Faithful readers (or readers with really good timing) will be
familiar with my love for folk singer Dar Williams. I checked my concert spreadsheet (I'm not kidding, I actually have one; it only goes back three years, but still) I realized that I have seen Dar six times in four different states and six different theaters since 2014. In 2014 she was celebrating the 20th anniversary of her album "The Honesty Room" which included songs like
When I was a Boy, The Babysitter's Here and
Flinty Kind of Woman. In 2015, when I saw her (with Mouths of Babes) in Ann Arbor, she was promoting her newest album "Emerald" which I really love with
Mad River, Johnny Appleseed and
Something to Get Through. On this tour she was playing her second album "Mortal City" in its entirety, featuring some great singalongs, including a Midwest favorite
Iowa, the anthemic
As Cool as I Am, and just in time for the holidays
The Christians and the Pagans. Dar had three supporting musicians, the familiar Bryn Roberts on keyboards and backing vocals (I think Bryn has been at every show I have seen in the past three years); John (sorry, I do not remember the last names of John or Matt) on guitars and mandolin; Matt on drums. I love Dar just with her guitar or Bryn on keyboards, but there is definitely a big kick to songs like
Iowa and
As Cool as I Am with the drums and extra guitar (Dar plays and tunes her own acoustic guitar). I wasn't as familiar with some songs, so they were a nice surprise, including
The Blessings, Family and the pro-hemp (?) song
The Pointless, Yet Poignant, Crisis of a Co-Ed. Dar is a troubadour, telling the stories about the songs, often sharing some very personal detail, sometimes awkward, sometimes deeply reflective, often funny. This personal, intimate commentary comes out in the banter as well as the lyrics. She's very quick on her feet, and has a great memory of the different cities and venues she has played, and her audience shares that, like the time she said the Missouri River ran through Minnesota, and many in the audience remembered that (sadly, I was not there). She also forgot the words to
Southern California wants to be Western New York (I'm pretty sure it was this song, please correct me), and the band just waited for her to get there, as did we. Dar also seems to have a never-ending battle tuning her guitar, which can lead her into some funny commentary. I wanted more music, she has such a vast catalog, and so many songs I love to hear live. Backstage was another favorite, and a friend of Dar's, Gary Louris. I had a teeny hope that he would come out and play a song, but he did not :( Dar's concerts and audiences are so uplifting and a positive experience, something much needed after last week; the concerts remind me of the Indigo Girls.
The Babysitter's Here (not me singing)
Dar has had some great opening acts over the years like Angel Snow, Haley Bonar, Mouths of Babes, and tonight she had a local Twin Cities author read one of her short stories. Lesley Nneka Arimah, originally from Nigeria, came onstage and read from her 2017 collection
What It Means When a Man Falls Out of the Sky. It was a pretty heavy story (Arimah mentioned that her stories tend to be mostly about death and mortality) about the complex relationship a young woman had with her parents, especially her dead mother. I think the audience liked it, but it was not what we were expecting (from comments I heard). I'm not big into spoken word, either sing to me or let me read, but I appreciated the story's twist and look forward to reading the book.
I had never been to the Cedar Cultural Center before; I hate driving in Minneapolis, those turns seem to come out of the blue; one wrong turn and I could be back on the freeway. I'm glad I took a test drive on Sunday and had some idea where I was going.
The Cedar is a non-profit venue for all ages that hosts all kinds of musical/dance events, from folk events to global to electronic music. It is very much a part of the community. There probably isn't a bad seat in the house, I was just 5 rows back on the left side and had a fabulous view of the stage. The sound (for Dar's show, at least) was really good, and I would go back for another show.
We did have a funny post-election moment as we were waiting for the doors to open. A car drove by, and young black man yelled out of the window "F*&* Donald Trump! F*&^ Donald Trump!" and kept going. We were all kind of shocked, only because Dar's audience leans heavily liberal/progressive, so, as one of the people in line said, we weren't going to disagree. It was kind of funny.
