"See what else your old heart can take"

On Monday night I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Rosanne Cash performing at the Winspear Centre. Here's a picture of the stage at intermission:

I have been listening to Rosanne Cash's song "Seven Year Ache" regularly since 1981; in fact, until I lost all my 45s, I still owned the song as a single (backed with "Blue Moon with Heartache," a sad, sad song). In 1981, I was eleven, in grade six, really getting into popular music and starting to think seriously about my musical identity. If you had asked me at the time, I would have told you I didn't like country music, and I certainly didn't consider Rosanne Cash "country" — after all, I discovered her by listening to either 1260 CFRN or 630 CHED, both of which were at the time top-forty stations. And bizarrely and ironically — and truthfully — I did not connect Rosanne Cash to her very very famous father until I was much older. (Interestingly, Ms Cash does not consider herself a country artist either, but rather a singer and storyteller.)

At Monday's concert Cash and the band played through her latest album, The River and the Thread, in its entirety and in track sequence, with breaks between songs to explain their background and inspiration. I really enjoyed this presentation, as I like the new record. In the second half, Cash and the band presented a short set of hits, including "Blue Moon with Heartache," a stripped-down cover of "Long Black Veil," "Tennessee Flat Top Box," and of course "Seven Year Ache." I was swoony: I LOVE Rosanne Cash's voice: she sings with such longing. So for me it was a fine, fun evening.

That's likely it for major concert action this season. Always good to go out on a high!