Only a few things would have convinced me to skip out on the Naked Without Us happenings, and one of those things was Chris Pureka’s show, which occured at The Basement on Wednesday evening. The night started off with a solid set by Nashville folk/bluegrass, singer/songwriter Jesse Lafser. Backed by another acoustic guitar player and two background singers, Lafser wooed the crowd with her simple and effortless songs, seamlessly moving through her material with her almost spoken/rambling style and breathless moanings. Her passionate singing for the Tennessee hills, lost lovers and the yearning for everything she hasn’t yet found were most effectively communicated through the songs "Tiny Wars," and "The Rose and The Briar."
The excitement behind her performance was admirably obvious, probably because she was opening up for one of her idols and biggest influences – Chris Pureka. (Compare Lafser’s new material to Pureka’s old and you’ll see what I mean.) Lafser is currently promoting her new album The Living Room Sessions. Score a copy of it on her website. You can also catch her playing live again on Friday evening at Music Row Bar at 8 pm. (I’ll also be playing. Hint, hint. Wink, wink).
By the time Lafser finished playing, the crowd had livened up a bit, slammed down some drinks and were ready to begin ogling over Portland, Maine’s folk singer Chris Pureka and her new backing band. They are currently on a national tour to promote her new album How I Learned To See In The Dark, and after listening to the new songs for the first time, I can safely say that Pureka has managed to outdo her fantastic previous works by exploring a new side of folk. With the added percussion and incorporation of dreamy color chords, it was like listening to Gillian Welch and Patty Griffin through a waterfall in an African rainforest. Or watching Tarzan on mute. Her voice seems to have grown into this guttural yet unconstrained whimper that manages to wrap around the words she gasped to the crowd, as we all sat there dumbfounded and transfixed on the four seemingly shy girls on stage.
Use your ears to interpret what I’m trying to say, and listen to her album. Then go chase her on the rest of her tour. – Erin Manning