Sixteen Horsepower Schubas, Chicago February 20, 1998 By Brett MacAlpine "Warm is the breath of His Holy Spirit.
An excerpt from the congregational reading at church last Sunday? Nope. The chorus of that old hymn that you can't quite remember the name of? Closer. It's a line from "Golden Rope," the song that started Sixteen Horsepower's stirring concert at Schubas in Chicago, setting the mood for the evening in more ways than one. It would be too simple to call Sixteen Horsepower a rock band or a country band. Elements of both styles may appear in their songs, but most of this show was a journey back to a time long before Elvis or Hank Williams, Sr. Lead singer David Eugene Edwards's choice of vintage instruments sets him apart from most of his "No Depression," alterna-twang peers. From his stool in the center of the stage, he began with a solo mandolin opening number, spent a lot of time on banjo, and even used several members of the accordion family. That's right, the accordion. But with the help of the rest of the five-piece band, he made sure to banish thoughts of polkas and Paris street cafes. Drummer Jean Yves Tola, bassist Pascal Humbert, an unnamed rhythm guitarist, and Jeffrey Paul on fiddle and cello (and spooky, bass background vocals, as well) combined with Edwards to create a rare intensity, even on the accordion numbers (especially on "Harm's Way," one of the many high points). By the time they tore through "My Narrow Mind" and "For Heaven's Sake" in the encore, the band was possessed with a feverish energy most rock bands only dream of.. The urgency of Edwards's singing and lyrics helped fuel the fire, at times creating the feeling of a tent revival. OK, maybe a tent revival from a David Lynch movie. Still, there was no escaping the religious themes of the songs, which he sang with the passion of a Pentecostal preacher. Maybe it was the quality of the sound system, or perhaps it was the stripped down instrumentation (with a little divine intervention thrown in for good measure), but whatever the reason, lines like, "When will I suffer for the sake of Heaven?," "Today is the day of salvation ... Some by the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through His blood," and "The Lord on my behalf doth pray / He's with me even in harm's way" came across with startling clarity. Still, this was no church service. Mixed with messages of salvation were disturbing tales of lust ("Scrawled in Sap") and violent, Old West revenge ("Heel on the Shovel," "Strong Man"). These songs could be stories of characters in a William Faulkner or Louis L'Amour novel, or maybe even Edwards's own past. Taken as a whole, however, they could also portray a man who knows the Truth but finds himself unable to escape his sin. After feeling the fiery conviction behind Edwards's delivery, I'm leaning towards the latter. Whatever the conclusion, I'm still left with memories of a concert that was thought-provoking, convicting, frustrating, and exhilarating. Keeping with the Tollbooth's concert review format, here's the best set list my sketchy memory could come up with. Golden Rope (LE)
Encore 1:
Encore 2:
LE: Low Estate
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