Paul Bass Photo
Abbie Gardner, Molly Venter, Laurie MacAllister performing Wednesday night at the Space Ballroom.
Molly Venter was kicking it.
She was in the spotlight on the Space Ballroom stage Wednesday night in between Abbie Gardner and Laurie MacAllister, her bandmates in Red Molly. The folk-country acoustic trio was opening an 18-city tour at the Space coinciding with the release of four recordings, one a group project plus three solo outings.
Venter’s bandmates come from Jersey City and from Virginia. Venter grew up in New Haven, went off to develop a successful solo career, then joined the already successful Red Molly trio while resettling with her family back here.
Launching into the band’s first set before a packed room Wednesday night, Venter grabbed a tambourine and struck it forcefully. The women in the trio stomped their heels, clapped their hands, strummed syncopated rhythms, leaned on sultry seventh notes and bluesy beats, slammed into hard-stop pauses, twanged, and sang loud and tight through a round of opening numbers.
Like the Wailin’ Jennys and the Dixie Chicks, the musicians in Red Molly put their high-energy and powerful, intricate harmonies front and center. And they delivered a clear message: They may be songwriters and interpreters who sing about their feelings, but they’re no wimps.
Got it?
Once that question was settled, Red Molly dialed it down. They took turns singing introspective numbers from their new solo albums (in video). Venter’s contribution, “Lost and Found,” the third of the three, was a tender tribute to becoming a mom. If her voice were a bottle of wine, you’d say it had notes of Patty Griffin and Deb Talen.
She was also brave enough to tackle Patsy Cline in a rendition of “Crazy.” Gardner’s and MacAllister’s harmonies weren’t background accompaniment in this version; they blended into a single lead vocal.
Red Molly (the name comes from a Richard Thompson song) kept the audience delighted through two sets with the same mix of rootsy raucousness and quieter reflection. Venter fell into the host role for the hometown crowd with lively patter, while Gardner (who lives in Jersey City) served the instrumental highlights with her lead slide licks on the Dobro, especially when she was jamming call-and-response style with Venter’s husband and musical collaborator Eben Pariser, who backed up the band with electric guitar and drums. (Click here to read a previous story about Venter’s and Pariser’s work as Goodnight Moonshine.)
As the evening chugged toward the end, Venter tackled the Americana toughness question — about how strummers and songwriters prove their mettle.
“I’m a big fan of outrage when it’s needed,” she said.
“But I’m a fan of love,” she added. Outrage and anger don’t have a monopoly on strength. And love doesn’t have to be wimpy, she said. It can be strong.
Then she sang Darrell Scott’s “Love’s Not Through With Me Yet” (in video) to prove it.
