Folks like us

MacPherson and Colombino spread the wealth

by Michael Caito

Ratcheting down a few notches from last week's little rant about the effectiveness of noise in staving off apathy, this week brings two new(ish) releases by a pair of performers who address both the patently offensive and the mundane with portions of grace and charm.

Glenn MacPherson, raised in East Providence, moved to California several years ago, settling in Corralitos, a rural outpost of Santa Cruz County. The title of Mr. Fix-It Man (Tall Cedar Music 10-song CD) is telling, as his imperturbable spins on life's little "events" speak of a musician who has a slew of experience from which to draw. Having performed since age 15, one might guess that he'd be more than willing to editorialize, as many folk performers do, about why this is wrong and that needs fixin'. Hey, he's the Fix-It Man, right?

But MacPherson throws sneaky-mean curves like Aaron Sele in a groove. A refusal to kowtow to folk's more strident side leaves him examining the bare-bone stories themselves. While he can't boast of the panache of Freedy Johnston (or Prine or Earle or even popster Wallinger, for that matter), MacPherson seems attuned to the joys of understatement. Backed by a snazzy three-piece (percussionist Mike Arnone, mandolin player Steve Kritzer and lap-steel-wielding Peter Grant) he seems a younger, slightly more acidic James Taylor, though the similarities between MacPherson and JT's vocal ranges and deliveries make this one statement that this Rhody export has doubtless heard before. "Small Town" takes in a pretty front-porch view and lets the listener decide whether this cozy thrill outweighs the lack of bustle in rural life. Is it simple or simplistic?MacPherson ain't saying. "Nothing More" examines the painstaking measures we all take to assure ourselves that we need to keep changing constantly in order to grow. The closing track "Prayer" is a clever, slippered walk through tormented times when being inspired -- as the shit hits the fan -- is the last thing on our tortured minds, even when it happens over and over. It's fair proof that hindsight is not always 20-20. "My TV" is the only time MacPherson jumps out of character (and we're sufficiently warned -- "Kill it before it kills you," reads his liner note description), but even that is tempered by this obviously chummy relationship he'll honestly miss after taking a bat upside the boob tube.

Imparting an air of semi-detachment while still giving breadth to the lives of the characters is ridiculously difficult terrain for a singer-songwriter to navigate. So many do it . . . poorly. Lean too far to one side and you're in whiner territory, but by swinging the other way songs remain limp and one-dimensional, and listeners will mutter "well, if he isn't involved with these people why the hell should I be?" It's a folkie's enduring Kvetch-22, one that only the Cheryl Wheelers, Patty Larkins (and, in bluesville, the Paul Geremias) have mastered.

MacPherson's title, then, may be deliberately misleading, which is pretty shrewd, I guess. His Fix-It Man knows that when life strikes we too often waste time figuring out what to do next instead of determining precisely what just happened. It's only then, MacPherson seems to say, that we may realize we don't need a Fix-It Man at all.

Wakefield guitarist Paul Colombino, on the other hand, delights in subtler, shadowy detail on his debut Everheart (Sweet Allen Farm nine-song CD). Where MacPherson would ask why the teacup broke, Colombino would marvel at the quizzical new shapes which the broken pieces created.

On a solo instrumental record this is real risky business. Mark Davis, the guitarist familiar to many through his work with mandolinist Marilynn Mair in the Mair-Davis Duo, released winners in last year's Guitar Café. and on Zuwith the MDD. Provocative Spanish interludes butted heads with more staid, yet still-colorful classical pieces. Unearthed, obscure compositions sounded immediate and hip, and the originals had the heart of classical structure and the unrepentant soul of, gadzooks, rock and roll. Both were great.

Colombino takes his inspiration from reflection . . . on his computer's screen-saver, on reflected light swirling into the cream in his coffee, on campfire marshmallows, on what the tempestuous future holds for his young son Alex. Moments of tranquil lucidity are there, all right. Colombino can conjure a mood, fueled by both folk and classical music's sense and sensibility, and several tracks are anything but wan. Many are perfectly potable treats, but there is a sameness that becomes distracting after several spins. Sometimes it just doesn't . . . go anywhere. It's home before it leaves. Maybe I'm overstimulated, and this CD is an under-appreciated paean to the lost art of reflective relaxation. Maybe I should just, in the words of the Hudson Street marketeers, simmer down. On a frosty winter's eve Everheart will doubtless hold more interest. But it's July.

Glenn MacPherson's current tour continues at the Green Room Coffeehouse in Middleborough, MA on the 17th, Passim in Cambridge on the 27th and at CAVon the 28th.

Paul Colombino appears at the Raven's Nest in Wakefield on July 13 and 20. His CDis out July 11.

STARFISH & BARGES: Besides having created amazing cover art for friends' bands in South County, Joshua Armstrong, raised in Wakefield and now living in Brooklyn, has a long-overdue expo coming up. If you happen to be in New York next weekend (7/16 and 7/17), hit the Half Human Concert Hall in downtown Brooklyn, where from 6 to 11 p.m. Armstrong and like-minded Crooklynite artists gather for a mixed-media extravaganza. Titled Vision 21, it's hyped "so that one artist may portray his fear of the next century, while the other, her contempt for its politics." The place will probably be crawling with Manhattan curator types looking towards their future. In Armstrong's work -- overwhelming mixed-media constructs primarily utilizing metals, fiberglass and cement -- the future is disquieting, and his previous works are semi-legendary in South County. Next stop: South of Houston. If anyone can make that leap, Armstrong can. This show shall rattle your cage. RSVPto (718) 375-0412.

Wakefield Music launches its summer series this weekend with an appearance by the WRIUJazz All-Stars, featuring pianist Joe Parillo, bassist Joe Potenza and drummer Mike Connors, all of whom spin on 90.3 FM. The Mair-Davis Duo and saxophonist Art Manchester (sometimes found simmering in the horn section of the grossly underappreciated Herbal Nation) also appear on opening night, July 11. Future shows tap Harvey Reid, Northern Lights and Austin's Betty and Gene Elders. Info at 783-5390.

This October, the relocated Blackstone River Theatre will re-open its doors; an all-star fund-raiser to help defray renovation costs happens at the East Greenwich Odeum on the 19th, featuring Pendragon, Paul Geremia, Tony Cuffe, Mark Roberts, Sandol Astrausky and Mike Shorrock. Chan's has a kickin' August in Woonsocket (Dan Moretti, Geremia, Leon Redbone, Tom Rush, Geri Verdi), but sets aside a prime Friday for another BRTfund-raiser on the 8th, featuring Atwater/Donnelly, Kim Trusty, Bill Petterson, Conrad Depot, Marcel Carpentier, and Women On the Verge (Hurricane, Mary Ann Rossoni and Mary Day).

If you hear nothing else:no no miss Brooklyn Funk Essentials, perhaps the only Newport jazz band to go directly from Club Babyhead to Fort Adams. Ya been warned.