Bittersweet Celebration for Kate McGarrigle
I was blessed to be in the audience last night at Town Hall for the tribute to Kate McGarrigle, who died at 63 in January, 2010. In true McGarrigle fashion it was a family affair, conceived by her kids Rufus and Martha Wainwright and featuring her sisters Anna and Jane, her sister-in-law Sloan Wainwright, her brother-in-law Dane Lanken, niece Lily Lanken, nephew Sylvan Lanken, honorary McGarrigle Emmylou Harris, and various and sundry friends of Rufus and Martha. Appropriately, two of the friends were also children of famous musical families - Teddy Thompson, son of Richard & Linda Thompson, and Jenni Muldaur, daughter of Geoff & Maria Muldaur (who may have been the first artist to cover a McGarrigle composition, Kate’s “Work Song,” on her Maria Muldaur album in 1974).
After an opening number with the whole ensemble, it was a sort of song swap, with one achingly beautiful song after another. There were heartfelt solos - like Rufus, his voice angelically high and clear, with “Southern Boys,” Martha with “Tell My Sister,” Justin Vivian Bond with “Work Song,” Antony Hegarty (of Antony & the Johnsons) with “Go Leave” (maybe the saddest song of all time), and Emmylou with “Darlin’ Kate,” the song she wrote for Kate and recorded on her new album, Hard Bargain.
There were also wonderful combinations, like Teddy and Emmylou on “I Eat Dinner,” Rufus and Antony on “I Cried for Us,” and Norah Jones, Rufus, and Martha on “Talk to Me of Mendocino.” Emmylou, Martha, Anna, and Krystle Warren performed Anna’s classic, “Heart Like a Wheel,” and Chaim Tannebaum, Jenni, and Teddy performed Loudon Wainwright’s “Swimming Song” (with Chaim noting, that although Loudon, Kate’s ex-husband, couldn’t be there, he was “richly implicated” in the evening). One breathtaking highlight was the song, “Prosperina,” the last song Kate wrote (and managed to valiantly perform at Royal Albert Hall just a month before her death). At Town Hall it began with a recording of Kate singing a demo of it, which segued into a trio of Rufus, Martha, and Sloan (their voices sounding like a violin, viola, and cello), then the ensemble joining in, creating a chilling anthem to close the first half of the concert.
There were also wonderful combinations, like Teddy and Emmylou on “I Eat Dinner,” Rufus and Antony on “I Cried for Us,” and Norah Jones, Rufus, and Martha on “Talk to Me of Mendocino.” Emmylou, Martha, Anna, and Krystle Warren performed Anna’s classic, “Heart Like a Wheel,” and Chaim Tannebaum, Jenni, and Teddy performed Loudon Wainwright’s “Swimming Song” (with Chaim noting, that although Loudon, Kate’s ex-husband, couldn’t be there, he was “richly implicated” in the evening). One breathtaking highlight was the song, “Prosperina,” the last song Kate wrote (and managed to valiantly perform at Royal Albert Hall just a month before her death). At Town Hall it began with a recording of Kate singing a demo of it, which segued into a trio of Rufus, Martha, and Sloan (their voices sounding like a violin, viola, and cello), then the ensemble joining in, creating a chilling anthem to close the first half of the concert.
Joe Boyd, who, among his many credits, produced the first two McGarrigle albums, as well as The McGarrigle Hour, curated the concert, which flowed seamlessly, with many of the performers offering touching introductions to the songs. Seven backing musicians, playing in different combinations, always provided the perfect accompaniment.
The evening closed with Rufus and Martha each taking one last solo turn, then everyone singing “Kiss and Say Goodbye” and, as the encore, “Dink’s Song” (also known as (”Noah’s Dove”), which has the line “Fare thee well, my honey” - an affectionate, if melancholy, sendoff to a very special artist. For those not fortunate enough to see the concert, there’s this consolation: it was filmed to be part of a documentary being made about Kate. That ought to be pretty special, too.
