Midway through his set of standards (with a couple of shiny new gems thrown in), veteran popster Marshall Crenshaw glanced around at his onstage cohorts (Diego Voglino on steady drums and bassist Byron Isaacs) and mused, "We’re like Cream up here tonight."
A trio is a trio, but the (perhaps unintentional yet) deeper meaning of his wry comment probably wasn’t lost on many of the longtime Marshall fans seated—sedate yet enthralled—at the Saturday evening show; who amongst us hasn’t thought, "Marshall is one of the best songwriters on the planet, so why doesn’t everyone know him?"
A mainstay in any knowledgeable music critic’s eternal Top 10, Crenshaw’s fate has nearly always been that of a “musician’s favorite”—not that that’s a bad thing. His songs have been covered by countless other singers. He’s had a top 40 single. He was nominated for a 2007 Golden Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for “Walk Hard – The Dewey Cox Story.” But as a fan, it’s always maddening to speak glowingly of Marshall to most people and get a vacant stare in return. All we can do is shake our heads, feel sad for those unfortunates, and continue to enjoy his shows and music.
The Center for the Arts in Natick venue—a beautifully converted historic (c.1875) firehouse—suited Marshall’s performance, intimate enough to allow the audience to appreciate the soul and feeling in his words and music, yet airy enough to let the rock ring out.
About half of Crenshaw’s gigs these days find him seated and acoustic, so it was pure pleasure and a kick to see Marshall upright and wailing away with the band. His languid playing style makes his intricate notes and runs on the guitar look and seem way easier than they are. Always affable and in touch with the crowd, Marshall proves you can be a music god yet retain some humility: at one point in the show he waved to his gear guy to bring him a different guitar. The gear guy’s face showed that it wasn’t time for the change, but Marshall waved again. After the switch took place, Marshall glanced at the set list, shuffled humbly to the mic and announced to the crowd, “Hey, it wasn’t time for a guitar change!” He then covered his slip by straying from the set list to play a song that matched his guitar.
Marshall Crenshaw’s next area appearance is Friday, March 21st, at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA. Check him out and get to the show.
Leading off the show was veteran Massachusetts rocker Dennis Brennan. Brennan's physical "Bob Dylan/Tom Waits" appearance carried over to his music. He played a variety of tunes ranging from upbeat to mournful and back again while picking and strumming artfully on acoustic guitar. Many of the tunes appear on his newest recording, "Engagement," just released on the Hi & Dry record label.
Set List:
01. Fantastic Planet Of Love
02. There She Goes Again
03. 2541
04. Someone Told Me
05. Whenever You’re On My Mind
06. Just Passing Through
07. What Do You Dream Of?
08. Alone in a Room
09. You’re My Favorite Waste of Time
10. Dime a Dozen Guy
11. Maryanne
12. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
13. Someday, Someway
14. The Spell Is Broken
15. Long and Complicated
16. Valerie
Encore:
17. Cynical Girl
18. Television Light
