[Review] Rachael Yamagata w/ The Dove & The Wolf | 11.5.14 @ 3rd & Lindsley

Rachael Yamagata
w/ The Dove & The Wolf
3rd & Lindsley; Nashville, TN
November 5, 2014

Review by Jeff Moody

We decided to forgo the crowds and the $300 ticket to the CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena and, instead, went to see Rachael Yamagata with The Dove & the Wolf at 3rd & Lindsley. We arrived in time to catch The Dove & The Wolf’s set but, unfortunately, missed opener Hemming (Candice Martello).  Should we have been so inclined, the CMAs were on TV at the bar, which we found a little strange.

Here is what else we thought…

The Dove & The Wolf (TDTW) are Paloma Gil and Louise Hayat-Camard, a musical duo from Paris, France doing their first North American tour this fall supporting Rachael Yamagata. They have a 7-inch with new music available on the tour. with a full-length album set to follow in 2015. They have beautiful, almost sisterly harmonies and mostly accompanied themselves on guitar, but also performed one song a cappella and another one in French. As they pointed out, all of their songs were new to us but we especially enjoyed “Other Side” and “Springtime.”

We have been hearing the strong buzz about Rachael Yamagata for years, and made plans numerous times to catch a show, so we were determined not to miss this one. We were a little surprised that the place wasn’t more full but, again, it was CMA week.   In fact, after kicking off her set with a couple of new songs, she thanked the crowd for being there instead of the red carpet.  She advised that she would be hosting the most depressing night ever, which it definitely was not.  Well, maybe some of the lyrics were bit of a downer but, overall, Rachael was delightful and her songs ranged from quiet and lush to downright funky, such as “Tightrope Walker.” She played keyboards for most songs but played guitar on a couple. The three openers (Hemming and TDTW) provided background vocal on several songs with Rachael commenting that this was the “long haired girl tour,” and referred to them as soul mates.

The good news about the less than capacity crowd is that we were able to change our view several times… we started at the bar, moved upstairs for a song or two, and then settled in standing to the right of the stage. By the time Rachael and band came back for their encore, we had met a few of the folks near us who had traveled up from Chattanooga for the show. Rachael engaged in some interesting stage banter, which included something about a guy’s tramp stamp (RY14), friendship bracelets, lack of dicks, and an invitation to also meet her back by the merch table. She finished her set with “I Want You” and “Dealbreaker.” All in all, it was well worth the wait to finally see Rachael Yamagata live, and we are looking forward to her next trip back to Nashville.