Bluntly put, Kristin Hersh has one of the most unique and entrancing voices on the planet. The Throwing Muses vocalist may have been rocking since the 80’s, yet this incredible woman’s solo material still remains just as fresh and hard hitting as it once was and has truly stood the test of time, making Kristin one of the most inspirational musicians of her generation.

Kristin enters the empty stage which almost dwarfs her, yet the pure musical power that is immediately emitted from her voice is simply mind boggling. Her vocals hold an innate sense of harshness, as though they were from a place of deep darkness, in the most divine way imaginable. Kristin utilises this sound in such a unique fashion, when it is combined with the serenely plucked notes, the songs simply leap off the stage straight into the audience’s souls.

Kristin brings a copy of her newest book, Wyatt at the Coyote Palace, on stage and proceeds to read a selection of lines. The book features not only stories that Kristin has written but a number of poems and new songs. At first she seems apprehensive to play her newer material, telling us how her friends said to, “Only play the old stuff.” How silly they must now feel. Kristin’s new material is just as memorable as her past, and tracks such as ‘Soma Gone Slapstick’ offer an intriguing, direct insight into the mind of this sublime musician. Tracks from the 2010 album, Crooked, such as ‘Mississippi Kite’ also make warm appearances and has everything that American folk music should aspire to contain. Kristin’s lone Fender telecaster is able to fill the entirety of the room to a phenomenal standard, easily carrying the weight of any session band, her coarse vocals emphasise an overwhelming sense of anger and doom in the most delightful manner.

The poetic intervals from the book create an incredible bonus to the evening and paint some pretty incredible cinematic imagery of a dystopian universe. You almost feel as though you were there when Kristin was stopped at the airport as security mistook her distortion pedal for a bomb or the time she was feeding gazpacho to hookers (yes, seriously). The words are spoken with a direct sense of intimacy that pierce the ear and add an unmistakable sense of mystery to the evening. A definite highlight for any Hersh enthusiast to witness.

The famous ‘Your Ghost’ of course makes an appearance mid set and is certainly a definite crowd pleaser, I only wish the accompanying vocals of Michael Stipe were here too! The chord progressions are luxurious and it is simply awe-inspiring what this woman can do with nothing more than a guitar and her voice. Many can be seen singing along and I am fairly sure there were more than a few teary eyes hidden by the darkened room. Kristin’s stage presence too contains some incredibly humorous moments which the audience respond to incredibly well while the relaxed nature of tonights show only highlights further, making a gig with such an iconic figure feel more like a night out with an old friend.

‘Sno Cat’ is tonight’s encore and the tale behind the track is primarily one of hilarity yet possesses some far darker undertones. Nonetheless, Kristin nails the twisted number and the crowd erupt into a standing ovation and the largest level of applause and love for the singer the evening has seen.

Kristin Hersh is an exquisite musician in every sense of the word, as anyone lucky enough to have witnessed her set tonight will undoubtedly tell you. Her name is one that has gone down in the history books as an incredibly inspirational figure in American folk and alt rock. She is a clear example that music can inflict mass emotion without the need for high production values or stadium tours, nothing quite beats an intricate set with a lone voice, guitar and single spotlight. Throughout her career, Kristin has graced audiences with a variety of superb imagery and hard hitting lyrics, and her newer material does not fall short of this. I am certain that Kristin Hersh is by no means ‘all dried up’ and I look forward to hearing more of what this incredible woman can concoct next.
Ben Walker

Read our interview with Kristin Hersh here: brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/spotlight/1971-kristin-hersh-interview-2016

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