Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson don't need each other, exactly. The music they make together as Plains isn't better than, or even particularly different from, the music they make individually. And Plains certainly don't have a bigger draw than Crutchfield's project Waxahatchee, who played the larger Danforth Music Hall just a few months before this Axis Club appearance.
But there's something encouraging about the fact that, coming out of pandemic lockdowns and at a precarious time for touring, the two have combined their efforts, choosing collaboration over individualism. It seems to be about human connection rather than money or even art.
The duo's Toronto performance exuded warmth and coziness — something that came across in their radiant harmonies, the faux flowers wrapped around the mic stands, and the fact that they opened their set with the bright and breezy "Summer Sun." It was a welcome respite from the first snowfall of the year, which was still drifting down on slushy College Street outside; Crutchfield was even wearing a summer dress to complete the illusion that Plains had turned back the seasons.
Throughout the set, which lasted a little longer than an hour, Crutchfield and Williamson traded off on lead vocals, going pretty much song-for-song, with whoever was singing lead playing acoustic guitar and the other standing by for harmonies. They were backed by four players who ably handled the twangy, country-folk arrangements of this year's I Walked You a Ways (although, from where I was standing near the front, I couldn't hear the keyboards in the slightest).
Williamson has a sweet, lilting voice that's precise and undeniably nice-sounding — but in this format, it was Crutchfield's harsher voice that stood out, her brassy timbre scuffed with dirt and lending a sense of raw authenticity to her self-searching lyrics. Williamson has a more easygoing stage presence, singing with a smile and miming out some of the lyrics, compared with Crutchfield's more muted, floor-gazing performance.
The pair each dipped into their solo catalogues, as Williamson led "Wind on Tin" from Sorceress and Crutchfield earned big cheers with the Saint Cloud cuts "Can't Do Much" and "Lilacs." They even played a couple of new solo songs, with Williamson previewing her bouncing new cut "Hunter" and Crutchfield bringing out opener MJ Lenderman to sing backup on a brand-new Waxahatchee number, the characteristically yearning "Right Back to It."
It was a little less than jam-packed in the Axis Club, but those who were there seemed to know every word and sang along (with roughly a third of the fans doing so through their masks). The singalongs were particularly pronounced on the very Saint Cloud-like "Hurricane," which saw Williamson picking up a banjo and Crutchfield coming out of her shell to serenade the crowd from the edge of the stage.
The crowd even knew the words to the Chicks, as a cover of "Goodbye Earl" closed the show. Though the song's upsetting lyrics concern domestic abuse and murder, Plains delivered it with gusto, ending the night with joyous harmonies and classic country hooks. It was bright and sunny enough that it almost made the subsequent trudge through the snow a little less miserable. Almost.
But there's something encouraging about the fact that, coming out of pandemic lockdowns and at a precarious time for touring, the two have combined their efforts, choosing collaboration over individualism. It seems to be about human connection rather than money or even art.
The duo's Toronto performance exuded warmth and coziness — something that came across in their radiant harmonies, the faux flowers wrapped around the mic stands, and the fact that they opened their set with the bright and breezy "Summer Sun." It was a welcome respite from the first snowfall of the year, which was still drifting down on slushy College Street outside; Crutchfield was even wearing a summer dress to complete the illusion that Plains had turned back the seasons.
Throughout the set, which lasted a little longer than an hour, Crutchfield and Williamson traded off on lead vocals, going pretty much song-for-song, with whoever was singing lead playing acoustic guitar and the other standing by for harmonies. They were backed by four players who ably handled the twangy, country-folk arrangements of this year's I Walked You a Ways (although, from where I was standing near the front, I couldn't hear the keyboards in the slightest).
Williamson has a sweet, lilting voice that's precise and undeniably nice-sounding — but in this format, it was Crutchfield's harsher voice that stood out, her brassy timbre scuffed with dirt and lending a sense of raw authenticity to her self-searching lyrics. Williamson has a more easygoing stage presence, singing with a smile and miming out some of the lyrics, compared with Crutchfield's more muted, floor-gazing performance.
The pair each dipped into their solo catalogues, as Williamson led "Wind on Tin" from Sorceress and Crutchfield earned big cheers with the Saint Cloud cuts "Can't Do Much" and "Lilacs." They even played a couple of new solo songs, with Williamson previewing her bouncing new cut "Hunter" and Crutchfield bringing out opener MJ Lenderman to sing backup on a brand-new Waxahatchee number, the characteristically yearning "Right Back to It."
It was a little less than jam-packed in the Axis Club, but those who were there seemed to know every word and sang along (with roughly a third of the fans doing so through their masks). The singalongs were particularly pronounced on the very Saint Cloud-like "Hurricane," which saw Williamson picking up a banjo and Crutchfield coming out of her shell to serenade the crowd from the edge of the stage.
The crowd even knew the words to the Chicks, as a cover of "Goodbye Earl" closed the show. Though the song's upsetting lyrics concern domestic abuse and murder, Plains delivered it with gusto, ending the night with joyous harmonies and classic country hooks. It was bright and sunny enough that it almost made the subsequent trudge through the snow a little less miserable. Almost.
