Show Review: Eli Gardiner at 50th & France in Edina, Minnesota
It was just another ordinary, very special Friday at 50th & France’s Music on the Plaza.
Eli Gardiner and Dan Schwartz. Photo credit: Jacson Miller.
Friday, September 8th, was my first trip to 50th & France in Edina for their Music on the Plaza series, and my first time seeing Eli Gardiner play live. I was thrilled at the prospect. Some music makes you dance, some makes you sway. Eli Gardiner’s music leaves your mind satisfied and your soul throbbing.
The band had just started their set when I arrived. Following the music, I heard Dan Schwartz’s slide guitar—it was unmistakable from my multiple listens of Gardiner’s album The Fire and the Medicine, which I’d practically worn out my streaming app listening to over the past several weeks. Schwartz is like a scientist extracting the perfect notes, tones, and vibratos from his slide and electric guitars to create an ambiance ideal for accompanying Gardiner’s honest and soulful vocals.
Dan Schwartz. Photo credit: Jacson Miller.
The set list included “Fictional Women,” which I immediately recognized from the aforementioned album, inspired by John Moreland’s use of the term in his song “Losing Sleep Tonight.” The words captured Gardiner’s attention and curiosity, as words often do for songwriters, and eventually formed the basis for this song.
Another song that jumped out at me was “Make Me Cry Again,” which will be on Gardiner’s upcoming album Transient. (He’s currently working on it and says it’ll be released this winter. I can’t wait!) I was fully intrigued by the song title. What could be behind this plea for sadness? It turns out that the answer is Laura Hugo.
In Gardiner’s words, “she’s an amazing songwriter with an amazing voice, and she has this tendency to make people cry (in the best way possible) when she plays.” He said it was from one of those “magical” nights at Nick Hensley's MN Songwriter Showcase at Plums Neighborhood Grill & Bar in St. Paul. When Laura began singing that night, “the whole bar shut the #$%# up, and … goosebumps … everyone was listening.” He said he drove home with the idea in his head, and “Make Me Cry Again” just poured out that night. On behalf of Gardiner’s grateful fans, thank you Laura Hugo for being amazing!
Eli Gardiner. Photo credit: Jacson Miller.
It was an incredible show. Afterward, I sat down with Gardiner to learn more about how he made the leap from casual songwriter to full-fledged hit-you-in-the-heart singer-songwriter. He said he was terrified of playing at first, but his desire drove him to learn to be comfortable on stage by playing three to four open mics per week for a year. He attributes this experience to helping him find his voice. Astonishingly, he said he was horrible for that first year. Whether or not his assessment of himself from that time is accurate, he’s well beyond that now.
Given Gardiner’s enthusiasm for Hensley’s event, I had to get to Plums for a songwriter showcase a couple weeks after the 50th & France show. Let’s just say … I went, I saw, I was fully Americana’d. The talent blew me away. It wasn’t what I thought of as an open mic. There was a backing band, which that night was Nick Salisbury on bass and Dan Neale on lead guitar, and some really talented and entertaining songwriters. Hensley kept the sound dialed in just right. I promised myself I would leave by 10:30, but the clock struck 11 pm as I typed this, and there was more music to go. It was a great night, and I recommend it to anyone looking for great live music.
Hensley hosts the MN Songwriter Showcase every Sunday at Plums at 8:45pm and every Wednesday at The Aster Cafe in Minneapolis.
More photos from 50th & France (all by Jacson Miller)
Listen to “Fictional Women”
Jacson Miller. Photo courtesy of the author.
Jacson Miller is a huge fan of great Americana music and the songwriters who create it. He is a passionate supporter of equity in education and youth development as a Board Member of the nonprofit ‘Search Institute’. A long-time resident of Minneapolis, he grew up in southern Indiana, has a Business degree from Purdue University, an MBA from Duke University, and loves being a dad, playing guitar, and songwriting.
