I’m just back from a whirlwind overnight trip to Vancouver exclusively to see Molly Tuttle live. I’ve reviewed the concert immediately following the album it was supporting so scroll down past the studio album review if you can’t wait to hear how it went.
Disc 1756 is…. City of Gold
Artist: Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway
Year of Release: 2023
What’s up with the Cover? Gee…that’s nice.
That’s a guitar player joke for those in the know.
For those not in the know, Molly is looking halfway between dangerous and fabulous with a dark sunglasses stare-down and silver sparkly suit. Approach at your own peril, because this woman will play over you like a white freightliner.
That’s a Molly Tuttle joke, for those in the know.
How I Came To Know It: I’ve been a fan of Molly Tuttle since discovering her through a Paste Magazine list of folk musicians I should know back in 2019. I’ve learned early on that just buying her record when it is released is a good idea, which is what I did for “City of Gold”.
How It Stacks Up: I have five Molly Tuttle albums (three solo, and two with her backing band, Golden Highway). Of those five, “City of Gold” comes in at #3. There is zero shame in this, because even at #3 “City of Gold” was still one of the best records of 2023. That’s how good Molly Tuttle records are.
Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5
Molly Tuttle was a revelation when she was a solo artist, but since she added the Golden Highway backing band she’s taken things to whole new levels of musical accomplishment. She and these four stalwarts are dripping in talent, and the songs are played in a way that squeezes every bit of excellence out of them.
"City of Gold” is the second album with Golden Highway, and while it is a slight step down in terms of song quality, it is the kind of step down that you’d need the camera they use at the end of a horse race to notice. By which I mean, this record is a f***-ton of awesome.
Things start on a high point with “El Dorado” a song about the California gold rush and a host of characters that leap off the page. This tune is cowritten with Old Crow Medicine Show’s frontman Ketch Secor, who also co-wrote many of the songs on Tuttle’s previous record. Whatever alchemy is at work, Tuttle and Secor excel when writing together. Her earlier stuff is a bit more introspective, but with Secor’s influence you get a lot more “cut loose” kind of vibe. Not necessarily better, but definitely more energetic.
Much like the musicianship, the characters on El Dorado come at you fast and furious, with each stanza telling the tale of how this rogue’s gallery of characters each meat their (mostly bad) fates. My favourite is Snake Oil Jake:
“Stay away from Snake Oil Jake, he'll fool you with a fountain pen
One look in his eyes, you'll be hypnotized, he's got that sleight-of-hand
He's sleek and fat like an old tom cat, they say he has nine lives
But Snake Oil Jake sure met his fate when they shot him down ten times”
Another favourite is “Alice in the Bluegrass” a song that cleverly converts Alice in Wonderland into a metaphor for the love of all things bluegrass. Tuttle also digs into the drug-references in the original story, and salts chemically altered states throughout the song. The record has plenty of drug references, including a direct plea for full marijuana legalization on “Down Home Dispensary.” Not something you see on your average bluegrass record, but Tuttle is not your average bluegrass player.
As noted earlier, in Golden Highway Tuttle has curated some of the finest bluegrass musicians in the land, and she puts them to good use on every single tune. Every song is different, but one thing they share are unapologetic solos that showcase that talent. You wouldn’t need this – just them playing things tight as hell through the melody would be enough to impress – but rarely will you encounter this many solos and tire of none of them.
And fear not early lovers of her solo work, you will get plenty of Tuttle guitar work to thrill and amaze you. Tuttle is tied with Mark Knopfler for my all-time favourite guitar player. Yes, all time. Even more than Buck Dharma. None better. You could enjoy “City of Gold” simply to witness her mastery of the instrument, but you won’t have to. You’ll get all of that, plus four other musical masters, all playing some of the finest songs you’ll hear in this or any other genre.
Best tracks: El Dorado, Where Did All the Wild Things Go, Next Rodeo, Alice in the Bluegrass, Down Home Dispensary
The Concert – August 1, 2024 at the Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver
Not many artists will have me shell out hundreds of dollars and a bunch of vacation time to fly to Vancouver mid-week to see them, but as you could likely predict from the review above, Molly Tuttle is on that list. I was still smarting from missing her by a single day in Seattle, and I was determined to not miss her again.
The show was at a venue I’d never been to before – a converted movie theatre in Kitsilano called the Hollywood Theatre”. Coming in you are greeted by the old-school popcorn concession, but once you come around the corner you see they’ve hollowed out the room, leaving about 1/3 of the seating intact along the sides, and a big empty space for dancin’ and drinkin’, but most for listenin’.
I had expected the crowd to be about 50% bearded oldsters who love bluegrass and 50% young hipsters discovering the music for the first time. The actual split was more like 75/25 but otherwise it was as anticipated. Everyone was well-behaved, although as a seated person I did not love the tall young ‘uns standing in my field of vision. I guess it’s not their fault they’re tall. With the exception of one or two overly enthusiastic original hippies, the crowd had a great vibe. OK, even the hippies had a good vibe, although I would not have minded to slightly less interpretive dancing on their part.
Before I get to the music, a shout-out to the merch table, which had not one, not two, but three different t-shirts, all in my size. I would have loved to have the tour dates on the back of one of them, but I won’t quibble. Merch success!
The Lonesome Town Painters
The opening act was a local band from East Van called the Lonesome Town Painters. These gents were VERY traditional bluegrass. Before the show I spotted one in the audience, and assumed it was a fan dressed up like Bill Monroe. Turns out, they all dressed that way.
They played old standards, and while they weren’t vocal legends, they worked hard at delivering good harmonies and their joy for the music was evident. They also did a number of original compositions that were just as good as the traditional numbers, particularly a funny song called “I’m Sorry” which made it clear the narrator was not at all sorry. The banjo player joked he wrote it for his wife.
The banjo player was the class of the band, and his solos were a cut above the rest, although everyone played well. I wasn’t sufficiently inspired to be their records or merch (best banter line “we don’t have someone watch our merch table, so if you took anything, please come around and meet us after the set to pay for it”) but they were fun and set a good tone.
Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway
- Bronwyn Keith-Hynes – fiddle
- Kyle Tuttle (no relation) – banjo
- Molly Tuttle – guitar and vocals
- Shelby Means – bass
- Dominick Leslie – mandolin
The way they set up shows what to expect from the get-go, lined up equally across the stage in a phalanx of sound. They hit the stage giving each other knowing smiles of “we got this” and immediately launched without a word into a three song mini-set starting with “El Dorado”.
I had seen them play live on many a Youtube clip and so was expecting be blown away by how good they were, but even that couldn’t prepare me for how fucking good they were.
Every song had some form of bluegrass noodle (for those unfamiliar, bluegrass doesn’t just do a single solo – everyone gets a turn except the bass player, and even they get a turn about every fourth song). Sound like it would annoy you? Wrong! I sat enraptured the whole time, my ears having a hard time comprehending how good it was as it washed through me.
Yes, I was there to see Tuttle wail, and wail she did. Watching the finger dexterity required to drop the furious guitar work she delivers is a visual thrill, but to hear it3D in all its live glory was transcendent. She also sang incredibly well, and I was reminded that her guitar work can make it easy to forget what a talented vocalist she is as well.
A highlight was a call-and-answer bit between Tuttle’s guitar and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes fiddle, as they took turns playing off one another, entering some level of creativity I don’t have the musical education to describe other than I loved it.
The setlist was brilliant as well, featuring a good mix of mostly music from their last two records, plus some well-placed covers. Standouts included a “bluegrassed” cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” and a rendition of Neil Young’s “Helpless” that had the fans singing along in full throat on the chorus.
My favourite was “Crooked Tree” a song about being unabashedly unique that always puts a lump in my throat, but even more so live.
Also, if you are wondering if bass player Shelby Means is as cool as she looks in that sparkly top and dark sunglasses, the answer is yes. She exudes cool, and after each solo flashed a subtle smile that delivered a “nailed it!” vibe that was entirely justifiable.
My only regret was Tuttle did one solo song that was taken as a request from shout outs from the crowd. In these moments I am often paralyzed with wanting to shout out the perfect choice and by the time I had rallied myself and as set to bellow my request for “Good Enough” she’d already selected a much-less creative choice for a request for “She’s a Rainbow”. Of course Molly nailed it, but my choice was better. Woulda, coulda, shoulda…
Tuttle and the band played for well over 90 minutes and the energy just grew and grew the whole time. When the lights came on, I felt a bit sad that it was over, but mostly I felt flush with the knowledge that I’d witnessed greatness. 5 stars, and one of the top 5 concerts I’ve ever seen.
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