Laura Love
Friday, November 24th, 2006
Last week we went to see Laura Love and Jen Todd at The Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, New York. It was one of the better concerts I’ve been to in a long time and even my wife Anne, who’s quite jaded about these kinds of things had a great time and loved the music, Laura’s personality, and the entire evening at the Town Crier.
The duo plays what has to be called “folk funk” but could also be called “folk blues” but could also be called “folk rock.” I have no idea how to characterize the music except that Laura has a fantastic inner musicality, arranges songs in fun and upbeat and surprising ways, and has a great stage presence. Laura plays bass, Jen plays both rhythm and lead guitar, they both sing and it feels like there are 5 people up on stage; they make a lot of great sound with just two guitars and their voices. And what voices. Wow.
And, while The Town Crier is kind of a funky place, they engineered this concert perfectly. It was loud enough but not so loud our ears were hurting. Perfection in sound engineering.
Laura Love has been around a while and has many CDs out (all of them great) and is listed in the iTunes Music Store but somehow has never broken through to be hugely popular. Since we all love her CDs and enjoyed the concert we’ve been speculating on why. Maybe it’s that her music is hard to categorize? Maybe it’s that she’s been a “bad girl” for much of her life (and this fact is in her lyrics), or, maybe she’s impossible to work with. I don’t know but I do know that she is one amazing talent and I’m going to try to see her again in January when she’s back on the east cost.
NPR Interview: Laura Love: Two for ‘Easter’
I’ve always been mystified at the music business. Laura Love is a HUGE talent, but hardly shows up on anyone’s radar. Kinda like Ani Difranco without the cult following. Perhaps she just doesn’t fit any niche that the music execs would recognize. Too bad…
Gus: right, exactly, it’s great to know someone else feels the same way. There must be more to the story that we don’t know, I’m tempted to buy her autobiography to find out. Something tells me she wrecked her life and is putting it back together. I’m sure she doesn’t fit a typical niche but her talent seems big enough to transcend that. Thanks for your comment.
Then there is the question: why would you want a musician that you really love to “make it big” in the yucky music biz? It seems that whenever an artist I really like makes the big time, some part of the heart of their music is lost forever.
Laura Love is not to be categorized (as you discovered Richard)– same with Ani. Ani di Franco has had lots of contract offers but opted to keep her soul and start her own small label. The question of who makes it and who doesnt’ boils down to this: 99% of great musicians don’t “make it” and the 1% who do may be rich but they are owned by corporate musicdom.
I just can’t picture Laura Love doing some ridiculous video on MTV, can you? It’s just too bad that the only two choices are make it huge or starve…
sheryl, I think you’re right. However, her whole “coming out” as an octeroon… seems like that might have gotten some traction but maybe not in the folk or bluegrass world. I do think she’s hard to categorize and that’s one of the things I love about her music but it may also make it harder for her to get a bigger following. You’re also right, $20 tickets is good for me, but less good for her. I’d just like to see her bump up one level. Not to superstar, just to a level above pushing for CD sales to make a trip profitable.
Amen– and that bumping up, I’m afraid, has less to do with her considerable talent and more to do with her management or lack thereof. Also, I’m not sure those “levels” exist, exactly. Ask Greg Brown, who is perhaps one of the “superstars” of the folk world–still pushin’ them CD’s…
Good agents and managers are very very hard to find– this is such a problem for many artists along with so many other issues, including a dearth of venues that aren’t tiny clubs. Mid-size clubs where they could make some mid-size money would be nice.
As everyone knows, some entrepreneurial musicians are managing to make it work for themselves by creating their own world on the internet. Of course, the business-minded artists have always done better for themselves. But for that you need right and left brain fully operational– not necessarily a trait of most artists I know, god love them.
People like Laura Love need our home grown support– thank you Richard for putting her out there on your wonderful wonderful website. I hope everyone is curious enough now to buy a cd ar go to a concert!
xo sheryl
Sheryl: Right, spreading the word on her virally can’t hurt at all. She’s playing another concert in NY state in January. Want to go? I’m going to call and get some tickets soon. Watch, the bump will have happened and they’ll cost $50 with my luck just because I posted about her here. Ugh.
January 20th, The Turning Point Cafe.
sign me up! xo to Annie just tell me where and when–