When my good friend Colin asked me to go to a bluegrass show with him, I figured "why not;" at the very least, it would be a nice change of pace and a chance to get out of my normal routine for a night.
In his efforts to persuade me, he sent over a quote from a recent review which read: "he sings like he's been sleeping in a roadside ditch for years – and enjoys it."
OK, that sold me. Though skeptical, I was in.
Music has never been my forte. I like it, I listen to it, I have a couple of favorite groups but if you asked me to identify the artist or genre ... well, I'm stumped. I do, though, like a little bit of everything so I was excited to go see Graham Lindsey Tuesday night at Linneman's Riverwest Inn.
A little bit of pre-show research allowed me to discover a Wisconsin native, living now in Montana, who sings from the soul. That was good enough for me.
His set Tuesday was free of the inane banter that usually drives me nuts during a live show. It was all music, free of political statements, pointless small talk and rambling anecdotes.
For about 90 minutes, it was just Lindsey, his guitar, his harmonica and, occasionally, his banjo. He used those three simple instruments (along with his wife, Tina, on snare drum) to reach into the depths of a soul, revealing a guy who's been to hell and back (if you buy into lyrics) and lived to tell about it.
His music is, for lack of a better term, primal. There was nothing premeditated about it. It was honest. It was revealing. It was simple.
I could hear subtle hints of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits – musicians I've been told over the years that I'd really like (I do) – but there was little doubt that the words and sentiments were Lindsey's own. It was an overall feeling of "genuine;" he didn't write songs just for the sake of writing songs, they were his words, his feelings, his emotions. Natural and genuine.
If I were a true "music guy," I could probably come up with some fancy way to describe the sounds I was hearing. But I'm not and I can't. What I can tell you, though, is that for about 90 minutes Tuesday night, Lindsey kept me entertained.
When it comes to music, that's enough for me.
