October 23, 2008
Fran Landesman @ The Gaslight
Over the past half-dozen years, there have been a few different Gaslight Square-themed events and projects: plays, films, concerts and, yes, even a book. I don't know, though, that any took me back to that magical time as well as last night's performance by Fran Landesman at the Gaslight Theater. Landesman, who with husband Jay, ran the legendary Crystal Palace club in the Square was onstage with: her son Miles, who backed her on guitar; vocalist Anna Blair, who handled some of the trickier vocal work; and a pianist, who was name-checked quickly onstage, but wasn't credited on the program.*
The diminutive Landesman's performance was a mix of spoken poetry, much of it delightfully salty, sprinkled alongside some tunes of hers, both old and new. As noted above, Blair stepped in for some of the songs, like the "hit" from the Beatnik musical "The Nervous Set," the lovely "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." Miles usually accompanied her on the tracks she sang, while orchestrating the flow of the evening, giving his mom quick cues before and after each cut.
The audience certainly seemed to enjoy the opening night performance, which ran about 90-minutes, including a slightly late-start and longish intermission. If the night wasn't about quantity of material, it definitely didn't lack for quality, as Landesman hit the stage with an understated gusto. For starters, her red Colonel Sanders t-shirt had a certain "wow" factor, which was a bit unexpected. But even more amusing was an early line, which she uttered after checking the setlist she held close all night.
"I suffer from craft," she said. "Have you heard of it? Can't Remember a Fucking Thing."
Hello!
From that moment on, you knew that things were going to only kick, and Fran Landesman provided just that, with songs and stories that were either: simple and lovely; or simple and devastatingly witty.
The audience, made up of members of the Gaslight past (Joe Pollack, Jack Parker, Al Becker, Jeanne Trevor, Bill Christman, Jorge Martinez, etc.) were contemporaries of Landesman, and certainly knew enough of her acclaimed backstory to understand how utterly cool this event was. But for someone who missed the glory days, Landesman's wit and poise and thorough sense of hipness was more than enough to carry the night.
We may not be treated to many, if any, more trips by Landesman to St. Louis from her longtime home in London. It says here that you'd be lucky and smart to snap up a ticket for the remainder of the weekend's gigs. (Call 314-531-4607 and grab a seat the bar of the West End Grill and Pub before, or after, the show.) I know that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Landesman's time on the intimate stage of the Gaslight.
And on it, I think, she sprinkled a little pinch of magic, there for all who'll follow.
(* That very piano player was kind enough to write a note. He's Joe Dreyer, the same fellow who worked on "Cool and Hip: Gaslight Square," a few years back; that revue was performed at the Missouri Historical Society and will hopefully be revived at some point in time. Thanks for the contact and great set, sir.)