Live – Jazz Cafe, London

A kind of celebration plus a revelation, this show. The lady is in the metropolis to revisit some of her classic albums and obviously visiting Yanks can’t believe their luck that they happen to be in town when the Woodstock era singer/songwriter is gigging here. Melanie is very much the survivor/earth mother figure and armed with her acoustic guitar skills she weaves melodies and memories with an easy grace.  She hints at recently getting back into performing, sometimes she hits the lines powerfully and on-key, occasionally not. What matters is the atmosphere and feeling that this is an occasion and not having seen her in her original days as a hippie songstress, I was impressed by her dignity and self-effacing humour as on the evening she includes songs of varying moods from ‘Photograph’

and also ‘Gather Me’, which albums are held in high regard by her followers. She remarks that the fans often know which track is on what album better than she does herself ! Such is devotion…and it’s not just nostalgia that makes all this listenable, they are well-crafted songs. No time for my own favourite Melanie cut ‘Gardens In The City’ tonight, but never mind.

Here’s a curious thing – this writer STILL meets people who when Chuck Berry is mentioned say ‘Oh Yeah – ‘My Ding-A-Ling’ ‘, as if all Chuck ever wrote was a sub-Max Miller novelty song. Forget ‘You Never Can Tell’, ‘Tulane’, ‘It Wasn’t Me’, ‘Let It Rock’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, all they know is the crap one. So it is with Ms Safka, it’s the awful ‘Brand New Key’ ( ably parodied by The Wurzels as a paean to a combine harvester !) that some folk recall. One of tonight’s best moments is Melanie explaining how what was originally a New Orleans Doctor John-style slinky soul song (she even played a few bars for us in that style) was speeded up into an irritating yelp of a tune by oafish producers of the day. So it turned out closer to Bonnie Langford than Bonnie Raitt. No wonder with her husband Schekeryk she formed her own label Neighborhood Records , having fallen out with Buddah, a hit-and-miss outfit if ever there was one, witness sad Livin’ Spoonful, Captain Beefheart tales etc.

Melanie seems to be all heart, having even in the past raised money for Chile along with Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger et al. That or she’s a damn fine actress.

Now back to the revelation. Opening the show with a dazzling set of acoustic guitar tunes and songs highlighting prodigious technique, styles, speed and humour, Melanie’s son sticks around to accompany his mother with fluid decorative picked runs and limitless light and shade.  If you find a better, friendlier guitar player than Beau-Jarred Schekeryk, let this site know please. His pastoral melodic pieces should be heard in films and it was worth turning up to hear ‘String Burn’, his fluid opener.

Best song tonight is ‘Railroad’ which has an elemental punch and ‘Keep On Holding Me’ is affecting as is ‘Ring The Living Bell’.

For a tuneful evening of humour and genuine warmth, this one was hard to beat. Melanie has a new album out soon, what a trouper

Pete Sargeant     www.fairhearing.co.uk