The Cowboy Junkies

The Cowboy Junkies are an interesting prospect – I have a few of their albums from way back but have never seen them live. They were formed in Toronto, Canada in 1985 by three siblings - Michael, Margo and Peter Timmins, along with Alan Anton. It was their second album, 'The Trinity Session', released in 1988 which brought them to international acclaim and became their best-known and defining piece.

Over the next 20 years and as many albums, they have continued to craft beautiful alt-country/folk songs and, although they have a low profile outside of Canada now, they show no signs of growing weary of the music business. 'The Trinity Session' was recorded in one day with a single microphone in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity, and since then, Cowboy Junkies are regularly booked into ecclesiastical venues to perform their songs. No-one is complaining about that tonight though - Union Chapel is a stunning octagonal-shaped space and perfect for these pared-down acoustic arrangements of songs of love and loss and for Margo's crystal clear vocals.



Tonight Margo sings, her brother Michael plays guitar and Jeff Bird accompanies them on mandolin, harmonica and gentle percussion. Margo, although bemoaning the youngsters with perfect skin in the Nottingham night club last night, looks remarkably fresh and her chiselled features and luscious red hair haven't changed very much over the years. Her voice is soft, pure and relaxing but can also be haunting and send a shiver down your spine, especially on tracks like 'Floorboard Blues', with its eerie, disturbing lyrics and disconcerting harmonica breaks.

They air a few songs from the upcoming album 'At the End of Paths Taken', due to be released in April - 'Cutting Board Blues' with a mournful harmonica accompaniment, 'Still Lost' and 'My Little Basquiat' about the anxieties of parenthood. These three tracks are representative of the new material which is reflective and centred around the theme of family relationships and the pattern of life with all its inevitabilities.

Earlier gems are greeted warmly, such as 'Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning' and 'Misguided Angel' which is one of their best loved songs , "Misguided angel hangin' over me, heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory, soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead, misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead".


Cowboy Junkies play for nearly 2 hours to a completely still audience - unusual that there is no chattering and clinking of glass - and choose a balanced selection from their back catalogue - Margo has a huge songbook in front of her to refer to. They play covers of artists that they are fond of - Neil Young's 'Powderfinger', Bruce Springsteen's 'You're Missing' - Margo's favourite track from their previous album - and three Townes Van Zandt songs in tribute to him. Townes Van Zandt is one of their major influences and Margo jokes that his lyrics make her brother seem happy! We know what she means and Cowboy Junkies' songs are not exactly foot-tappers but they are beautiful and mellow, and just perfect for a Sunday evening in this lovely setting.

Cowboy Junkies will hopefully be touring the new album again in the UK later on this year. If your eardrums are precious, you could do worse than treat them to an evening with Cowboy Junkies - an extremely soothing and pleasurable listening experience.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.