The two shows I had seen at Sons of Hermann Hall before the night of November 17 were both packed, hardcore concerts where it seemed like everyone in the building was moving during the performances. The show I attended on November 17th was, by contrast, a peaceful, intimate night of solo performances where most of the audience was sitting down in chairs arranged for the show.
The first act of the night was Jens Kuross, a singer-songwriter from Boise, Idaho. His set up consisted of a keyboard and a handful of effects pedals like reverb and delay which he used to create alluring soundscapes. Kuross’ compositions were soulful jazz ballads which reminded me of 2000s mellow-pop singers like Jack Johnson or Fiona Apple. Kuross himself was a personable performer who explained to the audience how that night’s headliner, Hayden Pedigo, “discovered [him] in a basement” and helped produce his first record. Kuross ended his set with the title track of his new LP Crooked Songs, “Crooked Song,” to round off an endearingly off-beat performance.
Before the show that night, I had never actually listened to any of Hayden Pedigo’s solo music. I say solo because I was introduced to the guitarist from Amarillo, Texas by his collaborative LP with Oklahoma City noise rock quartet Chat Pile, In The Earth Again. While that record frequently deviated into heavy rock sections, with Pedigo’s ethereal guitar serving as melodic ambience throughout, the live performance showcased the guitarist’s ability to spin vibrant compositions without accompaniment. Every song, each of them instrumentals performed without backing tracks, felt like a vivid story full of emotion. Pedigo’s amiable banter between songs provided context for the inspiration for many of his ethereal guitar compositions—from the opening song “Smoked,” inspired by 60s prog rock, to a rendition of the Brokeback Mountain theme, which Pedigo declared to be his favorite movie.
Pedigo played just six songs during his entire set, which seems the perfect number for songs as long as his. Across the performance, Pedigo displayed his proficiency on three guitars: an acoustic, a twelve-string acoustic, and an electric. It was mesmerizing to see him make micro-adjustments to the tuning pegs even as he had already begun to play the song; subtle moments like these evinced the artist’s deep connection to his instrument. Pedigo jokingly apologized for the time it took to tune his guitar to the obscure open tunings that he favors, but I never minded the down-time between songs. These times invited quiet reflection on what we had just heard. The elegant, haunted western vibes of “Long Pond Lily,” the moody nostalgia of “Rained Like Hell,” and the bittersweet acoustic ruminations of “The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored”—these were the wages of my night with Hayden Pedigo.
