Tattletale Saints – Tuning Fork February 11, 2017

 

Wrapping up their 18-date New Zealand tour with a show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork, Tattletale Saints have only gotten better with age, showing off improved instrumental chops to go along with their fine songwriting and singing.

It’s been a couple of years since Cy Winstanley (vocals & guitar) and Vanessa McGowan (double bass & vocals) last graced a stage in Auckland…the Kiwi duo now firmly entrenched in the Nashville music scene, where they’ve been residing in those past two years.

This 18-date tour was in celebration of their second album, the self-titled follow-up to 2013’s How Red Is The Blood, and there was plenty to celebrate.

Joined by drummer Joe McCallum (Tami, Delaney, Marlon, Nadia), the band proved that you don’t have to be quirky or gimmicky to hold an audience’s attention…good songs, singing and playing will do the trick.

Cy Winstanley is the songwriter of the two, and it’s clear he takes his duties seriously. Songs like Sonoma County Wine, I Don’t Sing So Much No More and the heart-warming Little Richard Is Alive And Well In Nashville, TN prove that his nomination for Song Of The Year for Complicated Man (he lost out to Lorde), was no fluke.

What is also clear is that Cy has been practicing his electric guitar. Throughout the evening he dazzled the audience with crisp, inventive solos that perfectly complimented the songs.

Opening tune Kathleen was the first to feature one of these solos and the crowd was obviously surprised and impressed.

Meanwhile Vanessa McGowan’s bass playing was sturdy and supportive as was her harmonizing. Her bass solo during I Don’t Sing So Much No More was dark and melodic and her lead vocal during Love Hurts, the Everly Bros/Nazareth/EmmyLou Harris chestnut, was lovely…and was augmented by another wonderful Cy Winstanley guitar solo.

Joe McCallum’s drumming was simple and unobtrusive and added a bit of heft of the duo’s sound.  If anything I would have liked him to add a few more flourishes to some of the songs, but overall, he fit in perfectly.

My only other complaint is that Cy’s guitar could have been a bit louder.

Cy and Vanessa have been sharing stages for years now and that experience has allowed them to develop an easy rapport with each other and the audience. Both musicians told stories and joked between songs with Vanessa revealing that Cy emerged from the studio in just his underwear while recording the vocal for Little Richard Is Alive…

The duo now returns to Nashville where, hopefully, they will continue to grow musically and return soon with more beautifully-crafted songs.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk:

Tattletale Saints set list:

1. Kathleen
2. If I Had A Dollar
3. Down The Road And Back Again
4. I Don’t Sing So Much No More
5. Sing It Loud
6. Doctor Doctor
7. How Red Is The Blood From A Broken Heart
8. Complicated Man
9. Love Hurts
10. Traces Of You
11. Sonoma County Wine
12. I Did This To Myself
13. Big City Women
14. Little Richard Is Alive And Well In Nashville, TN
15. Dancing Under The Dogwood Trees