Since TVD is taking a break next week, I thought I would hip our readers to a great show next Wednesday at Chickie Wah Wah. Elizabeth Cook is a critically acclaimed, bold, and often brilliant Nashville singer-songwriter and country music outlaw, She is appearing solo; playing her acoustic guitar. Show time is 10 PM. Discounted advance tickets are available here.
The Florida native made her debut at the Grand Old Opry in 2000. But it was two appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman in late 2011 and 2012 that put her in the national spotlight. She ultimately appeared four times on the late night legend’s show before his retirement. Cook also hosts the morning radio show Elizabeth Cook’s Apron Strings on the Sirius XM radio station Outlaw Country.
Known for her wry songwriting skills and her ribald sense of humor (she released a song called, “Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman”), Cook went through another rough stretch in a private life strewn with interpersonal issues before emerging with the new song collection. She says, “If anything, (the new album) is a pledge of allegiance for the bad girls and the homecoming queens who got caught in a scandal. It’s a bill of rights and a testimony for those good girls who got away with more than they should have.”
Her latest album, Exodus of Venus, is a departure for Cook. It isn’t what anyone would describe as a “straight up country” album. She said, “These songs are more poignant. They’re honest and all about compassion or grace.” The instrumentation and sound is also a departure. Cook continued, “We’re going from Little Feat to R.E.M., then put Appalachian harmonies on it. It’s all funky grooves with dark guitars, burning guitars. People were tweeting me, ‘Are you keeping it country?’ And the truth is: No, I’m keeping it real. Not to a genre, but to what these songs are.”
In performance, Cook keeps her outlaw country persona intact, but isn’t afraid to improvise a line or two. Nor is she above interrupting a song for a witty aside. Her songs mine the dark side of life, but they do so with a sense of humor. She introduces many of her songs with a sly comment and the timing of a comedian. It’s no wonder she is a favorite of David Letterman. They share the same sense of humor.
