The Silver & The Blue: Jon Langford

The Silver & The Blue: Jon Langford;
Out on the town with Chicago's Glitterati

We all have our heroes. Artists and writers especially need heroes like others need drugs, food or money. Hero's inspire us to create. Without them we're hollow empty shells. We're just going through the motions. Well at least I was feeling that way on that ice covered January 21^st when bon vivant, raconteur and all around man about town Vittorio J. Carli called.
“Would you like to meet Jon Langford a 4PM? He's giving a tour of one of the MCA galleries. Later he'll perform the Executioner's Last Songs.” I had only a vague notion who Jon Langford was but I decided to take a chance. In the back of my mind I connected him to an art exhibit at Chicago's Cultural center about WLSradio's National Barn Dance. Am I wrong about this? Please comment either way. I could swear I saw Langford's paintings at this exhibit.
Before I left to meet Vito I checked the Web. There were two Jon Langford's with this same spelling. The 1^st one was involved with Christian Music. I was sure he wasn't who I was looking for. This 2^nd Jon Langford was obsessed with country music.
Except for Roger Miller, Johnny Cash and Chris Whitley, I didn't listen to or know much about country music. However, my brother-in-law who grew up in Nashville, named my nephew Carter for the famous Country Music family.
Besides being a musician, Jon is a prolific painter. Besides his painting of the aforementioned Carter family, many of his paintings are of Country Music stars. Langford would tell you they are the often exploited, long forgotten and sorely neglected by the mainstream country music industry.
I knew the streets were covered with ice. I didn't care. I put on cowboy boots and rancher's jacket. Even if the boots had no traction and the jacket wasn't quite warm enough it didn't matter. I wanted to please my host.
Jon in shirtsleeves, was dressed all in black. His hair was silver and his eyes bright blue. For a singer he was very soft spoken. I hovered close to him to hear his interpretation of each painting. I assumed he was English because he said he had attended college in Leeds but I found out from a fellow tourist that he was Welsh. Later during his performance he revealed that he was from the Welsh coal mining region. After the tour, Vito and I thanked Jon and we took a few snapshots. We wished him luck on that evening's performance.
Vito and I had a couple hours to kill before the show began so we slipped and skidded down Chicago Avenue to Dunkin Donuts from where Vito had several coupons he wanted to dispense with. I much prefer Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Why can't they be on every other corner instead? (Please don't get me started on over saturation of unwanted franchises pushing out the more beloved less efficient old fashioned albeit not so healthy snack emporiums.)
We filled the time drinking crappy coffee, eating stale donuts and bagels and avoiding several of my "ex husbands" who invariably hang out. Vito's from Oak Lawn and I'm from Hyde Park yet we could reminiscence about a few of the same poets artists, filmmakers musicians and other assorted Chicago legends: Painter Jeff Reid grew up with me in Hyde Park and flitted in an out of town at a moments notice, poet JJ Jamison got himself arrested for 20 year old murder and filmmaker Allen Ross got himself murdered by his cult leader wife. I remember sobbing in a phone booth just after I failed to convince him not to leave Chicago with her. Later while exiting the concert, we would run into one of our favorite Chicago legends, Cynthia Plaster Caster.
7:30pm was quickly approaching. On our way back to the MCA we were stopped by a clean cut young man who said to Vito that he had a friendly face. We stopped to chat. It turned out that he and the group he was with were all sailors on shore leave. I didn't realize this at first glance because they looked too young and didn't appear to be in uniform except for their stylishly close haircuts and pea coats. Vito and the sailor exchanged some Italian and I bummed a square from him. We thanked him and as we walked away I hoped he wasn't headed for Iraq.
Soon we were meeting the pre show crowd. I filled my coffee cup with $6 worth of pinot noir. When I couldn't finish it before the start of the show, I sealed the lid and slipped the cup into my jacket to drink at intermission.
While I knew almost nothing about Lanford's music before this night I expected to hear great music and was not disappointed. The performance was a multi-media presentation more than a simple concert. The band was costumed in circa late 1800s somber western style. Sally Timms who did much of the sultry singing, admitted to me after the concert as I leaned into her for a photo opp, that she did indeed make her dress pictured above. She also sang with Jon in the punk band the Mekons. Despite the fact that she is from Leeds, some opine that with her sweet pure singing she possesses the best female country voice. Later that night when all of us met at the coincidentally named Delilah's Pub, I thanked her for sharing her gift that night.
The reason I call the name Delilah coincidental is because near the end of the performance, Langford introduced song Delilah as the National Anthem of Wales, and insisted that the audience stand out of respect. Reluctantly I did but I wasn't sure why at the time. I thought about What Langford stands for and made the connection. Delilah is about a murderous crime of passion, which undoubtedly ends with a jealous knife welding lover facing the gallows. Langford is a vocal activist and has dedicated three albums and their proceeds to the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Besides this and as discussed previously, Langford is against another more subtle Death Penalty: the one that Corporate Country has imposed on music. The Blues may still be filled with heartache, death anger love and longing but country music has long ago dispensed with any emotion that doesn't remind one of a sickly sweet stale donut.
Other artists along with the aforementioned Ms. Timms contributed to that night's journey towards more merciful justice:
Barry Mills manipulated computer images of Langford's paintings that were projected behind the performers. For comic relief he kept showing clips of Langford as the Olde Salty Sea Biscuit from his Rudy & Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show. The radiant and winsome Jean Cook stole the show playing the violin and intermittingly reading with a deadpan yet disdainful voice unsympathetic letters written by a confounded, embarrassed and slightly annoyed daughter to her Mekons-worshiping mother, Sophie Bourbon. Gradually towards the end of the performance she resigns herself that her mother will never change.
Bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Dan Massey complete the evening's soundscape.
I had a great time but the best was yet to come. People milled around the museum lobby chatting and buying CD's until the staff encouraged everyone to leave. Since we were all invited to Delilah's to party with the band we quickly spun out on to the ice towards the Red Line Subway. Just before we left we were delighted to run into Cynthia Plaster Caster the legendary sculptress. I was secretly thrilled when she agreed to ride the subway with us to Diversey & Lincoln. If you don't already know this, Ms. Plaster Caster spent much of her young life making live penis molds of many of the famous rock musicians of the 1960s and beyond. WOW! I'm not kidding.
Ms. Plaster Caster may not be what you would expect. She is a beautiful whisper of a woman. Her blonde hair was almost white with a faint streak of pink. While waiting down in the depths of the subway I was giddy with awe when I asked her,“What is it like having pictures of yourself plastered all over the internet that you didn't even know existed?” I was joking of course but so flustered I either forgot or couldn’t hear her answer over the train rumble from the opposite track. But I’m sure she chuckled. Another thing that confused me is that I believe she then changed her socks just before our train pulled into the station. But you’d have to ask her about that. The train was much too noisy to talk but as soon as we were off the train, I recommenced my sketchy attempt at an interview. We talked about what we should drink. I said I liked beer but it made me too sluggish. She suggested I try tequila and she showed me a dainty little flask that held her reserve. Then, I decided to risk our possible future friendship to ask THE question. We were just a half a block from Delilah’s so I didn’t have much time. “Cynthia, what about Jon, was he one of your subjects?” She didn’t hesitate to answer that he was one of her very best subjects and quite blessed if you know what I mean… I think she was feeling pretty lucky about having him for a subject.
On the Web:
Jon Langford Recordings
Jon Langford Paintings
Jon Langford Radio: The Eclectic Company, Tuesdays at 10PM
The Museum of Contempory Art: Chicago
Musicians Against the Death Penalty:
The Executioner's Last Songs by Jeffrey St. Clair
Cynthia Plaster Caster: Art with Staying Power
Vittorio J. Carli interviews film director Deepa Mehta
Delilah’s
WLS Radio's National Barn Dance.
Singer/Songwriter Chris Whitley Dies