|
|
|
CONCERT REVIEW: Joe Purdy @ World Café Live, 6/15
Folk legend Joe Purdy held it down at World Café Live Wednesday night, but it was his openers, the Milk Carton Kids, who stole the show.
CONCERT REVIEW: Joe Purdy @ World Café Live, 6/15
As a folk music lover, I often find myself stumbling when trying to describe the genre. Is it American-made music? Is it songs about typical Americana imagery? This last Wednesday, I received a little clarity when I went to see folk legend Joe Purdy at World Café Live.
Purdy looks like an Appalachian mountain man. He stuffs a handkerchief in the back pocket of his workman’s pants, sports a footlong beard, dons a crushed bowler, and rocks a red, white and blue guitar strap. If he’s going for “Americana," he’s pulling it off to a tee. In December, he released his twelfth album, This American, and has since been touring with folk-duo Milk Carton Kids. They're the ones who stole the show Wednesday night.
The duo varies in their interpretations of American folk, channeling everything from prohibition-era harmonies and '60s melancholy to modern open-throated country. One particular song, "Charlie," was written for Ken’s future, theoretical daughter. While he laughed up the circumstances of the song, there wasn't a giggle within earshot when he played it. The song, ala Paul Simon’s "Father and Daughter," had all the pride and emotion of a new parent. Jokes and emotional tunes aside, the duo’s entertaining experience kept Purdy’s tracks alive, but they mellowed while backing him during the majority of his set. As they did, so did the audience which seemed to eat up the multiplicity of genres the duo brought to their performance.
While the images of American backroads and country love songs are what make up Purdy’s brand of folk, it was refreshing to see the younger Milk Carton Kids serve up something that paid tribute to the roots of American music. Reflecting on my initial quandary, “folk” is a wide category that fits multiple genres. The important thing is to remember America’s roots, whether whether you do it visually or musically.
(megan.augustin@citypaper.net)
- Activism
- Arts
- Arts Events
- Books
- Dance
- First Person Fest
- Last Chance
- Museum
- On the Fringe
- Philly Artists
- The Curator
- Theater
- Visual Art
- Arts News
- Artist Profile
- Arts Preview
- Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- LOL With It
- Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- Film Fest
- Movie Review
- On set
- Scenester
- screening
- trailer!
- Music
- 10 Track Mind
- Album
- Album Review
- Concert Review
- DJs
- Local Support
- Now Hear This
- One Track Mind
- Philly Bands
- Show
- Somebody Else Was There
- Song
- The Showdown
- concert photos
- jazz
- DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- Coveted
- Fashion
- What We Heart
- TV
- 24
- Idol Hands
- Mad Men
- ProjRun
- True Blood
- Useless Lost Recaps
- Couch Potato
- Shore Trash
- Turned ONN
- TopMod
- Video Games
- Free Online Game
- PSP
- PlayStation 2
- The 1-Upper
- Wii
- Web Junk
- CAGE MATCH
- Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
