Review of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – perfectly paired talents at the peak of their powers | music

TThe huge Apollo Theater only contains a chair and a table, on which two drinks are placed and a very small speaker, but Gillian Welch and David Rawlings do not need showmanship. Later, when Rawlings plays the harmonica, his musical partner quips: “That’s all you get by changing costumes from us.” The “show” comes in playing and performance and 23 songs cast a magical spell for (including interlude and encore) just under three hours.

After playing on each other’s albums for years, last year’s breakthrough album Woodland cemented the duo’s emergence as a classic American singing duo. They complement each other perfectly. A Stetson-topped Rawlings plucks and struggles with his old guitar as if it were a writhing animal, while Welch deliberately plays in a flowing guise that could be straight out of a spaghetti Western. Rawlings’ voice is beautifully wistful with shades of Cat Stevens while Welch’s sultry vocals evoke mountain ranges, open skies and railways.

Occasionally joined by upright guitarist Paul Koert (a chair reserved for him to rest his bow), the duo shares lead and harmonies to deliver largely melancholic themes like loss, the longing power of the songs interspersed with hilarious banter. As Rawlings tuned in, Welch quipped, “Oh my God. Do I have to tell a joke now?”

Many highlights include Robbie Rawlings’s haunting, Welsh’s sad What We Had or the seductive, which pointed out the way things would be, about the aftermath of war. The duo aren’t known for making political statements, but the surprise clip for Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” seems on point and is received enthusiastically.

Encore follows an encore – Elvis Presley Blues, Look at Miss Ohio – with neither the audience nor the performers wanting the show to end. With the house lights on, Rawlings orders “One More From Diddy,” which turns out to be a brilliant rendition of Jefferson Airplane’s psychedelic-era anthem “White Rabbit.” An unforgettable evening for two artists who love what they do and are at the peak of their powers.