Whatever you want to call it \u2013 Americana, Old Timey Music, Indie Folk, The Milk Carton Kids do it. And they do it very well. Their opening night concert for the Adelaide Guitar Festival is the full bottle.<\/p>\n
Murray Bramwell<\/p>\n
Formed in 2011, when solo performer Joey Ryan went to a concert by Kenneth Pattengale in their home town of Eagle Rock, California and suggested they join forces, The Milk Carton Kids duo (named from a lyric of one their earliest songs) have made their mark in that revered section of American music that includes Punch Brothers, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and others.<\/p>\n
To open, Ryan welcomes the Her Majesty\u2019s audience. It is their last show of a two week Australian tour and it is clear they mean to finish well. He introduces guest performer, Vera Sola (aka Danielle Aykroyd) who presents a captivating entre, some of it accompanied on guitar by Kenneth Pattengale, to whom, we discover, she is married.<\/p>\n
She begins with \u201cCrooked Houses\u201d- her poetic lyrics set to a swirling guitar accompaniment, her thumb thrumming basslines in the hypnotic style of Leonard Cohen. Her version of \u201cFamous Blue Raincoat\u201d is one of the highlights of the brief set.<\/p>\n
When The Milk Carton Kids take the stage, they try out some Australian slang and reminisce about koalas. Ryan has an easy charm and a comic\u2019s timing. This could be an old-time variety show, he muses, before they step into \u201cYounger Years\u201d. The extended lilting guitar intro draws us in as they turn, facing each other over the single, retro radio microphone and blend their vocals. Comparisons with Simon and Garfunkel are tempting but imprecise; the clarity and sweetness of the harmonies captures the wider spirit of folk music, ancient and modern.<\/p>\n
In their suits (Joey Ryan also wears a tie) they look like hipsters at the Grand Ol\u2019 Opry. At the chorus, Pattengale is picking at Bluegrass speed. It is an enthralling beginning to an outstanding show. The elegiac \u201cMemphis\u201d (from the \u201cAsh & Clay\u201d album) follows – \u201cGraceland is a ghost town tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
After some compliments about Her Majesty\u2019s Theatre, and banter about whether it will have a pronoun change, Pattengale sings a song dedicated to his child, \u201cCharlie\u201d from their first album, wryly titled \u201cRetrospect\u201d. A suite of songs from their newest release \u201cI Only See the Moon\u201d makes up the centrepiece of the set. Beginning with the beautifully phrased \u201cAll of the Time in the World to Kill \u201cwith its cooing choruses, trickling banjo and simple guitar, it reminds us of the duo\u2019s effortless range. \u201cWhen You\u2019re Gone\u201d, in more sprightly tempo, is even more enticing in its easy lyricism.<\/p>\n
Pattengale sings solo on his composition, the title song, \u201cI Only See the Moon\u201d. Written for orchestra on the album, he croons plaintively to his guitar a song that could easily become an American Songbook standard. Returning to the roots of country music is \u201cOne True Love\u201d, a composition redolent of 18th<\/sup> century Appalachia. A meandering banjo entwines with the insistent guitar while Joey Ryan\u2019s keening high tenor repeats like a chant -\u201cone true love\u201d – capturing that same stark, melancholy beauty we so admire in Gillian Welch.<\/p>\n The songs keep on coming. The up-tempo Bluegrass \u201cHoney Honey\u201d, the Western horse ballad \u201cNorth Country Ride\u201d, tenderly sung by Ryan and garnished with Spanish guitar lines from Pattengale, is another highlight. \u201cHope of a Lifetime\u201d and \u201cMichigan\u201d dip into the duo\u2019s rich back catalogue of well-crafted songs and the set concludes with \u201cI Still Want a Little More\u201d.<\/p>\n Which, of course, we all do. Pink Floyd\u2019s \u201cWish You Were Here\u201d is the first of two encores, this time it\u2019s the short version, Pattengale leading with vocal and decorative guitar. Ryan concludes with the pensive \u201cWill You Remember Me ? \u201d. Slow and reflective, it brings proceedings to a perfect close.<\/p>\n And yes, we will remember. The songs, the performances, the impeccable sound, courtesy of Jason Cupp. The Milk Carton Kids (and Vera Sola) have delivered.<\/p>\n The Adelaide Guitar Festival continues until July 15.<\/p>\n InDaily InReview, July 14, 2023.<\/p>\n Guitar Festival review: The Milk Carton Kids<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n