AXIS|OF|LIVE

Amy Lavere was, as she phrased it, the sacrificial lamb for the Americana Music Association’s showcase by being the first act of the night. She definitely held her own. This tiny girl with the big stand-up bass wowed the audience with her sweet vocals and rockin’ music. Lavere, who has done a bit of acting in addition to playing her music – she took on the role of Wanda Jackson in the film, Walk the Line – is beginning to attract quite a following. In addition to her individual music, she often performs with Jimbo Mathus, founder of Squirrel Nut Zippers – that may give you a bit of an idea of the sound of her music. Most folks were just milling about Antone’s, waiting for acts like Joe Ely, but they were soon up front and center to check her out. She opened with the bluesy Washing Machine – she and her guitarist, Steve Selvidge, trading riffs and drawing the crowd closer. Someone next to me wondered aloud about how such a little girlie girl could get such a rough and tumble sound from her bass. The bulk of the songs in her set came from her second album, 2007’s Anchor & Anvils. She introduced Killing Him by saying she couldn’t take all the credit for the song, as it was inspired by a Memphis news story showing a woman crying, taken away in handcuffs, arrested for murder and saying, ‘Killing him didn’t make the love go away.’ The country flavor of song suits the subject perfectly. Also in the set were Pointless Drinking (a personal favorite!), Overcome (which she told the audience should really be entitled Overwhelmed), People Get Mad, Cupid’s Arrow, and Time is a Train. From her first CD, This World is Not My Home, she did another of my favorites, Take ‘Em or Leave ‘Em. Her live show is quite different from the soft, country sound of her CDs (her voice is often compared to that of Norah Jones) – surely Selvidge and drummer Paul Taylor are a huge reason for that; they seem to inspire her to get raucous as well. She danced with her bass, feeding off them and her audience. By the end of her set, she had the crowd eating out of her hand, and genuinely appeared both pleased and surprised to have received such a warm and enthusiastic response from them. I think many of those who ‘stumbled upon’ her showcase will become fans – certainly the people I spoke to around me were among the converted.