Marsh Towers: Gretchen Peters at The Arc

Gretchen Peters

The Arc, Stockton-on-Tees

2.3.2012

It's been nearly two years since I saw Gretchen Peters at The Sage. I enjoyed the show back in 2010 and was keen to catch Gretchen again this time around. The opportunity came a little closer to home than normal; Stockton's Arc, to be precise, which hosted a sizeable and very appreciative audience.

The evening started well, with support from Lynne Hanson, who played a very nice acoustic set.

Lynne Hanson

There wasn't much of a wait before Barry Walsh and Christine Bougie took the stage to open Hello Cruel World, the title track of Gretchen's new CD.

Hello Cruel World

Gretchen then appeared to very warm applause, sang the opening line, 'Haven’t done as well I thought I would/I'm not dead but I'm damaged goods...' and 90 excellent minutes of darkly-tinged Americana came our way.

St. Francis

There was no gap between the first two songs as they plunged straight into St. Francis. Only after that was there time for a little chat, starting with the greeting, 'How are we all doing?' Gretchen then outlined the musical agenda for the evening. 'You may guessed – I have a new record out' she said, going on to say that the reception it had so far received had left her thrilled, so she '...won’t have to do the sequel: Goodbye Cruel World'.

Gretchen Peters

The plan was to play the new album in its entirety before playing a few of the more established songs. A good decision; the new album represents a very high watermark for Gretchen's music and to hear all of the new songs contrasted very well with the reflective, popular choices of the 2010 tour.