I ran into Other James during the afternoon on the day of this show. We briefly exchanged pleasantries, and we were both excited for that evening's show. We didn't talk long, though; he was in a hurry to return to his fancy art-making and I was in a rush to resume making a nuisance of myself in public catching imaginary creatures in a stupid phone game (reminder: I am 42) (in years). But no matter, we'd catch up later in the evening.
We would not. Belle Plaine really wanted to sell this show out in advance and she did so with hours to spare. "Shite," Other James said on social media, as he will do. Last time he didn't buy advance tickets, I was able to get him in for free. This time, I left him in the cold. By which I mean at his home or, more likely, with out with some of his zillions of other friends. I'd say we need to stage an intervention and convince him that buying tickets ahead of time is a worthwhile activity, but he's probably doing better than me in all aspects of life apart from seeing this show.
So yes, this was a sold-out hometown (or close enough to it) album release party at the Artesian for Belle Plaine and her new record, Malice, Mercy, Grief & Wrath. The place was packed - lots of family and friends from what we could overhear - but there was room for us in our usual spots. The entire back wall of the stage was covered with big pink and white balloons for the occasion and it all looked suitably festive. Apparently blowing them all up was quite the chore that barely got done before the doors opened.
There was no opener. The evening's host was another local country singer, Blake Berglund, who surely earned the role on merit alone and not because he and Plaine are newly married; something he alluded to when introducing himself as Blake Plaine at the start of the show.
As befitting an album launch, Belle and her band played everything off the new record. I'd heard plenty of them before when I saw her open for Colter Wall some months ago, and even a few when she was at Winterruption last year. You know they're good because I actually remember them from one show to the next, which I don't always do with artists I'm not super familiar with. Is it Cheating was again a standout and should be a hit. Maybe it is. Are there hit songs anymore?
She also told lots of stories, talking about her mom, her grandma, her neighbour, Blake, and her guitarist who broke his whammy bar so his dad made him a new one by cutting off a piece of the truck. I realize that the "and" in that sentence kind of makes it sound like they all broke the guitarist's whammy bar, and I'm not saying that didn't not happen.
The show was split in two by an intermission, and each half was noteworthy for Plaine having a different custom jumpsuit (one denim, one black and shiny). As the new record only has nine tracks, it would have been a short evening, but she threw in a few extra songs, including some covers. She sang Sunday Morning Coming Down and Raised on Robbery and I'm 99% sure Long Black Veil but this was a month ago now so really don't trust any of this. My favourite was one that Belle and Blake sang both here and at their own wedding, Islands in the Stream. (I guess when you're a musician marrying another musician and a bunch of your friends are musicians, you don't hire a wedding band so much as you all just take turns.)
The night was great fun and I recommend the new album. Plaine is currently on tour opening for Colter Wall (who also appears on this record) in Europe, and it sounds like there are some great crowds. She's probably already too big for the Artesian, and things are just looking up. It's always a delight to see local musicians doing well, even if it means they outgrow us.
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Picked up this CD last weekend, and I must say I am very impressed. I bought this without even hearing slither, the single they had released already, and I didn't quite no what to expect.