The rumors about Rose Cousins promise much. Word on the street is this Canadian folk-singer-songstress possesses everything Club Passim is known for: an unpretentious, small town feel, familiar and heartfelt songwriting, and a polished performance that somehow allows you to let your guard down at the door. I want to be upfront about the fact that I believe Rose may well have all of that up her sleeve. But I must be honest: this did not come through at this show. To be fair, Rose’s voice is just lovely – at its best, suggesting hints of Alison-Kraus-effortless perfection. Her tone is clean and confident. Her lyrics, too, are thoughtful and poetic. But the simplicity that has carried Rose to success thus far got buried under other, lesser, elements in this particular performance.
Rose played in the company of at least six of her friends during this show – there seemed to be a neverending stream of people coming and going from the stage. This included, among others, Melissa Ferrick on trumpet(!). At times, having this many people around gave the concert the comfy, kicked-back feel of a family hoe-down, and I understand why Rose might have wanted to try this approach. But the overall effect of this carousel of performers, some of whom were sadly not quite up-to-snuff musically, was distracting. This, combined with several bouts of extensive, really unfortunate inter-song banter, compromised what I imagine might otherwise have been a strong, if basic, performance.
Some of her newer tunes – “White Daisies,” a disappointed-in-love song, and “Heart in the Game,” her tribute to Elvis – held up in spite of the elements. Particularly in “White Daisies,” watching Rose navigate sorrowful harmonies in the company of what seemed like close friends was beautiful, and offered more depth to her storytelling than we could’ve understood just watching her alone on stage. Too often, though, the sparse chords that sound so poignant when played alone sounded messy and oversimplified. And I’d rather not even get into this, but I’ve got to: the crew wrapped up the show with an Eighties sing-along (Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”). There was snapping involved.
I hate to be a downer here, I really do. I think that, had I seen another performance from Rose, I might be telling a different story. I hope that I get the chance, because I still think she’s got something to offer. This, though… it didn’t deliver. Maybe next time.
