Every night in Nashville, Tenn., musicians get together and swap songs, stories and perform for an intimate crowd in the Bluebird Cafe. It's a legendary place among singers/songwriters, kind of a mecca for folkies.
Although he never played the Bluebird, Shane Jackman became a regular at other showcases just like it.This is why, after many moons on the road and after playing with musicians like Shawn Colvin and Pete Seeger, Jackman decided it was about time to have something like that in Utah.
This makes perfect sense to me. We've got plenty of singer/songwriters in this valley who are every bit as good as those down in Nashville.
Anyway, April 12 was the first installment of this musicians-in-the-round deal. It took place up in Ogden, at the Jackson Junction Theater. I couldn't go.
Luckily there was a second installment Tuesday night in Provo.
Because of the nature of this performance, I thought it way too important to pass up. I mean, how often do you get singers together who are willing to put whatever egos they have aside for a couple of hours and share their inspirations? And how often do you get to sit in a place and really listen to the music instead of stupid people and their loopy pickup lines? This is why I braved evening traffic, stupid drivers, car queasiness and nail-biting wind to visit the venue in Happy Valley.
I must say that the Wrapsody in Provo is not a geeky/sleazy dance club. It's a music venue that used to serve wraps. Hence the name. The music was more popular than the food, so the managers . . . or whomever . . . decided to focus more on the shows.
The Wrapsody has music every night, and the performances begin at 8:30. This is nice because you get done being entertained early. Nothing's worse than having to be at work by 8 a.m. when you've been up all night listening to live music.
I have to say that this was the perfect location for Jackman's "Songwriters" evening. That's what I'm going to call it. "Songwriters" is a more honest version of VH-1's "Storytellers." Unlike the overly produced, corporate cable series, Jackman's show is like sitting in the living room of three or four musicians and watching them jam.
Jackman, Peter Breinholt and Anke Summerhill sat on high bar stools, just like they do on "Storytellers." Only, they weren't surrounded by the annoying aroma-therapy candles and expensive Persian rugs.
Nope, it was just the three singers, their guitars and their microphones.
The Wrapsody kindly supplied the disco ball.
It was the kind of performance that is hard to leave. I was to be back home by 9:30, but I got home at 11 p.m. Does that tell you anything? (I would have gotten home sooner, but I would have had to run over the guy on the freeway who was setting out the cones as it was closing.)
So, I sat in the back of Wrapsody, trying to be inconspicuous, and I checked my watch every half-hour. I didn't want to miss the stories or the songs or the small jokes, so I listened to Jackman, then Summerhill (whose first name is pronounced "onk," like "honk" sans the H), then Breinholt. I would listen to him play and plan to leave when his song was done, but when his turn came again, Jackman would say something intriguing or pull out a harmonica, and I would sit through another round. It went on like this for about an hour or so.
I have to say, I have never enjoyed folk this much before. I laughed, I cried; it was better than "Cats."
Jackman's "Storytellers" will appear at the Wrapsody every third Tuesday of the month, meaning you can catch it again May 16.
The Salt Lake installments won't begin until fall. I guess that has something to do with the lack of a venues here. Go figure.
You can reach Lucy Campbell by e-mail at lu@desnews.com