Man In The Sand
Billy Bragg
Hamer Hall
October 19, 2012
Listening to either volume of Mermaid Avenue takes me right back to driving around Atlanta in my little Corolla. I can still see the streets of Decatur, and the awesome Decatur CD record store, where I could easily while away hours. Mermaid Avenue was the result of the collaboration between Billy Bragg and Wilco (who for many years I assumed was Billy Bragg's 'backup' band, wtf?) in the late 90s. Woody Guthrie, who along with the likes of Pete Seeger, was amongst the earliest folk/protest singers, left literally thousands of songs written, with no music. As he didn't read or write music, all the tunes to his lyrics were in his head, hence when he left this world, so did the music. His daughter, Nora Guthrie, commissioned Billy Bragg and Wilco to put a selection of these words to music.
Bragg's knowledge of Woody Guthrie and the times in which he lived is encyclopaedic. Much of this is probably in part due to sifting through the vast volume of Guthrie's words, which speak of a time where banks were taking people's homes away ("I Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore"), blacks were getting lynched by white supremacists ("Slipknot"), and illegals were being deported just for being poor ("Deportees"). Many of these songs are prescient, being just as relevant now as they were when they were written about 70 years ago. 2012 marks what would have been the year of Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday, so much has been made of the many commemorative events around the globe marking this occasion. The newly renovated Hamer Hall seemed an unusual venue for a show relying on one man and his guitar. I know I've previously been to gigs where I've come away feeling educated, and this was one of them. Billy Bragg and Woody Guthrie have a lot in common, each an astute commentator on the times in which they live(d). A lot of Guthrie's material relates to what was going on during the U.S. Dust Bowl (so called because of the severe dust storms that wreaked havoc on farming land during the drought) era, socially and politically. His writing is straightforward and direct, but it sure helps to have it put into context anyway - even when you realise that you've missed the point of several tunes you thought you understood ("Way Over Yonder In A Minor Key", "Ingrid Bergman").
Even though Billy Bragg's voice is distinctly British, this doesn't detract from songs about particularly American issues like segregation and the Ku Klux Klan. His enthusiasm is only saved from being over-the-top by how well he understands Guthrie's life and times, and how much of a trail blazer he was. Coming to think of it, the night reminded me a lot of Tex Perkins in The Man In Black and how he tells Johnny Cash's life story through his music. It's a tribute, as well as a biography. Even "Another Man Done Gone" worked (the version where Jeff Tweedy sings it is fantastic so it's stiff competition), written by Guthrie once the symptoms of his Huntington's Disease have begun to set in. I don't know if there's a recording of it anywhere, but towards the end of the night, Bragg mentioned that Woody Guthrie had written a number of children's songs - a far cry from his protests and activism. One of them, "Dry Bed", is all about a little boy (maybe little Woody?) who's taking great pride in no longer wetting the bed. Although the subject matter is a little unusual, there aren't many people who could coax an entire audience to sing along - it helps that it's really catchy, and the words make it very easy to identify with the boy in the song. I also don't know if Billy Bragg has ever had a "day job", or if he's always been in the music industry. I can picture him being a great public school teacher. Songs like his can serve several different purposes - to vent, agitate or educate. He does the latter really well.
Hamer Hall
October 19, 2012
Listening to either volume of Mermaid Avenue takes me right back to driving around Atlanta in my little Corolla. I can still see the streets of Decatur, and the awesome Decatur CD record store, where I could easily while away hours. Mermaid Avenue was the result of the collaboration between Billy Bragg and Wilco (who for many years I assumed was Billy Bragg's 'backup' band, wtf?) in the late 90s. Woody Guthrie, who along with the likes of Pete Seeger, was amongst the earliest folk/protest singers, left literally thousands of songs written, with no music. As he didn't read or write music, all the tunes to his lyrics were in his head, hence when he left this world, so did the music. His daughter, Nora Guthrie, commissioned Billy Bragg and Wilco to put a selection of these words to music.
Bragg's knowledge of Woody Guthrie and the times in which he lived is encyclopaedic. Much of this is probably in part due to sifting through the vast volume of Guthrie's words, which speak of a time where banks were taking people's homes away ("I Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore"), blacks were getting lynched by white supremacists ("Slipknot"), and illegals were being deported just for being poor ("Deportees"). Many of these songs are prescient, being just as relevant now as they were when they were written about 70 years ago. 2012 marks what would have been the year of Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday, so much has been made of the many commemorative events around the globe marking this occasion. The newly renovated Hamer Hall seemed an unusual venue for a show relying on one man and his guitar. I know I've previously been to gigs where I've come away feeling educated, and this was one of them. Billy Bragg and Woody Guthrie have a lot in common, each an astute commentator on the times in which they live(d). A lot of Guthrie's material relates to what was going on during the U.S. Dust Bowl (so called because of the severe dust storms that wreaked havoc on farming land during the drought) era, socially and politically. His writing is straightforward and direct, but it sure helps to have it put into context anyway - even when you realise that you've missed the point of several tunes you thought you understood ("Way Over Yonder In A Minor Key", "Ingrid Bergman").
Even though Billy Bragg's voice is distinctly British, this doesn't detract from songs about particularly American issues like segregation and the Ku Klux Klan. His enthusiasm is only saved from being over-the-top by how well he understands Guthrie's life and times, and how much of a trail blazer he was. Coming to think of it, the night reminded me a lot of Tex Perkins in The Man In Black and how he tells Johnny Cash's life story through his music. It's a tribute, as well as a biography. Even "Another Man Done Gone" worked (the version where Jeff Tweedy sings it is fantastic so it's stiff competition), written by Guthrie once the symptoms of his Huntington's Disease have begun to set in. I don't know if there's a recording of it anywhere, but towards the end of the night, Bragg mentioned that Woody Guthrie had written a number of children's songs - a far cry from his protests and activism. One of them, "Dry Bed", is all about a little boy (maybe little Woody?) who's taking great pride in no longer wetting the bed. Although the subject matter is a little unusual, there aren't many people who could coax an entire audience to sing along - it helps that it's really catchy, and the words make it very easy to identify with the boy in the song. I also don't know if Billy Bragg has ever had a "day job", or if he's always been in the music industry. I can picture him being a great public school teacher. Songs like his can serve several different purposes - to vent, agitate or educate. He does the latter really well.
posted by yossarian | 6:48 PM
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