Victoria Williams' first international tour as a headliner -- supporting her 1994 release
Loose -- yielded
This Moment: In Toronto With the Loose Band, her first concert recording.
Williams (guitar/vocals) is supported by a six-piece band centering around
the Williams Brothers (no relation to
Victoria),
David (vocals) and
Andrew (guitar), as well as
Tim Ray (keyboards) -- all of whom had participated in the creation of
Loose. Joining them are
neo-folk session heavyweights
Joey Burns (bass/vocals) and
David Mansfield (violin/dobro/pedal steel guitar/mandolin). As an ensemble, they animate choice selections from
Victoria's previous studio efforts --
Happy Come Home (1987) and
Swing the Statue(1990) -- with an emphasis on material from
Loose. As a songwriter,
Victoria Williams conjures exquisite images weaved around an ethereal
folk/
jazz delivery -- which is more often than not also saturated in down-home
psychedelia, examples of which abound throughout
This Moment. Primary among them is
"Graveyard," which was renamed
"Blackbirds Rise" on her follow-up studio release
Musings of a Creek Dipper (1998), as well as the achingly beautiful reading of the
Jimmy Van Heusen/
Johnny Burke pop standard
"Imagination." The undemanding and comfortably intimate environs that
Williams create during performance are punctuated by the spontaneous on-stage arrival of her traveling companion and puppy,
Molly -- inspiring
Victoria to ad-lib "Oh its good to have a dog. It's good to see their smile. It's good to have your arms around 'em when it's been a long while" -- during the opening to what develops into a rousing
"Crazy Mary." Another endearing moment catches
Victoria interacting with the audience and spontaneously performing requests -- most notably
"TC." Although accompanied by her own solo piano, she lovingly re-creates
Van Dyke Parks' breathtaking string arrangements.
This Moment is a precious and rare gift from a flower to her audience. ~ Lindsay Planer
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