Forgive this long, off topic posting, but David Wilcox deserves this explanation.
Feel free to ignore and delete...
David Wilcox is my favorite folk singer of all time, and I'll be seeing him
sunday at the Great American Music Hall if you want to join me. His
music is intricate and amazing, his words are deep with meaning and still
True without being trite, his voice is "buttery" [as one critic so eloquently
put it] and similar to James Taylor [but he kicks JT all up and down the
street! :) ]
I saw David sing for the first time at Warren Wilson college in Swannanoa
North Carolina in a little room with a handful of students. It was
not long after his first album came out -- it was the second album to come
out on that label on tape and vinyl [CDs had just started getting popular.
A CD of this album was finally released only a few years ago.] That
night, he sang "Language of the Heart" written from a letter to an old girlfriend
he'd written that morning. This song was on his second album.
His stage presence is unequaled. He *loves* what he does. He
re-tunes his guitar between every song, if you can believe that, and tells
stories while he does it. He publishes his lyrics and *tunings* on
his website.
I feel like I've grown up with him -- first happy songs of how great life
is, then sadder songs how he's lonely and getting older, then gentle songs
of getting married and raising his family. And always fun silly songs
about whatever, that he never puts on any albums, and you have to hear live.
I saw him free at WW College, then $3.50 on thursday nights at McDibbs in
Black Mountain, then he started playing friday nights, for $4, then $5, then
$7.50, then opened for the Indigo Girls when they played in Asheville, then
I went to college and saw him in Chapel Hill for $12 scalped tickets.
Then I moved out here and it's been a long, long time since I've seen him
live.
His albums just don't do him justice. Background singers and a drum
set? No, just a man on stage, who makes eye contact with you eventually.
I chanced to look at his website not long after Sept. 11, and he has an amazing
poem up there that really calmed me. I needed his words then.
BTW, I listened to "Show The Way" over and over when my yucky boyfriend broke
my heart in 1999. It's a great song that's there when you need it.
Many of his fans found solace in that song after Sept 11.
If you can't stand sappy songs, you'll probably hate him, so shut up about
it, :) but if you like music that has a message, you can't do much
better than this underappreciated songwriter. I want everyone to know
how great he is, but I also want him to remain a secret so his shows are
always intimate. And I feel this long story is necessary, because "intimate"
is the first word I'd use to describe him. I want you to feel like
you grew up with him too.
Anyway, Scott got me tickets for this sunday night at the Great American
Music Hall. Not sure if there's still tickets available, but it's general
seating, and I'd love to have people join me! I'm also determined to
visit him backstage. I have a poem for him I've been meaning to write,
that maybe I'll get done by then -- called "don't be a stranger" about how
I know him so well, but he doesn't know me at all...
http://www.musichallsf.com/tickets/index.html
Leo Kottke is playing saturday night, and if it's a choice between the two,
I'll pick David Wilcox any day.
Sorry I didn't get this out earlier, I've been so busy...
Kiki
Here's his website [ug, they just converted to flash and it's buggy -- use
the non-flash site...]:
http://davidwilcox.com
And here's one of my all-time favorite songs, which is a great intro to what
David's songs are like:
http://kiki.org/temp/03-East_Asheville_Hardware--David_Wilcox.mp3