From: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org (good-noise-digest) To: good-noise-digest@smoe.org Subject: good-noise-digest V4 #147 Reply-To: good-noise@smoe.org Sender: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk good-noise-digest Sunday, August 26 2001 Volume 04 : Number 147 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Gorka Review 8/24/01-Great River Folk Fest [SMOKEY596@aol.com] Re: Gorka Review 8/24/01-Great River Folk Fest [Jojo7699@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 12:21:36 EDT From: SMOKEY596@aol.com Subject: Gorka Review 8/24/01-Great River Folk Fest Hello everyone! I received this review today from a friend who went to see John last night. He's not on the list so I asked him if I could share it with you all. Hope you enjoy it! :-) SMOKEY Atlantic Canada's Artists and Artisans www.gathering-of-artists.ca Greetings Music Lovers, I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. I grew up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin literally in the middle of the campus of the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse. In fact when I was in ninth grade the University bought our house and tore it down to build their new Fine Arts building. A few years later I graduated from high school and started attending the university. It was just about this time of year twenty eight years ago at old Main Hall on the first day of freshman English class that I met my wife Karen. And as the cycle of life continues, yesterday we took our daughter Mara to Madison, Wisconsin to start her second year of college at the University of Wisconsin. So with that history it seemed appropriate that we should stop in LaCrosse on our way home from Madison and attend a concert at the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse. The concert was the opening concert of the Great River Folk Fest. It was billed as a solo show by John Gorka but in reality it turned out to be more of John Gorka and friends. For much of the show John was joined on stage by an up and coming folk singer named Alice Peacock singing harmony. During the second set Cliff Eberhardt joined John and performed a few of his songs with Gorka singing harmony. I got hooked on John Gorka's music a few years ago when he made a surprise guest appearance at a Cry Cry Cry concert we attended in St. Paul. John is originally from out east (I think New Jersey and Pennsylvania) but within the last few years moved to Minnesota. His early music was mostly about life in the big city and was pretty negative. For example, last night John told us that his 1990 CD "Land Of The Bottom Line" is so "down" that if you aren't down when you start listening you will be by the time you finish listening. But John's last two CDs are much more positive and celebrate his new children (I believe two of them under age five) and his joy of life in Minnesota. Last night John explained some of this and bragged about the fact that he now has a riding lawn mower and he has really impressive mowing skills. For example, in his song "A Saint's Complaint" John does a nice job of summarizing both his and my own views on life in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He writes: So I moved west To where your weather comes from Or where your weather goes when it's done with you I've got a place here I've got a family More to love, more to feel, more to do, and more to lose So I've got a taste of what I've been missing There's hardly anywhere I really want to go There's more to give, more to breathe in I hardly see anyone I don't want to know John's stage presence can only be described as "quirky". He has a unique sense of humor. In some ways he's similar to folk singer Cheryl Wheeler but maybe not quite as silly as Cheryl. His songs range from deeply introspective to touching ballads to sly humor. An example of John's humorous songs is his humorous look at aging in "People My Age" off his latest CD "The Company You Keep". John sings "People my age have started looking gross ... People my age are showing some wear. There's holes where there teeth was and their heads have gone bare. Their brains are shrinking, faces sinking into fat, and as for the mirror we won't be looking into that. People my age are looking overripe. Some are getting operations to tighten up what ain't tight. What gravity's ruined they try to fix with a knife. What's pleasant in the darkness is plain scary in the light ..." Last night John was clearly in a good mood and put on an excellent show. The show started shortly after 7:30 and included about a 20 minute break and finished just after 10:00pm. One of the theme's of John's show last night was John's kidding that he was mentoring Alice Peacock on the art of performing. One of the habits John has is ending a song by shaking his guitar upside down to "squeeze out the last few notes". He did this before the encore and Alice asked about it. John proceeded into a lengthy humorous monologue about how he was emptying the stray notes from his guitar. He kiddingly then explained that the wire (the pickup) on his guitar was actually a complicated vacuum system that sucks out the digital notes and the two wires coming out of the box separate the 1's and 0's and then recycles them and releases them back into nature. Like me John must have been feeling nostalgic last night because his set list drew heavily from his 1987 "I Know" and 1990 "Land Of The Bottom Line" CDs to his newest "The Company You Keep" (2001). At one point during the second set I swore that John was reading my mind as he proceeded to play three songs in a row that I was fighting the urge to yell as requests. The songs included his great "Love Is Our Cross To Bear", his touching ballad of his father returning from World War 2 "Semper Fi", and a beautiful piano version of his "Houses In The Field" that documents the plight of farmer's having to sell out their family farms to developers to build new subdivisions. Here to the best of my memory is the set list from last night not exactly in order but close. Shape of The World I'm From New Jersey Girl Of The North Country (Bob Dylan cover from the recent "Nod To Bob" tribute CD releases for Bob Dylan's 60th birthday) I Saw A Stranger With Your Hair People My Age Down In The Milltown (on piano) Mean Streak I'll Start With Me (new song by Alice Peacock about making the world a better place by starting with yourself) Blue Chalk Lightning Blues Branching Out Wisheries Always Your Face (Cliff Eberhardt with Gorka on Harmony) I Will Not Walk In My Father's Shoes (Cliff with Gorka) Oh Abraham Semper Fi Houses In The Field (on piano) Love Is Our Cross To Burn Good Noise (with Eberhardt on guitar also) When She Kisses Me (again with Eberhardt) Check out John's music if you're looking for some new music and any of the following are true: A) Family life is important to you B) People around you have started looking gross C) You have small children around your house D) You enjoy a sly sense of humor and clever lyrics E) You enjoy a rich baritone voice F) You have an interest in making the world a better place If you made it this far thanks for sticking with me on my nostalgic trip back to UW-LaCrosse just blocks from the house that I grew up in and just yards away from where I first met Karen. It's been an incredible summer of relaxation and music for me and I hope it's been a great summer for you too. And as always ... ENJOY THE MUSIC !!! - Paul ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 13:49:10 EDT From: Jojo7699@aol.com Subject: Re: Gorka Review 8/24/01-Great River Folk Fest Thanks for sharing... ------------------------------ End of good-noise-digest V4 #147 ********************************