When one goes to see a supergroup perform, one never knows what to expect. Will it be an un-rehearsed set of generic covers or a new combination of musicians that brings the best out of everyone? Fortunately for all those in the audience at City Winery New York on Tuesday night, the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon felt more like the whole being greater than the sum of the individual parts. The project was organized by Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars (guitar & vocals) and included Allison Russell (Clarinet, banjo and vocals) and JT Nero (guitar and vocals) from Birds of Chicago; Amy Helm (drums, vocals and mandolin, Grahame Lesh (bass, guitar and vocals) and Drew Lindsay (piano).
The atmosphere was more like a family get together than a formal concert with sit-ins by Valerie June and Tony Leone and smiles, body language and the palpable sense that they love playing and spending time together. Although the spotlight was shared among all the musicians on stage it was Russell’s vocals and Nero’s songwriting that provided the wow factor as almost half the songs were Birds of Chicago tunes. The show was started with “Real Midnight”, a beautiful ballad that showcases the seemingly impossible sonorous combination of Russell’s beautiful voice with Nero’s raspy one; and if Russell’s voice didn’t grab your attention, Dickinson’s blistering guitar solo did. After “Superlover”, another Birds of Chicago tune, Dickinson took a turn with his song “Mojo, Mojo”, which featured some unexpected but effective dueling solos between Dickinson’s guitar and Russell’s clarinet.
The show was sprinkled with covers – “Can I Do It For You” (Memphis Minnie) sung by Valerie June, Roll Um Easy (Little Feat), “If I Needed You” (Townes Van Zandt), and “Atlantic City” (Bruce Springsteen). There were also a number of special moments, including a song that might be called “Breathing” which was written by Nero and Helm during this 25-date tour. Another highlight was a song led by a grinning Helm from her stripped-down drum kit called “How Glad I Am”. When the song finished, she jumped up and explained her exuberance, “25 f-ing gigs to get that song halfway near where I want it and we finally nailed it!” Russell introduced the moving ballad, “You’re Not Alone” with an equally moving dedication to her and Nero’s five-year-old, strong-willed daughter who they are missing acutely and to all the families that are separated from their families and don’t know that their loved ones will be cared for, Russell also dedicated “Kathy”, a song that pleads for a woman (her mother), whose life is stifled by depression and abuse, to pick her French horn and sing again.
There was so much camaraderie on stage, the audience could feel the musicians rooting for each other, and it seemed like every soloing musician was being watched and appreciated as much by their bandmates as the audience. There were other times when the band would start a song spaced out along the stage, but would end up in a huddle as if brought together by the gravitational pull of their affection for each other.
The night ended with the Birds of Chicago Guthrie-esque folk song, “American Flowers”, which features a patchwork of stories of regular Americans doing the best they can. They shared the moment by unplugging, walking out towards the audience, and leading us in a sing-along. Although all of them are busy with their own projects, they promised that this wouldn’t be a one-time collaboration – and that is good news for all of us.
