KIRSTEN THIEN
LIVE SOLO FROM THE MEISENFREI BLUES CLUB
SCREEN DOOR RECORDS SDR 0003
HOLD ONTO ME–A WOMAN KNOWS–THANK YOU (FOR SAYING GOODBYE)–YOU’VE GOT ME–WILD WOMEN DON’T HAVE THE BLUES–THE SWEET LOST AND FOUND–AIN’T THAT THE TRUTH–IT TAKES A LOT TO LAUGH, IT TAKES A TRAIN TO CRY–PLEASE DRIVE–LEAVING LAS VEGAS–NOBODY’S EVER LOVED ME LIKE YOU DO–WOMEN BE WISE–FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE–I’D RATHER BE BLIND–AIN’T NO SUNSHINE/THE THRILL IS GONE (MEDLEY)
Kirsten Thien is the consummate blueswoman. She can lure you in with a come-hither lyric or guitar lick, then “kick you outta the house if you don’t act right!” Add in her amazing guitar chops, and she is the complete package. Her fourth album is entitled “Kirsten Thien Live Solo From The Meisenfrei Blues Club” in Bremen, Germany, recorded on a rainy October 30, 2012. This historic venue is known for its raucous, hard-rockin’ crowds for full-band concerts, but, as this evening progressed, Kirsten had ’em eating out of her hand.
The show was just Kirsten, and was a totally-acoustic affair–literally a woman and the blues. She drew from her previous three albums over the sixteen originals, as well as several choice covers that fit the context of the evening perfectly.
For a love song or for expressing one’s feelings thru her music, Kirsten is as good as there is in contemporary blues. Listen as she woos a lover to choose her over a night with his guy friends in the leadoff “Hold Onto Me.”‘ Realizing that sometimes you are better off after a relationship goes south is the theme of “Thank You (For Saying Goodbye),” while “The Sweet Lost And Found” refers to that special place that one can go to find solace during a difficult journey. “Please Drive” is a sultry story of youthful lust, originally recorded with Hubert Sumlin on guitar.
We preferred that wilder, lusty side of her for our favorites. She encourages audience participation in “Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues,” (altho even Kirsten misses the clever harp fills from Billy Gibson on the original of this one!), and preaches playin’ it close to the vest in Sippie Wallace’s “Womem Be Wise, and don’t advertise your man!” She closes with a stirring six-minute medley of “Ain’t No Sunshine/The Thrill Is Gone,” and, by then, the crowd belongs to her.
For a Georgetown University Business School grad who chose the blues over Wall Street, Kirsten Thien has enjoyed quite a thrill ride. Her clever use of romantic imagery mixed with her unabashedly-vivacious, playful side makes this “wild woman” of the blues a pure joy to listen to. Enjoy “Live Solo From The Meisenfrei Blues Club” today!! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow.
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