Eilen Jewell 07-24-2010 in Hudson NY
Eilen Jewell
July 24, 2010
Club Helsinki
Hudson, NY
Eilen Jewell – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, maracas
Jerry Miller – electric guitar
Johnny Sciascia – upright bass
Jason Beek – drums, vocals, percussion
I’ve seen Eilen and her band perform nine times since late 2007 when I first discovered their music. They tour relentlessly, and it always amazes me how they’re consistently able to get on stage and play the same few dozen songs (fabulous repertoire though it is) with the same energy and enthusiasm every night. I’ve yet to see them do anything approaching a mediocre show. It also amazes me that they’re not much better known than they are by now, although it’s apparent they are building a very loyal following.
It had been a year since I saw them last, so when I found out they were playing in Hudson I decided on the spur of the moment to book a motel room in the area and make the 4 hour drive to go hear them. I called the venue a few hours before show time, and they were very gracious about allowing me to record the show after confirming I had Eilen’s permission. When I arrived 20 minutes before the doors opened, I found out that the newly relocated Club Helsinki hadn’t yet received their liquor license. This eventuality resulted in a small crowd of 150 or so patrons who were almost eerily quiet during the performance. While this was a little unnerving for the band, it made for ideal recording conditions. My mics were clamped to the rail on the 2nd level of the performance room about 20 feet from center stage. Eilen has a soft spot for Club Helsinki since they gave her her first break as a performer at their old location in Great Barrington, and the band played two long and very heartfelt sets. The sound system, acoustics and house mix were fantastic, especially the second set when Eilen’s vocals appeared to be mixed a little higher. Her sultry performance on Billie Holiday’s Fine and Mellow was a real highlight, and just check out the guitar solos in Back To Dallas by Jerry Miller, who was on fire all night. I felt extremely fortunate to be there to capture the evening!
It was also great to catch up with Eilen and the boys after the show, and I picked up a copy of their brand new Loretta Lynn tribute CD Butcher Holler which is all kinds of fun!
First Set
1. Instrumental
2. Lucky One (?)
3. Rain Roll In
4. Fading Memory
5. The Darkest Day
6. Heartache Boulevard
7. intro with cows
8. High Shelf Booze
9. band intros
10. Too Hot To Sleep
11. q and a
12. Deep As Your Pocket
13. Final Hour
14. the plan
15. Gotta Get Right
16. Twelve Gates To The City
17. Rich Man’s World
18. Fist City
Second Set
1. Where They Never Say Your Name
2. Sea Of Tears
3. the truth about this song
4. Boundary County
5. Back To Dallas
6. Fine And Mellow
7. Dusty Boxcar Wall
8. Thanks A Lot
9. The Flood
10. Blue Highway
11. the quiche in the socks story
12. I’m Gonna Dress In Black
13. Shakin’ All Over
14. acknowledgments
15. If You Catch Me Stealin’
16. what to play
17. Honky Tonk Girl
Stream the show from this link.
FLAC files can be downloaded from this page.
A zipped file of hi-fi mp3s can be downloaded from here.
A review of the show with some videos can be found here.
Recorded by Keith from NY
Milab VM-44 Link cardioids (DIN, 20′ from center stage) > Oade Concert PMD-661 @24/44.1 > PNY 16Gb SDHC
Cardreader > Adobe Audition/iZotope Ozone > CD Wave (tracking) > FLAC Level 8
Editing: mid-side adjustment, fades, gain, MBIT+ dither
House mix by Peter Lindstrom. Photos courtesy of Eilen Jewell and Ammuse. Many thanks to Eilen and the management of Club Helsinki for making this recording possible.
Support the artist and buy Eilen’s CDs and other stuff!