Joanna Newsom – London Royal Festival Hall

Joanna Newsom

May 12, 2010

Doe-eyed, Joanna Newsom skips out onto the stage after a very agreeable set from Roy Harper, who is ‘thankful to Joanna for getting me out of retirement’. Cherub-faced and wearing a chequered dress, she looks suspiciously like she’s not in Kansas anymore. Part of her charm, though, is that she is an artist of contradictions – she looks and sounds like a child, but she has the musical dexterity of a seasoned pro.  

Plucking at her harp with determined strokes, it’s such a pleasure to watch her, as her hands flip away from the strings moving in and out of the shadows cast by the hall lights. She also writes popular music for an instrument not known for its compatibility with catchy hooks. Morphing from odd, folk troubadour to a purveyor of songs that hover round the ten minute mark more often than not – she is a serious artist. Although conversely, she is funny as well. ‘Hey Joanna, what did the cheese say when it looked in the mirror? Halloumi.’

The Royal Festival Hall has a very serious vibe about it, though – very suitable for harpists. Whie there are highlights from the two previous albums, the majority of the set comprises of songs from Newsom’s triple-disc, third LP, Have One On Me. For her latest album, Newsom collaborated with a band, and rather than just voice over strings, there is more of a frenetic feel to the music – a kind of call and response that fits together well.

Newsom’s drummer provides much of the conversation for the evening, as well as the dialogue of drums that dip in and out of the songs. They’re a close bunch, joking around and complementing each other well. Songs from earlier albums – such as ‘Inflammatory Writ’ and ‘Bridges and Balloons’  – now have five person harmonies, strings and a brass section laid over the top of them. Occasionally the trombone provides a slightly VH1 Storytellers vibe of soloing over the top, but it is saved by a remarkably intricate call and response as each instrument reflects and dances around the other. Not that it’s not obvious from her multi-instrumental talents, but it is here that one really sees Newsom’s classical training. The instruments are truly arranged, in the best sense. A very lovely night.

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