it is always “alive” like a cup of coffee in the morning. The Belles personify this sound because they love their music and they love to play. Each song differed in tempo and tone. Some were soft ballads and others were punching. I enjoyed the deep sound of “Maybe Sparrow.” It’s one of Helena’s favorites. She sang which such strength that Danny and I were almost wrenched out of our seats.

Helena, a Dallas native, digs her city as well. She likes the plethora of food and the cordial behavior of the Texan. She still makes fun of Dallas though. She shared her favorite saying with the audience, “Keep Dallas Pretentious!” Apparently, the joke captures the essence of Dallas. But, hailing from Boston, it’s hard to find a city more obsessed with itself. Anyway, thanks for reading guys, I’ll be keeping you up to date soon.

much love,

Alex

by Daniel Fryland

Welcome to Touring With the Belles!  We (Alex, Carlos, and I) will be following the Black River Belles as they make their way through Dallas, Austin, Nashville, and Louisville during January.  Over the course of the tour we hope to keep you updated on the band’s activities both on and off stage, while filling you in on some background about the band and its members.

The Black River Belles are a three member bluegrass band that formed in Oberlin, Ohio in January of 2009.  All three members were and still are students in the Oberlin Conservatory.  Helena Thompson sings and plays the guitar.  Sara Sasaki plays the fiddle and Erin Lobb plays bass—both provide vocal harmonies to Helena’s lead vocals.  Though the band has its origins in Ohio, all the members are from the South (Helena is from Dallas, Sara from Austin, and Erin from Louisville), and the Belles will travel to each member’s home town during the course of the tour.

Over the next few weeks we will keep you informed on the band’s shows, rehearsals, and basically their entire tour.  Expect more posts, photos, audio, and maybe even some videos.  For now, here are some links to give you a little more background on the Belles:

http://www.myspace.com/blackriverbelles

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Black-River-Belles/88235624157?v=info

http://fearlessandloathing.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/black-river-belles-play-to-packed-agave/