Keri Anderson & The Big Lonesome kicked some serious ass at the Back Page in Lowell last night. Anderson and her boys presented driving interpretations of Americana roots music and oldies rock and roll. A tremendous belter, Anderson’s soulful torch numbers make people sit up and take notice. She also has in her Big Lonesome backing band seriously talented men who help her bring that kind of music to striking life.
Paul Courchaine plays guitar, Jesse Richards plays electric bass, and Bill Connor plays drums. Guest vocalist Craig Rawding was on hand to join in on a few numbers. The strikingly attractive Anderson has a seriously strong stage presence. She looks like she could have been a country and western star in an earlier time. Dress her up in something from the Carter family, shoot her picture with black and white, and you’d have something like a ghost from the old cowboy rodeo concerts.
“Wild Child” was a roots dervish with driven undercurrents shadowing Anderson’s rangy timbre. And can that girl belt. Her rangy expressive timbre let her become the on stage wild child of the song. Anderson and her boys moved right into “Black Rat Swing.” Feisty as ever, Anderson’s vocal timbre made the rafters vibrate, in a good way. Words alone cannot capture the roaring intensity of this woman’s pipe. You just have to go out and see her live, or, at least visit her sites.
Anderson and Rawding sang together on “You Left The Water Running.” Here, Anderson employed self-restraint to show what she could do with a drawling belt, emphatic, full of heartfelt emotion, as if she was singing from experience. That’s the other thing that makes Anderson & The Big Lonesome a winning combination. Everybody in the band gets it how the blues is supposed to help you get over the pain by relating to the pain.
Rawding sang “The More I Find Out” in a down tempo blues style. While the band created that blues form, Rawding finessed it like an old time R&B crooner, pouring out a lot of emotion with each verse, sustain.
Anderson played acoustic guitar on her original “Straight Out Of My Heart.” Lead guitarist Paul Corchaine played a river of spikey high notes like he was walking Anderson’s vocal into heaven. Freed from the structured faster song format, Anderson’s voice flowed evenly, earnestly on this down tempo piece. And in Anderson’s case, the slow song can be just as challenging, as she has to find creative ways to control and express all of that vocal power that’s waiting to spring out like something coiled for far too long.
Anderson’s rocking version of “A Little Less Conversation” found her hitting it like she was on fire, especially during her final chorus. Anderson’s screamy belts on the close out were loaded with fiery southern flair. If you didn’t know this little lady grew up in Worcester, you would think she was a genuine southerner( she actually got a little bit of an accent living in the mid-west for a brief spell).
For her final number, Anderson sang Randy Newman’s “Guilty” like a slow torch number. It found Anderson unleashing her most earnest, striking timbre which she let roll on, riding through her verses smooth as a Cadillac ride, or maybe more likely a Harley.
It’s unfortunate that this reviewer stumbled upon Anderson & The Big Lonesome during their final set at Lowell’s Back Page blues room. She is clearly a vocalist and a songwriter with a lot to offer. Any fan of blues, roots, old country and anything that can be called Americana will likely become very fond of this band in no time flat. The players are clearly well versed in capturing the subtle nuances of their genres and they’re also adept at conjuring them up for appreciative audiences. Throw in Craig Rawding for not even a dollar more, and you got yourself quite a bargain.
There were several attendees from the New England Music Awards in the room, and all seemed to be following the performance of Anderson & The Big Lonesome with interest. So, take a hint from the finest of the finest and check out this fine band sometime soon.
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