To be honest, I could have cared less who the Cafe Du Nord headliners were that night. I was there for only one reason: to see the opener, Nashville-born singer Caitlin Rose.
I found Caitlin Rose’s music on one of those lucky Youtube click-happy sessions. You know what I’m talking about. Where you go from one “recommended” video to the next, until finally you land on something good. And that goodness was Caitlin Rose’s “Own Side,” a melancholy, sweet bluesy, twang-licious song. Oh yes, this was a very good recommendation. And as luck would have it, she was going to be coming to San Francisco in less than three weeks. Perfection.
At the show last night, Rose brought a beautiful set of songs to the stage about everything from sleeping around to pushing people into wells. Her voice has a bit of Iris Dement and Patsy Cline, mixed in with classic country chords, that rolled effortlessly off the lap steel guitar.
I’ll confess, I used to be a pretty big country music fan back in high school, but then when Bush took over the White House, I just couldn’t do it anymore. It just felt dirty and wrong. But I think Caitlin Rose has got me back into it, because her music is not about American pride or getting a new washing machine. Her songs are about teen pregnancy and the inevitable shotgun wedding, or about falling in love with a gorilla man. This is new country, that’s quirky, catchy, and it’s music that I would definitely recommend to you and yours.
And below — this is amazing. Best cover by a 5 years old ever: