REVIEW: Carsie Blanton Helps Let Off Some Political Steam in Albany

May 21

5/17 @ Lark Hall

“Blanton and her band held a musical town meeting with a like-minded crowd that was all too ready to let off a little pent-up emotional political steam.”

Singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton kept Lark Hall enthralled Saturday night with her valiant protest songs and her moving love songs. Taking the stage to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" pumping out over the sound system, Blanton and her band held a musical town meeting with a like-minded crowd that was all too ready to let off a little pent-up emotional political steam.

Blanton brought the catharsis with lyrics like, "Elon Musk is a fuck of a man, just look at his rich kid face / I'd like to make his dream come true, and shoot him into outer space." You could feel pressure being released as the audience cheered and happily sang along.

"I started off writing love songs, then some hate songs, and now protest songs. The political became very personal in the last ten years!" explained Blanton mid-concert. Similar to another artist—the very prolific Jesse Welles—Blanton is writing and reacting to the world in real time with vital, well-crafted compositions released online and going viral. A tango featuring Luigi Mangione and Benito Mussolini, a toe-tapper about "Rich people stackin' the decks, rich people with big fat checks, rich people having a ball, rich people been fuckin' us all." Blanton’s reaction to online trolls was to pen a sarcastic jingle proclaiming herself an "Ugly Nasty Commie Bitch."

Blanton is a uniquely gifted songwriter, performer and activist. Backed by her "Handsome Band"—Isa Burke on lead guitar and occasional fiddle, Sean Trishka on drums and longtime tourmate Joe Plowman on bass—she showcased her vocal versatility with songs that swung from jazz to folk to pop. A sweet-voiced socialist singing about the collapse of capitalism, the end of the empire, fighting fascism and the coming revolution, all with a warm sense of humor and expert songcraft.

Blanton spoke of her recent research on the Red Scare in America and of being able to read some of the FBI's files on folk singer Pete Seeger, which suggested that he was using some kind of mind control over crowds because he would sing a song once, then the crowd would sing along as he played it a second time! She sang her own "In the FBI" and covered "I Don't Mind Failing", a Malvina Reynolds gem she discovered while delving into past protest music: “I'll stay down with the raggedy crew, 'cause getting up there means stepping on you, so I don't mind failing in this world." "Fishin' With You", a touching tribute to one of Blanton's biggest influences (the late John Prine) followed, then the poppy punch of "Cool Kids."

Burke and Trishka exited the stage, leaving Blanton and Plowman to deliver the torchy "Desire": "I could die in a flood, shedding blood, or a fire, if I don't die of desire." Then came the aching "When Somebody's Gone", an ode to loved ones lost. "They say your heart won't always hurt, but they don't say how long / Ain't it strange the body turns to dirt, but love goes on and on, when somebody's gone." A short, funny cover of Dan Reeder's "Born a Worm" was next, then Blanton solo with "The Future is You and Me." The full band came back for a few more anthems, including "Everything for Everyone", "After the Revolution" and a final reminder to "Be Good": "Be good to the people you love and love everybody alive."

Opening act, singer-songwriter Brittany Ann Tranbaugh—along with her guitar and accompaniment from the aforementioned Joe Plowman on bass and backing vocals—shared some folky songs of interpersonal relationships and self-acceptance. She had the audience laughing and singing along to her song "So What if I'm Not Conventionally Attractive?"