Mark Olson and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers featuring Victoria Williams- Borderline,London 24th February 2003

I think it was my brother who originally pointed me in the direction of the Creekdippers but I can’t remember if I knew Victoria Williams would be appearing before I got to the show or not! The Borderline was my favourite venue at the time and I went to around 7 gigs there in 2003! It’s in a side street just off Charing Cross road and underground which meant there was no mobile phone signal! I think I taped all 7 shows I went to there using my recently purchased core sound microphones and my minidisc recorder!

I first came across Victoria Williams thanks to the compilation album Sweet Relief which was released to raise money for her medical bills after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – I loved the tracks Summer of Drugs (contributed by Soul Asylum) and Tarbelly and Featherfoot (Lou Reed) so bought her album Swing the Statue to investigate! I never thought I’d get a chance to see her at the time.

I think the only way to describe the music that night is beautiful. There did seem to be some tension on stage between mark Olson and his wife especially over the last song! Victoria was everything I’d expected her to be crazy scatty but ultimately very talented. I met them afterwards and she thought she knew me from somewhere (sadly not). I asked her for a hug and I got one! I’m pretty sure Mark signed the back of the ticket and hopefully one day I’ll find it and scan it in!

STOP PRESS: I found it! and it reminded me of something – at the end of the gig Victoria was holding court on the front of the stage and getting lots of attention whereas Mark was putting all the gear away at the back of the stage. I went over after chatting to Victoria and asked him to sign my ticket, which he did, but he didn’t seem very happy!

I had a ticket to see them again the following year but sadly my divorce got in the way and I ended up not being able to get!

Set 1
Alta’s Song
Poetry
You R Loved
Still We Have A Friend In You
Tell Her I’ll Be Home
Humming Bird
One Eyed Black Dog Moses
Zola And The Tulip Tree
December’s Child
Linda Lee

2nd Set
Shine On Silvery Moon (?)
Water To Drink
A Little Bit Of Love
Frying Pan
Back To The Old Home Place
Custom Detroit Railroad
Letter From Africa
My Own Jo Ellen
Nerstrand Woods
Crazy Mary
How Can I Send Tonight (Here To Tell You)
3 Weeks Til The War! (Vic Improv)
Lay My Burden Down

Encore
Ben Johnson’s Creek
Walking Through Nevada
Someone To Talk With
Moon River

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *