Kristin Hersh & Jon Muq – The Tuning Fork: March 21, 2025
24 hours after enthralling a nearly-full house at The Vic in Devonport, Kristin Hersh was back on stage in Auckland, this time at The Tuning Fork and this time, sharing the bill with Jon Muq.
Who is Jon Muq?
Spend an hour with Muq (pronounced mook) as we did last night, and you get his life story. The 32-year old was born and raised in Uganda and now lives in Austin, Texas where he records for Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye label, having released his debut album, Flying Away (produced by Auerbach) last May.
Muq is a keen storyteller, both in song and spoken. In fact, I’d guess that close to half of the time Muq was on stage was spent telling us his story…discovering music as a teenager when he sees We Are The World on a friend’s telly, to learning to play to guitar, to singing for homeless children, to being hired to perform on a cruise ship to being discovered by Auerbach after posting a video of his “custom-made” version of The Beatles’ Blackbird.
Muq is a genuinely genial public speaker, his rich Ugandan accent, his self-effacing manner and his cheery demeanor bring the audience immediately on his side as he tells us about googling, “How to live with white people”, and the first time he is left alone in a house where Amazon’s Alexa suddenly speaks to him, convincing him the place is haunted.
But what about the music?
Muq tells us that Flying Away is “an album of happy songs” and songs like Always As One and Hello Sunshine are indeed upbeat and optimistic as would be the case of a man who came from a place where, “to eat chicken, you have to catch it”, and now finding he can buy Wings by the hundreds.
Muq is a fine singer and guitar player…his voice is warm and reassuring. Occasionally the music takes on a slightly dark undertone such as on A Big Smile, written after his frustrating experience waiting out COVID in Texas.
We are treated to 10 original songs, one of them, Belong, is brand new. If there is any criticism, it may be that they lack variety…all sounding a bit samey.
But Jon Muq has overcome quite a bit to get to where he is today and I have no doubt that he will eventually work some musically diversity into his songwriting and performing. Perhaps a band would help to that end.
Kristin Hersh must have been watching from the wings.
“A tough act to follow” she states after beginning her set with Eyeshine and Kay Catherine.
Compared to last night at The Vic, Hersh seems just a tad bit less confident than she was when she was the only name on the marquee.
But only someone who was at both shows would have noticed the subtle difference in mood.
Instead of two 45 minute sets, tonight we get one lasting about 80 minutes. The set lists are similar but not identical…
New tonight are Sundrops and Shaky Blue Can, which is when the intensity in Hersh’s delivery starts to grow.
Like last night we got three readings from her books…the same excerpts…but we also got to hear Slippershell, a Throwing Muses number that had some of us thinking about Nirvana, thanks to a guitar line that would have sounded right at home on In Utero.
Speaking of Throwing Muses, they have a new album, Moonlight Concessions, just out (watch Kristin Hersh talk about it with The 13th Floor here) and there is talk of Hersh returning to NZ later this year with the band for another series of dates.
Meanwhile, Kristin Hersh plays two more shows…tonight in Christchurch and tomorrow in Wellington. Jon Muq is also in the bill in Wellington. Check them out…you won’t be disappointed.
Marty Duda
Kristin Hersh setlist:
- Eyeshine
- Kay Catherine
- Mississippi Kite
- Flooding
- Krait
- Gazebo Tree
- Reflections On The Motive Power
- City Of The Dead
- Your Ghost
- Sundrops
- Shaky Blue Can
- Bywater
- Bo Diddley Bridge
- Teeth
- Sunray Venus
- Slippershell
- Palmetto
- The Cuckoo
- Your Dirty Answer
Jon Muq setlist:
- Always As One
- Flying Away From Home
- Silver And Gold
- Dark Door
- Runaway
- Riding
- Belong
- A Big Smile Bend
- Hello Sunshine
