Brett Sparks wasn’t the only one who was disappointed when he discovered that he still had two untouched beers at his feet as the Handsome Family neared the end of their set. The last time the married couple, known as much for their music as for their shared history of mental illness, had played the High Noon Brett had overindulged, making Rennie mad, and leading to him playing a second, extended, sloppy encore alone. Now that’s entertainment.
As much as I enjoy their bickering, tonight’s argument free show wasn’t really a letdown. In fact, other than Brett’s sobriety and the whiny voiced opener who drove us out onto the patio (thankfully it was a nice night), it was a pretty good show. The twosome’s spare, dark songs are usually brought to life with just Rennie switching between bass and banjo and Brett on guitar, her lyrics voiced by his shiver-inducing baritone. Tonight as an added bonus, a guitarist/violinist and drummer joined the duo. I was especially pleased that the latter was Jason Toth who plays with the delightful Zincs and, more importantly, is one of Chris Mills’ rotating cast of drummers. Jason’s minimal kit and subtle use of brushes was perfect for the songs’ moodiness.
The set list touched on highlights of their catalog while leaning heavily on new release Honey Moon (yes, two words), another collection of bouts of depression and lunatics that stands up well next to the rest. While not as immediately memorable as records like Through the Trees and In the Air, it feels like a solid addition to their catalog. “So Much Wine” from the latter proved affecting, its lyrics some of their more hopeless, “Butterfly, there's only so much wine you can drink in one life and it will never be enough to save you from the bottom of your glass.”
Perhaps the highlight was a terrific version of “Arlene,” a song about a girl who is kidnapped and dragged into the woods which Rennie wrote to cheer her up during a bout of depression. According to her, it worked. One I hadn’t heard before, the Twilight Zone-esque “Bottomless Hole” with its immortal line “Until I hit the bottom, I won’t believe it’s bottomless” was also quite memorable.
After last night’s drunk and obnoxious dude-dominated crowd, tonight’s attentive and appreciative audience seemed sophisticated by comparison. It’s always easier to enjoy a show when you don’t have beer spilled on your feet and can actually hear the words of the songs rather than the guy next to you singing off-key.
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