Chatham County Line celebrates 'Wildwood' at Cat's Cradle

Saturday night brought a packed, rowdy crowd to the Cat's Cradle to celebrate the release of Chatham County Line's latest album Wildwood. The band triumphantly unfurled their trademark North Carolina flag across the back of the stage to big cheers from the crowd.

The show kicked off with the title track from the new album, followed by "Ghost of Woody Guthrie." The crowd was warmly receptive of the new songs, though the big cheers were reserved for the older tunes. They'll fall in love with the new songs after they've all had a chance to spin Wildwood.

All of the new tunes like "Saturdays & Sundays" and "Out of the Running" really pop live, even without the additional oomph the drums add to the recorded versions.

Frontman Dave Wilson took the opportunity to promote the band's free midday show in Raleigh on Tuesday saying "We're gonna play at Sadlack's for old times sake. There's a lot of homeless people that couldn't come down tonight." Anyone familiar with Sadlack's certainly gets the joke.

The band tore through their set, rounding out the pre-encore set with "Ringing in My Ears" and "Chip of a Star." The band only left the stage briefly before returning to play the fantastic "Crops Come In" followed by a stunning cover of Lucinda Williams' "I Lost It."

The closing song was the rousing barnburner "Let It Rock," which brought a close to a fantastic 21-song set.

The crowd was a bit too rowdy (especially one group of obnoxious kids) for an acoustic show, but the crowd was about the same as their last release show at the Cradle in 2008 for IV (check out our old review of that show here).

But if you're like me and like your string bands in a nice, sit-down environment, Chatham County Line will be playing a big show at Raleigh's Fletcher Opera Theater on Friday, Aug. 20. Jill Andrews will open the show. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, July 15 at 10 a.m. here for $21.

Stepping back in time a bit, Birds and Arrows opened the show with some beautiful alt-country-esque tunes. The husband and wife's beautifully blended harmonies shined during their short set, especially on songs like "Ghost of a Bad Idea" and "Picnic in the Graveyard." The band also shared their new song "Pride of Lions," which will be released on a split 7" vinyl with Billy Sugarfix via 307 Knox Records.

Chatham County Line set list
Wildwood
Ghost of Woody Guthrie
I Got Worry
She
By the Riverside
The Carolinian
Gunfight in Durango
Birmingham Jail
Blue Jay Way
Out of the Running
Saturdays & Sundays
Whipping Boy
Nowhere to Sleep
Born to Be With You
Speed of the Whippoorwhill
Alone in New York
?
Ringing in My Ears
Chip of a Star
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Crop Comes In
I Lost It
Let It Rock

[all photos by Kevin Norris]

Chatham County Line





Birds and Arrows