Beth Orton: Classic or Dud?

I get Downtown Train

album of the year for sure

xxpost it's After the Gold Rush isn't it?

I hear ATG on (some of) the verses, and DT on the chorus; "well, I've been dreaming" certainly could be a deliberate nod to the former

amazing live show. i'd say catch it but apparently it was the last night of the tour

i lucked out and caught it on a complete whim. i was on a cross-town bus on my way home around 8pm, saw her name on the marquee through the window, got out at the next stop and bought a ticket

person sitting next to me was a middle-aged dude who'd also come alone, and had a bouquet of flowers in the seat next to him which he gave to beth when she took the stage. he sang along to all the older material and repeated "wow. superstar. wow" to himself in between each song

her band were incredible and completely adorable. beth is the cool gen x aunt leading a group of shaggy group of sick chops millenials

she played the whole new album, and a bunch of back catalogue stuff. took requests and played some stuff solo too. the last song of the encore was a super rocking version of "shopping trolley" off comfort of strangers, which she says she regrets never touring (since she "got preggo" right after it came out)

lovely write-up

I love the idea that someone might get so much enjoyment from an artist that they'd be thinking "Wow. Superstar. Wow", though I do wonder how the artist might feel about someone bringing flowers (not that practical, unless it was their home-town show ... and maybe not even then).

Note: love this album while not thinking of myself as a massive Beth Orton fan.

yeah I saw her SF show and it was excellent, and my concerns about her voice not quite holding up were mostly unfounded, I think it's gotten stronger with this tour and the new album held up surprisingly well when performed live.

Nice conversation between Beth and Alabaster DePlume: https://www.talkhouse.com/beth-orton-talks-with-alabaster-deplume-on-the-talkhouse-podcast/