Throughout the first day of the winter solstice, the streets of Kansas City glazed over with ice and various events around town were canceled. While much of Westport and surrounding areas were relatively desolate, a healthy-sized crowd gathered at the recordBar to pay tribute to the music, the work, and the life of Abigail Henderson.
It’s one thing to cover the music of a musician whose work you respect. It’s another thing to cover the music of a musician you know personally whose work you respect. It’s yet another thing to cover the music of a musician whose work and life was esteemed by every person in the room, from those who knew her best to others who had possibly not even met her. Though this was quite the challenge for each musician who took the stage, each one honored Henderson’s music in his or her own way.
The audience was somewhat subdued when The Clementines stepped up to the stage, perhaps fully beginning to grasp the fact that they would be hearing these songs live for the first time since Henderson’s passing. But as soon as the first note of “Gods, Guns, and Glory” (an early Gaslights tune) kicked in, a collective smile swept over the room. Throughout the band’s five-song set, Nicole Springer captured everyone’s attention with a vocal inflection and country twang very akin to Henderson’s. Her charismatic control over Tiny Horse’s “Ghost” and confident command over “Last Dollar” (The Gaslights) was reminiscent of Henderson’s range.
Katie Gilchrist picked up right where Springer left off, evoking the late singer’s grit and tenacious attitude with “15 Hands” (The Gaslights). Vi Tran Band interpreted some of these songs in a different way, with slightly different arrangements to highlight Gilchrist’s voice or to emphasize the weight of the words Henderson wrote—for instance, the band performed acoustic versions of “One Trick Pony” (Tran on lead vocals) and closed out the set with “Galveston” (Gilchrist on lead vocals). On Atlantic Fadeout’s “Better Run of Bad Luck,” Gilchrist channeled the brazenness of her friend, providing one of the many musical highlights of the evening.
Where the previous two frontwomen amazingly called upon Henderson’s voice with their similar vocal deliveries, the remaining acts put a different spin on the music. Power trio Not A Planet injected its own melodic, punctuated rock ‘n roll style into songs of a more country/Americana nature. Nathan Corsi proved that his own vocal pipes could stand up to the fiery deliveries of Springer and Gilchrist through Gaslights’ tunes like “Red Dirt” and “Wicked Love.” The band reinterpreted Tiny Horse’s “Ride” with a boldness that emphasized the story of the song and a delicateness that honored the song’s memory.
Next up was The Oil Lamps, a supergroup of Henderson’s friends and former bandmates with featured guests. The main band included the event’s co-founder Bill Sundahl, Mike Alexander, John Velghe, and Mike Meyers. Howard Iceberg appeared on guest vocals for "Lines and Wires," (The Gaslights) delivering his own punk rock resolve to the tune. Amy Farrand, who was the drummer for Atlantic Fadeout, stepped into the forefront to sing the band’s tunes “Blood and Bone” and “Break Your Heart.”
But one of the most compelling performances of the night was the band’s performance of "On the Market," featuring Steve Tulipana on vocals. This was a Gaslights tune that Henderson sang in a quieter, more melancholy register than most of the band’s work, perhaps more reminiscent of her vocal work in Tiny Horse. Tulipana turned this into a heart-clenching tribute, channeling the intensity of Tom Waits and Joe Cocker, each word calculated and phrased to drop like an atom bomb.
Finally, Sister Mary Rotten Crotch (pictured above) took the stage, a perfect choice to end a cathartic evening. The tears that had been shed throughout the night ceased when Liz Spillman Nord started spitting lyrics from old Gaslights’ tunes. Her fierce punk vocals turned up to eleven put a completely different spin on Henderson’s music, but kept in step with the late singer’s intrepid spirit. By the end of the evening, the tight-knit crowd was at the edge of the stage pumping fists and singing along with the band on tunes like “Sundays and Interstates” and “Old Blue Love.” The night ended on a high, celebratory note, preserving the memory and honor of an individual that helped bring the Kansas City music community closer.
—Michelle Bacon
Michelle is editor of The Deli Magazine – Kansas City, and also plays drums Drew Black & Dirty Electric and bass in Dolls on Fire and The Philistines. #shinealight #voteformmf
Saturday’s show also kicked off the beginning of the voting period for Boulevard Brewing Company’s 10% of KC campaign. The campaign continues through December 31 and includes three area charities—one being Midwest Music Foundation. Visit www.voteformmf.com to vote for one of the charities, once per day, per IP address.