Sarah Jarosz – Gothic Theatre in Englewood CO
I started including “Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live” in my album reviews in mid-2020, during the height of the pandemic, when just the thought of hearing a great song live for the first time seemed almost impossible. I’ve continued the tradition to this day because of songs like Sarah Jarosz’s “Jealous Moon,” the type of tune that grabs your attention on first listen and won’t let go until you’ve had the experience of hearing it live, in a roomful of strangers. That anticipation is what steered me toward Englewood, Colorado’s Gothic Theatre last Friday night.
The evening started off with Massachusetts-based duo The Ballroom Thieves. The folk-ish pair matched gorgeous harmonies and subtle instrumentation (Calin Peters on cello, Martin Earley on guitar) with songs (including selections from their upcoming album Sundust) focusing on topics like mental health and childhood trauma. Seems heavy, but the couple has an easy chemistry and a joy for performing. Think Watchhouse, but with a little more levity. And a cello.
Jarosz and her band took the stage to the opening piano riff from “Jealous Moon” before fully kicking into the songwriter’s most rock-oriented tune yet, capped off with Jarosz’s biting acoustic solo (full disclosure – I did get to hear the tune at her AmericanaFest showcase, but this song just doesn’t fail to impress). Following that, the band launched into the title track from last month’s Polaroid Lovers, a look at fresh infatuation which features one of my favorite lines, “How did you go from a face in the crowd to all I’m thinking about?”
Jarosz promised a healthy dose of new material, and she delivered with “Columbus and 89th,” “Runaway Train” and, most notably, “Take the High Road,” which followed the tone of the album by allowing her excellent band (on this tour, Daniel Kimbro on electric and upright bass, Eric Doob on drums and Seth Taylor on electric and acoustic guitar) to stretch out the songs and share the spotlight. She also dipped into her back catalog, grabbing a banjo for “Annabelle Lee” while remarking, “Even Beyonce’s doing banjo time now, and I am SO here for it” (it’s notable that, with all of the fuss about Ms. Knowles venturing into country music, none of the gatekeeping has come from the mouths of actual working musicians).
Another highlight of the evening was Jarosz’s introduction of material from Blue Heron Suite, a song cycle released in 2021 partially as a tribute to her mother, who’d previously been diagnosed with breast cancer (and is now doing fine). If you haven’t had a chance to check this album out, do yourself a favor – it’s some of the most affecting songwriting and finest musicianship I’ve heard over the past decade. Elsewhere, the band got just a little bit jammy on 2013’s “1,000 Things.” Jarosz put aside her guitar for her now-famous cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” giving her voice a moment to remind us what a true trip-threat she is. And, after starting her encore with Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells” (a song that Jarosz estimated she’s played more than any other), the band wrapped with the Polaroid Lovers closer, “Mezcal and Lime.” The singer introed the moody tropical tune as a means to “dream ourselves to summer.” On a snowy suburban Denver evening, the song – and the musicians – more than delivered that warmth.
Read our review of Sarah Jarosz’s Polaroid Lovers here: https://americanahighways.org/2024/01/24/review-sarah-jarosz-polaroid-lovers/
Go here to order Polaroid Lovers: https://sarahjarosz.shop.redstarmerch.com/store
Check out Sarah Jarosz tour dates here: https://www.sarahjarosz.com/#tour
Go here to listen to The Ballroom Thieves: https://www.ballroomthieves.com/#sundust-header
Check out The Ballroom Thieves tour dates here: https://www.ballroomthieves.com/live