After an unfortunately timed illness led to some of this tour being cancelled, Iris DeMent admitted to the Glasgow crowd that she was probably ‘happier to see you than you to are to see me.’ What followed was an evening of hopeful songs that powerfully cut through the political despair of our times.
Opening the show was Ana Egge, a long time fan, friend and collaborator of Iris (she did the double shift by also playing in Iris’s band alongside bass player Liz Draper). Hailing from Canada and now based in Brooklyn, she warmed up the crowd with tales of her hippy childhood, offering warm hearted songs that celebrated the power of connection. A highlight of the set was ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ in honour of her uncle who ran a bar and let her play his jukebox of classic country songs. She finished her lovely set with ‘Dance Around the Room with Me’ inviting the audience to sing along, creating a beautiful harmony.
Iris’s set was heavily weighted towards her recent unapologetically political album ‘Workin’ on a World’, one she admitted only ‘a handful of people have noticed.’ I count myself in that number, and I’ve returned to the album again and again this year. Set opener ‘The Sacred Now’ is a poignant reminder of the importance of finding hope in the moment. Mindfulness might seem be a fad to some, but this song (and evening) was a reminder of the restorative power of taking a moment out of your life to stop, to really listen and appreciate what we have.
Iris then offered the audience some humorous reminiscences about her past playing the notorious local venue the Renfrew Ferry, and she was delighted to hear that some of her original audience from that night were in attendance. The songs from that 90s era are somewhat lighter in comparison to her piano ballads which dominated the set, and some of those earlier fans may have been a little shocked by the potency of her political statements across the evening.
As Iris introduced the title track of her recent album she spoke of her depression after Trump’s election and the need she felt to focus on the good things in order to leave a legacy of songs that ‘cut a trail through the wilderness of despair’. ‘Workin on a World’ sounded piercingly beautiful. Her singing voice might be startlingly unique but her optimist’s heart is universal.
The song that caused a visceral reaction from the crowd – overwhelmingly positive with a few notable exceptions – was her anti-gun anthem ‘Goin’ Down to Texas’. Introducing the song she spoke of her fear at having to play shows where her audience were carrying guns and how she felt like quitting live music altogether. What she did instead was write a protest song, something to ‘fortify’ herself.
Hearing this song live will stay with me for a long time. The hope, the humanity, the defiance in the message was awe-inspiring. The line ‘go ahead and shoot me if it floats your little boat’ might sound glib when taken out of context but the message of non-resistance brought me to tears.
Some of the audience actually cheered during the song itself and at the end she received a rapturous response from the crowd. However when the song finished I also noticed that about a dozen or so old men got up, put their jackets on and left, never to return. The shock of hearing a folk singer sing a song against violence, racism and political hypocrisy was obviously too much for some fragile snowflakes to take.
In the end it was their loss. What they missed in the rest of the set was a woman telling the story of how she came to sing these songs – explaining how she made the decision early in her career not to sing superficial love songs, instead taking a different direction towards themes of death and the troubles of life.
Highlights were beautiful versions of her autobiographical songs ‘Sing the Delta’ and ‘The Night I Learned How not to Pray’ as well as the title track of her 90s album ‘The Way I Should’ whose refrain ‘I just live the way I want to / And that’s the way I should’ took on new resonance alongside her more political material.
She finished her set with ‘Warriors of Love’ – a stunning call to arms that honours John Lewis, the civil rights hero, as well as others who have stood up in the name of their cause.
The songs she left for her encore were her 90s classics Our Town and Let the Mystery Be, both of which sparked joyful singalongs from the audience. Harmony, melody, unity could be found here in these shared moments of song.
As everyone sang ‘I believe in love and I live my life accordingly’ you couldn’t help but feel a flickering of hope for humanity reawakening in your soul. You just have to believe that those who left early might have woken up the next day regretting their choice.
In an interview about her new songs Iris admitted: “Not everybody’s going to get them, but there’s people that get them – and they need them.” Well I certainly needed them this week and I feel grateful and privileged to have heard them live.
Let’s hope Iris DeMent keeps singing her truth to power for a long time to come.
Photo with kind permission from Patrick on Twitter (@drunkliturgies)
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