Walking into the Hook and Ladder I was welcomed by Becky Rae Dalton and her unassuming rock band. Four people on stage – two guitars, bass and drums. There’s a country twang, I heard some great rock strong solos and there’s a thoughtful folk rock sensibility. It’s the kind of music you might pack for a road trip.
Becky’s voice is strong and clear. There’s something comfortable in her voice. My friend insisted that it’s because she sounds Minnesotan. He may be right and I mean that in the best way. There’s some something warm and straight forward about her voice. Listening to older albums I think that her voice has become more naked and strong. She played an older song Thursday night, Blue; there was gypsy feel to the staccato pace of the song and her voice had a lilt. I liked the song and her voice in it but it also drew me to the purity of her voice in other songs.
Ol’ Mississippi is a potential breakout song on this album. It has that country twang. There’s a freedom in the lyrics and the feel of a hot summer day (ironically the name of an entirely other song) to the song – like you’ve been walking a long time and finally sit down. It has an easy but traveled pace.
As a special bonus – it was fun to see that Becky’s video was a the top of the top five City Pages videos of the week!
Mostly Minnesota 