James Vincent McMorrow Tour feat Marissa Nadler – REVIEW

James Vincent McMorrow, came to The Hideout in Chicago on his headline tour. With him came supporting act, Marissa Nadler. You can check out our review after the break.

Remember the name James Vincent McMorrow.  He is not a household name yet, but he will be.  McMorrow played to a packed house at The Hideout on his first headlining tour, after stints opening up for fellow Irishmen Bell X1, as well as The Rural Alberta Advantage and The Civil Wars.  Judging by the enthusiastic crowd, and the long line to purchase merchandise post show, it is unlikely that he will play a venue that small again in Chicago.  Musically, McMorrow touches on the familiar ground of artists such as Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Mumford and Sons, with the Irish knack for story-like lyrics.

While previous stops in Chicago have featured just McMorrow and his guitar, this show also featured 5 backing musicians, with drums, bass, mandolin and keys.  For songs like the opener Sparrow and The Wolf, this proved especially helpful due to the instrumentation on the album, as well as the backing vocals.  All of the musicians were excellent at the instruments, and the harmony vocals were near perfect. McMorrow barely looked up during the song, but his pwoerful vocals controlled the room.  This was followed by the understated ballad If My Heart Should Somehow Stop.  Third song, This Old Dark Machine, with it’s group vocals is where McMorrow started to look more comfortable on stage, with his confidence really growing.

In the tradition of another great Irish singe-songwriter, Glen Hansard, McMorrow also has a self-deprecating sense of humor, and an ability to entertain through stories of life experiences.  Commenting on the crowds at the shows so far he said,”The shows have been full, but I was mentally prepared to play for like 20 people and a chicken that wandered in randomly.  I see more than 20 people here though.”  He had several other stories and anecdotes that kept the crowd entertained while the band was retuning their instruments.

The band really took it up a notch during Breaking Hearts.  The backing vocals and mandolin were exceptionally good. After a long instrumental section the band dropped out leaving just McMorrow and his guitar, before picking back up for the final chorus.  After the song, the band left the stage for a much deserved break.

James played We Are Ghost, a new song on guitar.  He then switched to keys to play his cover of Higher Love by Steve Winwood, which has been gaining a lot of attention in the blogosphere.  He had some comments regarding this choice of cover songs for a benefit record, basically saying it was not an ironic choice, and that the message of the song gets lost in the big chorus.

The band rejoined him for a haunting version of Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree, and a few more songs before set closers We Don’t Eat and If I Had A Boat.  We Don’t Eat was instantly recognizable from the thumping drum beat.  It got much of the crowd moving, and some even mouthing the words.  If I Had A Boat brought the set to a close, with it’s a capella group vocal introduction and emotive vocals from McMorrow.  The song of yearning was a perfect end to the set.

McMorrow came back out right away for the encore, with just his guitar.  After a bit of a story, he began to play Wicked Game by Chis Isaak.  It was by far the most quiet song of the set, with McMorrow barely strumming the guitar.  The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and the crowd was barely even moving, completely enraptured with the song.  It was a perfect ending a very memorable set.

Opener Marissa Nadler, from Boston,  posses an absolutely arresting voice.  She turned heads in the small room from the moment she started singing.  Her dreamy folk music is an ideal soundtrack for the start to fall.  Most of the set was comprised of songs from her newest album, the self titled Marissa Nadler.  The haunting, melancholic lyrics matched the yearnful sound of her guitar.

Information about the review…
Tour: James Vincent McMorrow Tour feat Marissa Nadler
Artists: James Vincent McMorrow and Marissa Nadler
Venue: The Hideout in Chicago, IL
Date: September 15, 2011