CONCERT REVIEW
Barbara Kessler
by Seth Rogovoy(NORTH ADAMS, Mass., April 23, 1997) --Barbara Kessler brought the curtain down on the Music on Main Street series at Milltown Studios with a masterful performance of her original new-folk compositions on Sunday night.
Kessler's was a stunning display of talent, virtuosity and stagecraft, all in the service of her rich catalog of songs that stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Jonatha Brooke. And by the end of the evening, the intimate crowd at the gallery-cum-performance space realized it had enjoyed a unique opportunity to see a performer of that caliber up close and personal.
Kessler's songs themselves capitalized on that sense of intimacy in their renderings of emotional crossroads and watersheds. Kessler was equally articulate outlining the emotional undertow of "Deep Country," the ominous foreboding of "That Hurricane" or the simple verity of "Happy With You."
She also invested all her songs, whether they were dark and gloomy or bright and nostalgic, with the sort of indelible musical and lyrical hooks one expects to find in pop hits and that are all too rarely found in contemporary folk songs. If more folk music was like Kessler's, it wouldn't have such a good-for-you-but-hard-to-swallow reputation.
Not that Kessler's material is ear candy -- far from it. Kessler's melodies were intricate webs spun around complex chord structures drawn variously from folk, country, jazz and R&B. Her narratives were full of well-observed detail and drama as well as an unusually sharp degree of intelligence and wit.
What was perhaps most startling about Kessler's performance -- even more than the extraordinarily high quality of her material -- was her voice. Her vocal instrument was rich and supple, and whereas many singers lose tone and dynamics when they stretch their range, particularly in the upper reaches, Kessler seemingly only gained power whenever she pushed her voice to its upper limits. Her phrasing was artful and dynamic, and she filled her lines with extra-lyrical hums and filigrees that bordered on jazz.
Almost as striking as her vocals was Kessler's guitar playing, also jazz-inflected, and combining picking, plucking and strumming for an orchestral effect. Kessler was accompanied by her trio, including five- string electric bassist Jeff St. Pierre and percussionist Phil Antoniades, who played his self-invented "groove box" consisting of a cardboard beer case, a beer can and other found objects, the sum total of which rivaled a complete trap kit for musicality. The trio functioned with the skill of a jazz group, serving the singer and the song with equal support.
It was only fitting that the Music On Main Street series, produced by DCN Entertainment, should end on this high note. Promoter David Nickerson, a North Adams State College student, deserves more than a mere round of applause for his efforts to bring top New England folk talent to downtown North Adams. Unfortunately Nickerson got a lot less than that at times from the powers-that-be in the city and at NASC, and he is relocating to Nashville, where presumably his efforts will meet with greater support. In the meantime, the owners of Milltown Studios are continuing to present their own shows at the gallery. Here's hoping some of Nickerson's energy and know-how rubbed off.
[This review originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 23, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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