REVEREND Kristin Michael Hayter at (Le) Poisson Rouge, NYC: 01-26-2024

One of my favorite releases of last year was the debut recording "Saved" by singer-songwriter-performer, Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter. Until late 2023, she worked under the name Lingua Ignota and I was aware of her work thru multiple fascinating albums from that project. Hayter, both then and now, is an intense figure on the stage that nakedly explores her life experiences, which are often traumatic and somewhat devastating, in a fully committed and impassioned way that can be frightening to witness. As a means of putting her past away and moving on from the work she made under her previous name, Hayter adopted this moniker to starting fresh by discarding her former tortured persona. 

One of the things I was especially curious to see going into this show was how Hayter would realize the damaged, glitchy aspects of "Saved!" in a live setting. The prepared piano took center stage just like on the recording and we received a 90 minute journey of a set that called on pieces from "Saved!" as well as some other carefully placed covers like the Dolly Parton classic "Jolene". Hayter reminded me of several of my favorite folk and experimental solo performers with her style. It was as if I was watching Appalachian folklorist Jean Richie go thru a Diamanda Galas-inspired turn of style though the inverse would be fitting too. Other performers which came to mind were Barbera Dane, Nick Cave and Maggie Roche. 

The show began sneakily with Hayter singing an acapella rendition of the Louvin Brothers' "The Christian Life" while preparing her piano with various objects including chains and clips. She walked in a circle doing this on a tiny platform stage in the center of the sold-out space. There were flowers too. LOTS of flowers. The audience was encouraged to take wreathes of these flowers home once the show was over. It was a "happening" in the strictest phenomenological sense. 

My impressions during songs like "Nothing But The Blood" felt like I was witnessing a sun-soaked, vintage infomercial for Red Cross missionaries soliciting funds. It was amazing to take in the sound of this show and not being able to parse out the seams between antique aesthetics and the confident voice of an artist bearing their soul with modern, more extreme sensibilities of sound. Each piece was more engrossing than the last. I often felt like I was levitating by the midpoint of the show with Hayter's songs becoming increasingly spelllike. Sometimes, Hayter closed songs with frenzied glossalia as if she became possessed by a brooding family of invisible spectres. A personal highlight for me was "May This Comfort and Protect You" which featured a  breathtakingly spare arrangement while demonstrating just how much command and range  Hayter's voice and stage presence can be with just a piano and microphone at her disposal. A funereal blues setting of "The Wayfaring Stranger" had a similar effect on me in this regard as did her version of the Blind Willie Johnson piece "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole" which featured absolutely sublime melodies, dense harmony and paced arranging. 

There were some moments though where Hayter tastefully leaned into electronic manipulation, like the swelling feedback used to brilliant effect in "I Am With You Always". This song, as well as her version of "Idumea", had Hayter stacking vocal harmonies like a winding stairs up the tower of Babel. Moments like this were well woven into the language of the show without being distractions. From beginning to end, her voice soothed and enveloped like a velvet blanket making the venue feel like a refuge from the world for a little while. I highly encourage you to take in a performance by Hayter should you be given the opportunity. Please find a video exercpt of the show below.