COLTER WALL - NIGHT TWO WITH VINCENT NEIL EMERSON AT BOULDER THEATER
Tickets On Sale Now! Click here for tickets to Thursday, January 23 -
NIGHT ONE - Ages 15+ without a parent. - All tickets are
non-exchangeable and non-refundable following purchase. - Listed price
does not include tax and service charge. - NO BAGS. - All tickets are
General Admission (GA) with limited seating available. If you require
accessible seating or other accommodations, please purchase your GA
tickets and reach out to Daniel@z2ent.com to help us make your visit
as enjoyable as possible. After two years of relentless touring,
Colter Wall wanted to make an album about home. Drawing on the stories
of Saskatchewan, Canada, the young songwriter’s corner of the world
takes shape throughout his second full-length album, Songs of the
Plains. Produced by Dave Cobb in Nashville’s Studio A, the project
combines striking original folk songs, well-chosen outside cuts, and a
couple of traditional songs that reflect his roots growing up in the
small city of Swift Current. “One thing I’ve noticed over the last
few years, in the United States and playing in Europe, is that people
all over the world really don’t know much about Canada at all,” he
says. “When you talk about Saskatchewan, people really have no idea.
Part of it is because there are so few people there. It’s an empty
place—it makes sense that people don’t know much about it. But
that’s my home, so naturally I’m passionate about it. With this
record, I really wanted people to look at our Western heritage and our
culture.” Indeed, Wall captures the spaciousness of the Canadian
plains by relying on minimal production and his resonant baritone,
which he’s strengthened into a mighty instrument in its own right.
It’s a deep and knowing voice you wouldn’t expect of a man who’s
not yet 24 years old. Songs of the Plains begins with “Plain to See
Plainsman,” a sincere portrait of a man whose rural heritage follows
him into the greater world. As Wall lists the kinds of people he meets
on the road – beautiful women, bikers, junkies, hippies—it’s
easy to imagine the autobiographical component. The darkly comical
“Saskatchewan in 1881” recalls a stubborn encounter between a
Toronto businessman and a steadfast farmer who cultivates the
province’s land. And although Wall racked up a body count on his
prior album, this time he stops just short of killing the title
character in “John Beyers (Camaro Song),” which he says is
inspired by true events. Evoking the most remote reaches of the
plains, “Wild Dogs” sounds like a cinematic Colter Wall
composition, but he actually first heard the song in Little Rock,
Arkansas. Wall had just finished soundcheck in the fried chicken
restaurant where he had a gig, when his buddy Ron Helm (nephew of
Levon Helm) dropped in with Billy Don Burns, an esteemed songwriter
who’s had cuts with many of the country legends of the 1970s. Burns
wanted to pitch a few songs, and since the restaurant didn’t have a
green room, Wall crawled into Burns’ backseat to listen. He found
himself captivated by “Wild Dogs,” which has a minor-chord
progression, no rhyme scheme, and the unique perspective of being told
from the dog’s point of view. As a folk singer, Wall places equal
importance on crafting songs as well as carrying older songs into the
present day. “To me, a folk singer is somebody who sings folk
songs—and it’s also someone who is writing their own music, while
taking something from traditional folk songs. It’s somebody who
sings those songs and is aware of passing down the traditions, whether
it’s from their own version of the song or taking those old tunes
and reinventing them.” That sense of tradition is part of the reason
he recorded Canadian folk hero Wilf Carter’s “Calgary Round-Up,”
a snapshot of the iconic Calgary Stampede. Wall considers that annual
event a cornerstone of Western Canadian culture because it pulls in
families from the whole region. Besides that, he says, “I wanted to
have a rodeo song and that one seemed to be perfect.” To make it his
own, he put a Western Swing feel to it and brought in steel guitarist
Lloyd Green and harmonica player Mickey Raphael. The Songs of the
Plains sessions also featured Chris Powell on drums and Jason Simpson
on bass, with Colter and Cobb sharing acoustic guitar duty. Through
his favorite folk singer, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Wall discovered
“Night Herding Song.” Because the song was a cappella, and because
Wall doesn’t wear headphones when he records, he couldn’t nail
down the campfire vibe inside the sprawling Studio A. So, for this
track only, he went to Dave Cobb’s house, started a fire in the
outdoor fireplace, and recorded it on the spot. The immediacy of his
voice is unmistakable. Wall says he spent the last three or four years
trying to get better as a singer. By putting in the work, his range is
now far more dynamic and expressive. He describes the vocal
development as “less gravel, without losing the baritone that I’ve
developed over the years.” Meanwhile, Wall’s ability as a
songwriter is especially clear in the second half of Songs of the
Plains. “Wild Bill Hickok” distills that legendary gunfighter’s
epic life and death into less than three minutes. Asked about
inspiration for the song, Wall cites the HBO series Deadwood, as well
as Tex Ritter’s “Sam Bass” from the cowboy singer’s 1960
album, Blood on the Saddle. While “The Trains Are Gone” laments
the loss of an era, “Thinkin’ on a Woman” hints at a heartbreak
as a truck driver concocts a lethal combination of whiskey, wine, and
a mountain road. Wall turns far more introspective on “Manitoba
Man,” a devastating song he wrote about a dark period in his life.
The desperation in that track quickly gives way to the outrageous
traditional song, “Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail,” featuring
verses from Blake Berglund and Corb Lund, spoons by Chris Powell, and
a weird bottle of tequila by Dave Cobb. “I went into the studio and
knew exactly the story I wanted to tell,” Colter says of Songs of
the Plains. “That made it easier on a sonic level and a musical
level, to be able to tell Dave that it’s a record about my home.
That changes it at the roots level because it’s like having a
mission statement, saying, ‘All right, let’s make a Western
album.’” Website Facebook Instagram Twitter
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26/01/2020 Last update