Twangy Cow-Punk Spaghetti Magic

Ellie Harwood on The Sadies at St Bonaventures, Bristol

2nd May 2007

“All the best country bands are Canadian anyway” a friend recently asserted to me as we discussed whether you needed to be American to play ‘authentic’ country. At the time I thought he may have had a point, and after watching Toronto’s Sadies burn through 30-odd songs of twangy cow-punk-spaghetti magic I’m more inclined to believe that statement than ever.

Peers and occasional bandmates of fellow Canadian Neko Case, and collaborators with artists as diverse as Jon ‘Mekons’ Langford and Kris Kristofferson, the Sadies are reputed to be one of the best live bands in the world, and last year saw hard evidence of that in their exceptional live album ‘In Concert, Vol 1’. And yet, for all the energy and genre mashing brilliance of their recordings, nothing can prepare you for the band in the flesh. Dressed in nudie suits and adopting rather dour expressions, brothers Travis and Dallas Good stand strikingly on either side of the stage, two tall skinny pillars hedging the hot rhythm section of double bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitsky. As the tiny parish hall is filled with the swelling guitar ripples of ‘Lay Down Your Arms’ jaws drop and heads turn to see how four men can create such a vast and exhilarating sound.

The magic of the Sadies really lies in the way they seamlessly blend a huge range of musical influences into a whole that just sounds completely feasible and uncontrived. They are part Morricone, part hot surf guitar, part Sun Records rockabilly, all woven together with a magnificent melodic sensibility that owes its heritage to pioneers like The Byrds and even, at points, British melodicists like The Beatles or The Kinks. Sibling bands are almost always compelling and the rapport between Travis and Dallas is jaw-dropping as they subtly dialogue with twisting guitar lines or bring their voices together in perfect harmony. It is rare to see two musicians so in tune with each other, let alone four who can play so tightly, and with such energy, over such a large set. This is in no small part thanks to the fact that they tour almost constantly and rarely play out less than 25 songs of an evening. Even when back at home in Toronto their musical relationship continues as they play live and record in collaboration with friends, as well as pursuing diverse solo projects.

Tonight they charge their way through a set that spans their entire 9 year back catalogue and throw in a handful of perfectly executed covers to boot. A take on the old traditional song ‘Pretty Polly’ – best known as a Stanley Brothers number – is sung in as fierce and dark a manner as the words themselves deserve. As it is followed by the exquisite wrangling of instrumental ‘A Number One’ the audience can be seen to almost melt in delight. On occasions Travis sets down his guitar to pick up the fiddle and bows out the lines with such passion he’s left with more than a few hairs hanging loose at the end of the night. The enthusiasm with which they play is infectious, setting people in the room dancing, and after completing the setlist they visibly seem to loosen up and begin bantering with each other and accepting requests from the crowd.

After a couple of hours of leading us on an amazing non-linear journey into all that is good and to be loved about music the band finally take their bows and slouch offstage, leaving everyone hollering and grinning like fools. Overcome slightly with just how good they had been I approach a very affable Dallas and insist on hugging him like some kind of superhero, the hot sweat on his shirt like some kind of magical balm on my cheek. As someone who doesn’t much go for stranger’s bodily fluids, I think it surely says that The Sadies are a band who do something just a little bit more special than most.

© 2007 Ellie Harwood

Ellie Harwood sings and plays guitar and autoharp in Silver Spurs, Cardiff’s premier purveyors of banjo-ringing, pedal steel driven, multivocal country death songs.

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