Laura Cantrell @ Joe's Pub: Encores Are So Passe

Radio proprietress Miss Laura Cantrell returned to the stage tonight after taking a three-year break to become a mother. Ironically, her new digital album, Planes and Boats and Trains, is about traveling and wanting to come home. Well, Miss Laura hasn't done much traveling and all she does is stay home. Hey, whatever works.

I've actually never seen her live, but I'm a huge admirer of her show on WFMU. The Radio Thrift Shop use to be a Saturday afternoon staple. It was perfect for running errands on summer days or just relaxing on the porch. The routine was Greasy Kids Stuff in the mornings, then Miss Laura from Noon to 3pm, then Terre T.'s Cherry Blossom Clinic. Now that's she back on the music scene, the show is online only, but still just as fun to listen to. My favorite is the Airwave Archives, where she plays old country and western radio shows like the Grand Ole Opry complete with commercials, "Howdy folks. Do you know that war bonds are supporting our troops? Take it from me, Big Tex Carman, war bonds are the way to go. Now, here's Porter Wagner."

Cantrell has an encyclopedia-like knowledge of old C&W and bluegrass. She can probably tell you obscure songs, where they were recorded, when it was released, who played slide guitar and what gauge of guitar pick was used. She's the Rain Man of country music history.

While I'll think of her as a DJ first, her music is a great reflection of her life. A Nashville-born, New York City transplant who writes songs about the big city from a country girl's perspective.

So I got a big kick out of the new album, which is mostly covers. The title track is one of my favorite Burt Bacharach songs, "Trains and Boats and Planes. Since, she is well-versed in the music field, she makes an amazing version of New Order's "Love Vigilantes." I have a link on the left to the album stream. Check it out, you'll be impressed.

Tonight's show highlighted all the songs on the album, including probably the best known song, Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings." She gave "Edmund Fitzgerald" a tad more of a bluegrass feel with a mandolin. She's great to see live because she treats her live show like her radio show. She's well spoken and gives background on some songs. I like how she pointed out that encores are passe. True dat.