Joy Kills Sorrow Sparkles At TCAN
And Brightens Up A Dreary Friday Night
By: David Wilson - May 23, 2011
The modest sized audience that claimed seats at TCAN, The Center for the Arts in Natick, for Friday night's concert on May 20th struck me as unusual. In my usual pre performance practice I extended my ears to eavesdrop on as many conversations as I could without being too obvious. Almost all the discussions I experienced were filled with references to musical instruments, arcane musicians, revelations of private jam sessions and so on. The absence of date night trivia spoke loudly of this audience’s preoccupation with music and a knowledge of the group they were there to hear. Neither they nor I, experiencing them for the first time, came away disappointed.
Rumor, actually more like “usually reliable sources” has it that much of Joy Kills Sorrow’s early roots developed at the weekly Bluegrass nights sponsored in Cambridge by the long standing Cantab Lounge and hosted by the ubiquitous Geoff Bartley. Even so, and even though JKS does play all the requisite bluegrass instruments save one, (I saw no fiddles,)bluegrass as a defining label today is inadequate.
Oh, much of their production is flavored with motifs from bluegrass but also from country, western swing, ragtime, classical, jazz, field hollers and contemporary so-called acoustic songwriting with the end result being that they sound like Joy Kills Sorrow and no one else that I have heard.
The current and seemingly stable incarnation of the band still includes founder Matt Arcara, a flatpicker of considerable talent who seems to prefer staying steadfastly in support, but just under the edge of the groups sound. With him are Wes Corbett, a banjo player and former member of another seminal group, The Biscuit Burners, and, Jacob Jolliff, reported by Bridget to be the only full-scholarship mandolin student Berklee has ever endowed and now just graduated. Then there are the ladies… the aforementioned Bridget Kearney and Emma Beaton. Bridget dances, the first image that comes to mind, with her string bass throughout the performances, switching from bow to plucking and back as her sense of the music directs her. Emma fronts the band and it is her lead vocals that set the tenor for the group. Wes and Bridget add harmony from time to time, but the group eschews sweet or syrupy harmonies always leaning towards the gritty.
On Friday night, delivering a package of songs from their current CD, Darkness Sure Becomes This City, (a line from one of the songs contained,) and samples from their upcoming Fall release, they filled the hall with their rich musical textures and their lyrical laments of the bittersweet ironies of life. Bittersweeet they might be, but always accented with the determination to prosper emotionally despite all. Most of the group’s numbers are penned by Bridget though Emma also contributes and indication is that attempts are being made to encourage collaborations between various members of the group.
The links I have enclosed here will offer you some wonderful instances of their performing, but for a unique glimpse of the deadpan humor that underlies a lot of their on-stage patter and seems to spring straight out of their group identity, do check out the tongue in cheek video which Bridget contrived with Wes called Wes Corbett Holds A Banjo. Check them out as well on their Facebook Page, their MySpace Page and the numerous Youtube appearances. For a full set here is the NPR recording of their appearance on Mountain Stage this past April.
And if you have an opportunity to catch them in live performance I urge you to do so. I am already looking forward to next time.