Image by Natasha Ryan
The Watson Twins share their sisterly songs in Brooklyn
July 10, 2008, at Music Hall of Williamsburg
By Eleanor Whitney
Published: July 14th, 2008 | 11:39am
“You know you’re professional when your set list is written on paper plates,” twin sisters Chandra and Leigh Watson joked before beginning their set Thursday evening at the Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg. They played songs from their new record, Fire Songs (Vanguard), to a low-key but adoring audience. While the space felt cavernous and overly air-conditioned, the twins brought a warm vibe that matched the mellow, yet enthusiastic, country-infused set.
They began the set with the first track from Fire Songs, “How Am I To Be?,” which showcased the exuberant vocal harmonies they have been perfecting since they started singing together as children when they were in church choir. The song, driven by a catchy pop drumbeat, also showed off the twins’ penchant for capturing the pain of romance gone awry found in so many classic country songs by the likes of Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash. They followed up their sparkling opener with the solid, contemporary alternative-country lament “Bar Woman Blues,” propelled by twangy guitar work and harmonies so big they filled the whole hall. Another highlight was “Map To Where You Are,” which evoked the straight, empty highways of the American west, and was filled with long-distance longing illustrated by the twins’ plaintive “oohs” on the bridge.
The twins traded lead vocals and shared one acoustic guitar between them. “We might share a guitar, but we have our own damn picks,” they joked. They kept upbeat, earnest banter going between songs. Midway through the set they compared the show — the second of their North American tour — to being on a second date. “Maybe we’ve gotten to first base? Not after this song, babies,” they cooed before delicately diving into a cover of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” They managed to make the iconic song their own, slowing it down, stripping it bare and re-embellishing with a harmonica part and their own Americana-steeped style.
Before closing with “Waves,” the Watson Twins declared Williamsburg a sister city to their home of Los Angeles, a proposal the audience was clearly willing to accept. They cheered heartily and shook their shoulders in time to the beat. Their attention was rapt up until the last chorus of the loping ballad ended in a perfectly blended, nearly–a cappella vocal harmony. It was a testament to the power and balance of their song writing, performance, and sisterly collaboration
Issue #36
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