Download The Bronte Music Club is proudly sponsored by Banbridge District

The Bronte Music Club is proudly sponsored by
Banbridge District Council in conjunction with
Frontier Promotions
ELIZA GILKYSON
The Bronte Centre
June 1
You have to hand it to Andy Peters who for the last couple of years has been
devoting nearly every minute of his spare time to bringing in quality
performers to play in this part of the world, firstly in the Frontier Music club in
Newry and more lately in the Bronte Centre in the foothills of the famous
mountains of Mourne. And they come to these gigs from far and near – in fact
judging from tonight’s show they came mostly from afar. Andy commented on
the irony that despite the fact that the Bronte is just a few miles from his home
patch Rathfriland, only a few natives from that fine municipality were in
attendance at this gig. The rest of the audience was made up of citizens and
music lovers happy to travel many miles to see and hear the wonderful Eliza
Gilkyson. And fair play too to the good people in Banbridge District Council’s
Tourism Department – especially Karen - who sponsor these gigs in the
Bronte, they must have been delighted to see this wonderful little venue
packed to capacity.
Anyway enough of the plaudits and on to tonight’s show which nearly got full
marks from yours truly and would have but for the odd omission of one of
Eliza’s best known songs Hard Times In Babylon – a minor gripe which at my
time of life I am entitled to! The last time I had the pleasure of seeing and
hearing Ms Gilkyson was in May 2005 when she was accompanied by the
redoubtable Jeff Plankenhorn mainly on acoustic guitar and Dobro. Tonight
we had the pleasure of the company of Robert McEntee (Carole King, Jimmy
LaFave, and Dan Fogelberg) whose electric guitar gave the music a harder,
edgier feel. So it was great to get the two sides of Eliza.
As I sat enjoying the music I realised that Eliza’s songs could be divided into
three main themes, spiritual, political and compassionate. Sometimes you get
all three in the same song. That her late father is a major influence on her is
beyond doubt. He was a little known but influential folk singer/songwriter in
the 50s and 60s who wrote many songs including The Bare Necessities and
Tell the Captain, which is better known as Sloop John B.
We aren’t long into the show before Eliza references her father in Beauty
Way, which is a semi-autobiographical song about the plight of the guitar
player who has plummeted to the depths of despair and grief. It clearly
reflects emotional turmoil caused by the break up of a relationship and the
death of her father. Green Fields was written by Terry Gilkyson and there was
real emotion in her voice as Eliza said that he had written it as a song of love
and despair when his wife (Eliza’s mother) left him. Eliza’s rendition was soft
and gentle and you could have heard a pin drop. The family connection
continued with Jedidiah 1777, which is based on letters written by her
ancestor Jedidiah Huntingdon who was a Major General who fought in the
American Revolutionary War in the 1700s. Huntington described this in one of
his letters as a ’necessary war’ which is in stark contrast with the sentiments
expressed in Eliza’s own searing Man of God, which can best be described as
an open attack on the great white leader who sits in the White House:
The cowboy came from out of the west
With his snakeskin boots and his bullet proof vest
Gang of goons and his big war chest
If you don’t know the song I am sure you get the picture.
The theme continued with the politically charged Highway 9 whose subject is
the innocents caught up in the war in Iraq and the moving Tender Mercies
about suicide bombers. No Eliza gig would be complete without a nod to Bob
and she obliged with Love Minus Zero/No Limit. By now if anyone in the
audience hadn’t cottoned on to the fact that that Eliza is not a recent arrival on
the folk/Americana scene she set the record straight and demonstrated both
her vintage and her pedigree by performing a song called Tennessee Road
which she wrote in 1977 about a certain Mr Presley. A fascinating song was
the epic, almost biblical The Great Correction which sounded as if it
could/should have been written by the great Mr Dylan. Maybe it was but I
haven’t been able to find any reference to it – maybe someone reading this
has the answer? It seemed to be about the need for mankind to wise up and
sort itself out before “the great correction comes.” Wonderful stuff.
A word about Robert McEntee – his guitar at times blazed then soothed and
occasionally delivered a mesmerising solo, especially on the Texas love song
True Companions – not to mention his 3 opening solo numbers that showed
he is no slouch when it comes to writing and delivering a good song.
Having started the show with a reference to her father it was fitting that she
should close it with another. This time it was the sing along Bare Necessities,
which he wrote for Disney’s Jungle Book. It was a happy way to end a very
enjoyable evening and I am already looking forward to Eliza’s return visit.
Patrick Donaghy