On this particular evening in cool, rainy Seattle, this odd amalgamation of people gathered together in a dark Ballard bar eager to hear some good songs, and ready to yodel.
Knowing a thing or two about Dan’s repertoire, and having seen him live before on several occasions, I must say his show hasn’t changed much. But in the world of Folk music, where the onus is on upholding tradition, that can be a very good thing. Bob Dylan is proof of the fact that Folksingers who pursue new directions with backup Rock bands and changes in “image” face the possibility of being misunderstood.
Despite the Dylanesque tone his voice may often slide into during his longer, more traditionalist songs like “Talkin Bob Woody Bruce Dan Blues” (which he enthusiastically and comically performed to a well-receiving crowd), Dan has managed to stick to the same basic aesthetic.
Dan Bern's Sharp Wit
The show kicked off with Dan talking away about commercials and cracking jokes about songwriters who sell their music to advertising companies. After speculating about the few products he may consider selling songs for, he easily turned the crowd into a pack of giggly warblers.
Clearly one of Dan Bern’s biggest attributes as a performer is his ability to instantly bond with his audience, a quality so many performers strive for. This was not a show featuring a guy on a stage telling stories to an organized group of audience members. It was more of an ongoing conversation between one man and his hundred or so friends who he hasn’t seen in a while.
His banter ran through everything from a story about a woman blasting NASCAR for continuing despite the current gas crisis, to directing bastardized Shakespearean quotes at the cow skull hanging from the wall at the rear of the stage.
Yodelay-hee-hoo
I knew Dan had a fierce command of the harmonica, but I never quite realized his adeptness at yodeling. I’m not sure if every Dan Bern show these days turns into a yodelfest, but this show certainly did.
During one point, he encouraged the audience to yodel with him, he said, as though the audience were in some other room somewhere, and the people in front of the stage were really his backup choir. The result was the loudest, most enthusiastic yodeling I’ve ever heard at a Folk Rock show. Perhaps the most endearing moment at a Folk show since DaVinci’s Notebook got thousands of people at Falcon Ridge into a giant conga line.
Shining Moments
Dan pulled out quite a bit of new material at this show, most of which was just as fantastic as ever. As for the songs we all know and love, the biggest highlights of the night were “I Need You,” “Chelsea Hotel” (when he confessed his adoration for being able to start a song and be met with immediate applause, the audience complied … which made him forget the words and have to start over), and “Talkin Woody, Bob, Bruce & Dan Blues” (I think maybe his Bruce Springsteen impression is almost a little too scarily believable).
