Picture yourself chest-deep on the Provo River, fly rod in hand and a No. 9 elk hair caddis whatchamajigger cresting the ripples next to the deadfall on the opposite bank. Then picture some pompous trout talking to each other in a snotty British accent, making fun of your hand-tied fly.
"Hey, Nigel. Why don't you swim up there and just bump it," they laugh.If you can picture all that, you can probably picture the music of folk singer/fly fisherman Greg Brown.
Brown brought his insightful, if not eccentric, brand of songwriting to the Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Utah campus Saturday night. And while his skill as a fly fisherman remains unproven (he did not offer a demonstration of his technique), there was little doubt as to his ability to craft a catchy tune that can make you laugh one moment and ponder seriously upon the meaning of life and relationships the next.
Take, for example, his bluesy tribute to Garrison Keillor titled "Slow Food" (as opposed to fast food) or his grouchy diatribe "I Don't Want to Have a Nice Day." And there's a loving tribute to a cup of coffee, complete with the percolating theme song from Maxwell House.
The best may have been "I'm Going Fishing With Bill," a simple enough song that has you tapping your feet while Brown is telling funny stories about fishing with fellow folksinger Bill Morrissey. Then you realize he's also singing about how "life floats by like a little dry fly."
On the more serious side were reflective tunes like "Mississippi Serenade" and the poignantly humorous "Love Calls Like the Wild Birds" that leave you wondering whether to laugh or cry.
Through it all runs two common themes: a faithfulness to the blues and a healthy dose of imaginative anecdotes that leave you with the feeling you've just had a long pleasant chat with a very good friend.
What makes Brown such an exceptional talent is his keen sense of observation; he simply sees things about people and places that go unnoticed by most. For example, prior to his performance he wandered around the U. campus and stumbled onto a slide show on the Great Salt Lake. He noted there weren't very many people there.
He likened it to a slide show in his native Iowa on corn. "Maybe a couple of curious people would show up," he mused.
Now work that all that into song and you have a special brand of contemporary folk music. Music with a human soul to it. Greg Brown music.
Opening for Brown was James Scott, a Salt Lake folk singer/
songwriter who once took his craft to California for two albums, only to return to his roots. He was among old friends Saturday as he skillfully delivered old favorites ("Blue Candles," "Innocent"), along with a few unfamiliar tunes.