When Jason Molina died at the age of just 39 in 2013, it would have been hard to imagine that a little more than 13 years later, a tribute event to the late singer-songwriter at London’s EartH Theatre would all but sell out; attracting an audience larger even than that of many of Molina’s own shows in London before his passing.
Yet that was the reality on Wednesday night. In a testament to how the late singer’s star has only grown since his death, fans turned out in force to watch an hour-long slideshow of footage from various Molina gigs (under his multiple monikers Songs:Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co and his own name) followed by a set of his greatest hits led by the band Brown Horse.
The slideshow of videos – which is preceded by Molina’s widow, Darcie, giving a brief introduction on stage – captures the breadth of Molina’s career, from his earliest sets to his final performances in the late 2000s before the impact of his alcoholism forced him to take a hiatus from which he never returned.
The earliest videos provide a welcome counterpoint to the tortured-artist archetype that Molina is sometimes confined to; capturing a young, hopeful and goofy singer, who takes himself far less seriously than the intensity of his songwriting might suggest. Yet, this collection of footage ends in heartbreaking fashion: a montage of Molina pictures and videos soundtracked by a live performance of his staggering treatise on mortality, “Hold on Magnolia”. The song’s second-verse couplet (“You might be the last light I see / Before the dark gets a hold of me”) proves particularly haunting in the context; a prescient self-eulogy written by a man finely attuned to the realities of death and despair. As the film ends, and the lights come on, many watching are in tears.
Norfolk-based country rockers Brown Horse, however, quickly brought the mood back up as they opened their set with a rollicking cover of “I’ve Been Riding With The Ghost”. Lead singer Patrick Turner proved a capable and compelling handler of Molina’s performances – channelling the longing, desire and heartbreak of these songs adeptly – while his band sounded pristine in their recreations of the original bluesy Americana sound.
For the following 12 songs, an array of guest musicians are invited on stage to perform alongside Brown Horse; among them: Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and Goat Girl’s Lottie Pendlebury, as well as collaborators of Jason’s: Alasdair Roberts and former Songs:Ohia bandmate Max Winter. The collaborative nature of the set adds a communal feel, and the mixture of Molina’s peers and younger musicians who he has influenced proves distinctly moving; a multi-generation showcase of how his legacy lives on.
The setlist, largely a collection of the late singer’s greatest hits, proved well-chosen and evocative; capturing Jason’s music at its triumphant, full-band loudest and at its quietest and most desolate. Elanor Moss, for instance, captures the hushed fragility of “Hammer Down” and “Whip-Poor-Will” with piercing, back-to-back, acoustic renditions of the songs, while Turner and his band make good on Molina’s biggest anthems, such as “The Dark Don’t Hide It” and “Riding With The Ghost”.
The set ends on a high: “Farewell Transmission” followed by “John Henry Split My Heart”, two tour-de-forces delivered in epic fashion to a crowd enthralled. As a Molina fan who had never got to see him live, the effect was truly mesmerising as I watched songs I never imagined I would get to hear live be delivered faithfully, and with a surprising amount of the boundless energy and feeling of the originals.
Of course, the night is still inherently bittersweet. Listening to these songs, it was hard not to wish that Molina – who would be turning 53 at the end of this year were he still alive – was up there singing them. Yet, there is no doubt that those who loved Molina, worked with him and listened to him have done everything in their capacity to keep his music alive in the years since we lost him, as tonight’s showcase demonstrates.
After the set finishes, a trailer runs for a new documentary film about Molina’s life, You Fuckers Figure it Out, which has its UK premiere in October. In the trailer, one of the men featured in the film remarks: “I never knew how connected people were to his music until he was gone.” Wednesday night, then, made abundantly clear both the depth and magnitude of this connection.
