Carrie Clark and The Lonesome Lovers

It'd been awhile since we'd last been to the Tractor Tavern and, well, we found that we'd missed the place -- the faded old cowboy boots hanging from the ceiling, the curious glory-hole in the men's crapper, the huge oil painting of the bright red tractor, and then the other one of the majestic horse with all the lightning in the background. Okay, that one's kind of weird, but it fits somehow with the country but not too country attitude of the place. We're just pretty damn happy whenever we pay a visit to the Tractor.

Thursday night was no different. We grabbed a drink, settled in and waited for Carrie Clark and The Lonesome Lovers to take the stage.

We heard Miss Clark's music for the first time only a few weeks ago and from the first few notes of Long Black Coat, she'd hooked us. No use fighting. Just sit back, let it happen. "He carries a cross to his chest, even when he doesn't believe," she croons. "He carries a cross to his chest, takes away his grief." Clark's breakthrough album, Seems So Civilized is laced with vivid imagery and homespun poetry, but it ain't all ten-gallon hats and lullabies, as Clark's first song of the evening demonstrated.

Sweet Betty Blue, a rocking, romping homage to Clark's Grandma Betty, got the crowd amped up right away and it wasn't long before the hoots and hollers echoed from the weathered walls of the Tractor. From here, Clark eased into Home Is..., a song which paints a more accurate picture of our homeland than we've heard in some time -- from the strange and wonderful sights seen on the road, to the discontent of American sons and daughters in line at the polls.

After a soulful performance of Long Black Coat, Carrie Clark and The Lonesome Lovers dove into crowd favorite Just For Tonight, a flirty, bouncy burlesque song and perfect vehicle for Clark's more playful side. And boy did she play it up -- teasing us along with her not-so-innocent smile and lustily drawing out the final chorus, "I'll be yours, just for tonight."

We think we spied plenty of willing participants in the audience.

Of so many highlights this night, another that comes to mind is Where Are You, a pensive query for the single boys and single girls out there -- surely something those of us in Seattle's murky dating pool can relate to.

Carrie Clark and The Lonesome Lovers have a few more shows coming up in Seattle and we definitely recommend seeing them before they hit the road on their big tour of the southwest. Lookout SFist, she's headed your way. As for the album, Seems So Civilized, it's solid all the way through. Fans of Neko Case and The Sadies should be more than pleased. Oh, and her cover of Nick Drake's Saturday Sun is almost as good as the original. (Settle down purists. We said almost.)

*Carrie Clark mp3s here. // Seems So Civilized can be purchased here.
Photo of Carrie and friends at Sunset Tavern in 2006 by Paul Gibson on Flickr.