Dar Williams

[Reileen]

Dar Williams on good ol' Wikipedia

Has anyone else heard her stuff? Is anyone else here a fan? I'm fond of her songs "February" and "Are You Out There", which are the two songs that my friend gave me to introduce me to Williams' work. I also have her "End of the Summer" album, which is where "Are You Out There" is from, but I haven't been struck (yet) by any of the other songs.

[Steve]

Dar's the reason I'm a Vienna fan! We first saw Dar eleven years ago, and I'm still on an email forum discussing her music. One day someone mentioned this other artist we might like, and I checked her out. So glad I did, as Vienna and Dar have so much in common.

Both are amazing songwriters - more storytellers in some ways. Both are incredible musicians with beautiful yet unique voices. Both are hilarious in their concert banter, connecting with their audience like few others. Both come across as real people off stage, whether in meet-and-greets or in other situations. Both are very smart women, and both are beautiful in so many ways. My two favorite musicians, if you hadn't guessed!

[Fred]

Dar Williams on good ol' Wikipedia

Has anyone else heard her stuff? Is anyone else here a fan? I'm fond of her songs "February" and "Are You Out There", which are the two songs that my friend gave me to introduce me to Williams' work. I also have her "End of the Summer" album, which is where "Are You Out There" is from, but I haven't been struck (yet) by any of the other songs.

Sometimes a good artist with a lot to say will have one song that just reaches thru the speakers and pulls you in. For me, it was Are You Out There for Dar, and Gravity for Vienna. Dig deeper, and there's lots more where that came from, maybe not as flashy, but great. For a Vienna fan, I would say Dar's second-latest record, The Beauty of the Rain, might be the best place to start. And it's one that wants to be listened through, not song by song. Dar and Vienna are both hyper-intelligent, extra-literate songwriters, but remember they come from different places, musically speaking. Dar is definitely grounded in the Joan Baez/Joni Mitchell folkie/singer-songwriter school, and Vienna comes from somewhere else (classical?). I think if you take Dar for what she is, and give her most sympathetic material a good listen, you may come away liking her more. Good listening!

[Folkfan]

Has anyone else heard her stuff? Is anyone else here a fan? I'm fond of her songs "February" and "Are You Out There", which are the two songs that my friend gave me to introduce me to Williams' work. I also have her "End of the Summer" album, which is where "Are You Out There" is from, but I haven't been struck (yet) by any of the other songs.[/quote]

I started into the world of folk music with the Nields, then discovered Dar..BTW..She is headlining Solarfest this weekend, in Tinmouth, VT, check it out at www.Solarfest.org..... I'd suggest listening to some of Dar's older stuff from the Mortal City CD; songs, such as "Iowa" and "The Christians and the Pagans". Honesty Room is another good CD, good to listen through, as opposed to listening to certain songs...that's the way I like to hear a CD..it's kind of "old school", but I think that's the way an artist intended a CD to be heard...these days, people seem only to hear, the big hit song, on MTV, or buy it on iTunes, or hear it in a commerical, or ringtone. Does it seem like we no longer have an attention span that can last 45 minutes...???
Folkfan

[Folkfan]

In my last post, I just want to clarify, like Fred...of listening through a CD, or for me, just to listen to the entire CD:

" And it's one that wants to be listened through, not song by song."

I just want to be clear that I was not making any negative comment to Reileen about listening to single songs, instead of the whole CD. I have to thank many friends who have given me compilation CD's of single songs of some amazing performers, thus, introducing me to some really great music. Thanks!

[Fred]

Ah, Folkfan, you make me feel my age! It's funny, but this business of a CD (or, before that, an LP) being thought of as a single, unified work that should be heard through wasn't always the case. When I first started listening to folk (and other) music, the medium of choice was the 45-rpm single. (And the major folk artists were the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary; later, Joan Baez and "Bobby" Dylan.) We would make up our own perfect sequences of songs by stacking the 45's on the spindle of a record changer -- just like making playlists on an iPod! When LP's first became popular, they were just collections of songs in no special order, with the better ones on side 1 and the others on side 2. The idea of the LP as an extended work with musical continuity came later, and didn't really get widely accepted until 1967 (Sgt. Pepper's). I guess that's old old school! Of course, the urge to make your own perfect sequence never went away. Between the stack of 45's and the iPod, we made mix cassettes, but that was much more tedious than either of the other 2 ways.

Anyway, the Nields are a great example of a current group in close touch with the spirit of folk from wayback, but still crossing over to get airplay on non-folk stations, and so are the Kennedys, if you know them. Dar is more adventurous and eclectic. (Especially lately, which has ticked off some of her longtime fans, but that's why I suggested a later Dar CD for Vienna fans -- Vienna's great, but not folky IMHO.) All of these folk artists are great, in my book, but Dar's music speaks more directly to me, more often. By the way, those who like Dar might like Richard Shindell, another extremely literate songwriter. Do you know his music?

Take care,
Fred

[Steve]

I know you weren't asking me, Fred, but I've got to jump in. I love the lyrics of both Dar and Vienna. But few musicians' songs make me stop and really listen nearly every time as do Richard Shindell's. Many of my all-time favorite song phrases are in his songs, and several never fail to make me stop and appreciate them each time I hear them. And as with Dar and Vienna, he's a wonderful musician, singer and person, as well. Just not as cute!

[Fred]

I know you weren't asking me, Fred, but I've got to jump in. I love the lyrics of both Dar and Vienna. But few musicians' songs make me stop and really listen nearly every time as do Richard Shindell's. Many of my all-time favorite song phrases are in his songs, and several never fail to make me stop and appreciate them each time I hear them. And as with Dar and Vienna, he's a wonderful musician, singer and person, as well. Just not as cute!

...especially when on occasion he hides a dazzling piece of poetry behind what is probably a deliberately unspectacular melody, but then you catch the words, and somehow they and the music are a perfect match, and your hair stands on end. For instance, Transit, from Somewhere Near Paterson. As a songwriter Shindell stands up to anyone, even Dylan, I think. He's cuter than Dylan, too.

Fred

[Folkfan]

Vienna's great, but not folky Richard Shindell, another extremely literate songwriter. Do you know his music?
Fred[/quote]

Thanks for the background history of recordings Fred....I'll date myself back to the age of dinosaurs, or 8-track tapes, which I did listen to in my brother's Ford Maverick....I came into purchasing music on LP's, (always loved the artwork)...and have memories of listening to the Eagles album (Hotel California), or anything from the band, Boston... but I guess you are right: 45's were similar to buying the big hits on itunes.
Vienna doesn't fit in the conventional category of folk, but I do like her classification of her music as, "chamber folk". She did appear at last year's Falcon Ridge Folk Fest, which the Nields and Kennedy's seem to make an appearance at every year. Folk music is such a nebulous term, but I feel that folk describes music that tells a story and with that, Vienna's music certainly qualifies.
I'm familar with Richard Schindell, and he is very good(I also liked Cry, Cry, Cry); John Gorka's pretty good too. Another great band is "Crooked Still", which mixes traditional folk/bluegrass with a new interpertation....I love their version of "Orphan Girl"....Folkfan

[Fred]

Hi again, Folkfan!

"Folk" is an interesting idea. There's an article from 1993's New York Times on the "death" of American folk music in the 1960's (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2DD1730F933A05756C0A965958260). The article basically says that there is little or no "real" American folk music, in the sense of traditional unwritten songs (I guess Native American music didn't count?), but the folk boom of the 40's-60's (Woody Guthrie et al.) was actually an attempt to create a "folk" music for America from scratch.

But folk doesn't seem to know that it's dead. It's got musicians and fans, and they all sort of agree on what they are about. I guess you could call it a community that looks back to Woody and company to one extent or another and sometimes plays acoustic instruments. And if you play at Falcon Ridge, I guess you are in that community, so Vienna is. All of the artists we are talking about are "popular" folkies (get played a bit on "adult" rock stations), but, just my own opinion, some like the Nields and the Kennedys seem to look back to the roots a little more than others. (You can find real diehards elsewhere, such as WUMB from Boston, or radio.grassyhill.org. Dar and the Nields are at the "pop" extreme of their playlist.)

Speaking of radio airplay, I find Vienna's lack of airtime on NYC radio distressing. I'd have never found her without the internet. "City Folk" WFUV (which is really more of an adult soft rock station than anything else) would be most likely to play her, but I found exactly 1 play in their playlist archive, years back. Does/did she get more play in the Bay Area, does anyone know?

Oh, and Cry, Cry, Cry? Loved 'em, especially the acoustic guitars and 3-part harmonies on REM's Fall on Me. However, I've never been tuned into the gossip enough to know why, since then, Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky perform together seemingly every time they are on the same continent, but Dar has never, that I know of, performed with either of them since. There is an obvious answer, but I have no idea if it is even close to the truth.

Take care,
Fred

[Fred]

I saw Dar on Saturday at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, NY (in Westchester Co., near the Connecticut line). Excellent, sold-out solo show. This is of interest to Vienna fans because she's at the Emelin in January, and it appears that there are good seats left, available through their Web site (Google Emelin). The Emelin is a small (275-seat) community theatre attached to the local public library, with several series of concerts (Folk, including Dar; Popular Song, including Vienna; several others). Easily accessible from NYC by car (less than a mile off I-95) or Metro North train. This was my first time there, and I was favorably impressed by the sight lines, sound system, and acoustics, not to mention the warm, hometown vibe.

[Fred]

I saw Dar again last night at Southpaw in Brooklyn, accompanied by her regular touring keyboard player, Bryn Roberts. She's started a tradition of post-Christmas shows at Southpaw over the last 3 years. In contrast with my last Dar show (last post) this one was a stand-up show in front of a tiny stage in a rock club, attended mostly by diehard fans who knew the words to all the songs. The energy level, therefore, was much higher, and Dar fed off it to play a really rousing show representing her whole career but with a slight emphasis on her most recent album, Promised Land. She was in fine voice, very loose and interactive with the crowd, and played around 20 songs/2 hours (no opening act). I didn't buy a ticket in advance and as time approached to decide to go I asked myself if I really wanted to schlep all the way into Brooklyn for a concert. This show reminded me that the right answer to that question is always, "Yes!"

[cmooreNC]

Looking forward to tonight's Dar Williams concert here in Charlotte. Sara Watkins opening, too, so it should be a double treat. I'm not familar with either one, but I've heard great things about both.....

[Fred]

Looking forward to tonight's Dar Williams concert here in Charlotte. Sara Watkins opening, too, so it should be a double treat. I'm not familar with either one, but I've heard great things about both.....

Hope you enjoy it! I've heard a bit of Sara's new album on WFUV but haven't paid that much attention; sounds good so far. Of course, like lots of people I remember Nickel Creek very fondly--I'd go out to see her as a headliner just based on that. She should complement Dar nicely, as she must have complemented Vienna well earlier in the year.

Meanwhile I had a blast seeing bluesman GE Smith (remember him?) outdoors at a free concert on Saturday. I'll try to post on it soon.

[mlsgb]

I love her song "Are You Out There?". It seems like such a nice idea to write back to the radio moderators you kept listening to and telling them how they influenced your life.