A Shirt on Sunday: Kristin Hersh – 12/03/19 – Bush Hall

Kristin Hersh has been making weird music ever since she got knocked off her bicycle. In her autobiography ‘Rat Girl’ she tells how the accident led to a condition where she heard music in her head. She’d then try to get it out into a song, and thus the band Throwing Muses became a huge sensation in college/indie rock of the 80s. Throwing Muses are alongside Hüsker Dü and Pixies as the central band of the scene that eventually gave us Nirvana in the 90s. It was a whole chunk of music I didn’t like much and when I finally understood it, even then I didn’t get Throwing Muses. I’m still not sure I do have a clue what Hersh is singing about, but I love the music.

Kristin has developed the indie music career through subscription business model. A quarterly fee equivalent to the price of a CD gets you regular downloads of works in progress and live videos, plus free tickets to solo concerts. This seems to be working for her as the ‘Strange Angels’ have been going for years. I got a free ticket to see her at Cecil Sharp House last year, and that was a great gig.

This year there’s a new album and thus a band tour. The band is a trio, featuring Fred Abong on bass and Rob ‘Moose’ Ahlers on drums and jokes.
Abong is also the support act. There is a ‘thing’ about bass players being the support act. I’ve seen it happen a few times, and I really don’t approve. I’ve ranted before about Kasim Sultan and there’s another one, but I can’t recall their name. Abong was the support on last year’s solo tour as well, and did possibly the same set. His songs are short, to the point of feeling incomplete and his guitar-playing is mainly on the bass strings. It’s interesting, but not my thing.

Fred Abong at the Bush Hall

He plays a damn fine bass though. When they play ‘Cuckoo’ – yes, the traditional classic – he gives it a dark under-pinning I’ve never heard before and fair raises the hairs on your arm.

Kristin Hersh, Rob ‘Moose’ Ahlers & Fred Abong at Bush Hall

The setlist is full of songs I recognise but can’t name. We get a song that I know is from ‘Learn To Sing Like a Star’, (my favourite of her albums), but I can’t name. A couple I can sing along to, but have no idea where they’re from and so on. It’s great fun, but slightly bewildering – a 30-year back catalogue is a lot to take in.

Kristin Hersh & Rob ‘Moose’ Ahlers

Some songs are sung; some whispered; some screamed and guitar solos are intricate, chord-based affairs. For one song Kristin picks up a screwdriver (Philips head, for you guitar nerds) and uses it as a slide.

Kristin Hersh, Rob ‘Moose’ Ahlers and drum with a tongue

The crowd is good-natured, but a bit subdued – it’s not really music to mosh to, I admit. A short but enjoyable gig, although I find the bass drum disturbing. It has a tongue. Every time Moose hits the drum pedal, this bit of fabric licks up. I was going to mention it at the time, but I’m glad I didn’t.

Videos

Your Ghost

Right tour, wrong venue. Can’t find anything from Bush Hall.

Mississippi Kite

Great song from Crooked

Cuckoo

This really needs the bass for full effect. I saw Kristin here a few years earlier. The museum has a small room with excellent acoustics, so artists are encouraged to work unamplified.

As ever, the videos are from various sources on the web. The photos are mine.

Set List

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kristin-hersh/2019/bush-hall-london-england-33920ce1.html