Americana-tinged singer-songwriter Margo Cilker delivered a sterling set Tuesday night at the Cat’s Cradle Back Room in Carrboro, North Carolina. Backed by Jeremy Ferrara on electric guitar and husband Forest VanTuyl on stand-up bass, plus horn player extraordinaire Kelly Pratt for three tunes, she strummed either an acoustic or electric guitar while singing her vivid story-songs.
I assumed, when I walked into the room at 20 past seven, that the turnout would be sparse—‘round these parts, at least, I’ve been met with a “huh?” when I’ve mentioned her name. But as the clock ticked closer to 8pm, when opening act Humbird was slated to take to the stage, the room filled up.
Humbird is the stage name of singer-songwriter Siri Undlin as well as the name of her band. This night—due to tour logistics, no doubt—she was only accompanied by Pat Keen, who played the same stand-up bass as VanTuyl and also pushed the buttons on a drum machine. Undlin’s voice is a wonder and her songs strong, but although Keen scored several rounds of applause for his bass solos, I couldn’t help but think of the first line from Jefferson Airplane’s “Hey Fredrick”: “Either go away or go all the way in.” I.e. either perform solo or with a full band. The in-between is just frustrating; synth drums are no match for the real thing.
The same advice doesn’t hold for Cilker. On album, of course, her sound is rounded out by drums and piano, and while a full band would have been nice, the sparser approach proved spellbinding. (That said, if it had just been her and her guitar, my hunch is the result would’ve been the same.) At times, she sounded like a young Lucinda Williams sans the twang in her delivery. Her 15-song set spanned her two albums and included the unreleased gem “Here in Baker” plus a cover of Ian Tyson’s “Road to Las Cruces,” but didn’t feature the one song I most hoped to hear, “I Remember Carolina.” (The lack of a piano probably explains that oversight.)
Live, “With the Middle” was even more stunning than on album; as I sometimes say, time all but stopped during it. By and large, the songs were mid-tempo or slower; the only truly uptempo number was the Ben Walden-written “Steelhead Trout,” with its lyric about trout nibbling at one’s toes making folks laugh. “Crazy or Died” was another fun turn, as Cilker encouraged the audience to sing along with the chorus (and we, in fact, did).
Horn player Kelly Pratt scored a loud round of applause when he strolled onto stage for “Keep It on a Burner.” He livened that song along with “Here in Baker” and Cilker’s breakthrough hit, “Tehachapi,” which had a fair number of folks dancing about. She also explained how VanTuyl introduced her to the songs of Ian Tyson; knowing his music, she jested, was a must for their relationship to succeed. (I was pleasantly surprised by “Las Cruces,” as I assumed by the introduction that she was leading up to “Four Strong Winds.”)
The 70-minute set concluded with a mesmerizing take on “All Tied Together.”
Below is the night’s setlist, as nabbed from the stage. “Steelhead Trout” was pushed to before “Crazy or Died” and the last song was skipped altogether; I assume it’s the Lucinda Williams song, which would’ve made for a perfect end to the night.
The Old Grey Cat 
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