.htm_cmp_willow010_hbtn.gif){kind=small}
|
|
|
Beneath a cloud of darkness looming like the "Sword of Damocles", Michael took the stage to so beautifully express in song why he "Can't Sleep Tonight"…which is in part because of unending "Hellfire In The Holy Land. Nonetheless, it would help, he declares, if he could write "A Kind of Love Song" that would seal the "Hole In [His] Heart". But, it seems he can only feel the chill of "Death In The Autumn Air", and confesses that in part, this is because he knows he's "Guilty". Still he longs for the comforting warmth of "Summer Days", or at the very least, a "Lantern" he might use to set a "Spark" ablaze so that he might see his way over "A Wall [He] Must Climb"…or if not, one that would, by the "Grace of God", allow him to burn it down. Lamenting his inability to do this, however, he wistfully yearns, "'Oh, Baby, I' wish I could escape this person that I am, trapped '20 Miles South of Nowhere'…and that I might then soar 'Around the World', to at last find my way home via the New York to Chicago line, on train '#49' ". And, indeed, on a sultry summer night, this is precisely what Michael did…
Makor
As the crowd filed in prior to the show, fellow paupers renewed acquaintances and met new friends until at last Michael took the stage...
"I saw Dionysus in his He was never one who
..which was followed by a song both disturbing -- and yet thought-provoking -- enough to cause insomnia, "Can't Sleep Tonight"...
I can't sleep How is it anyone I'm holdin' this Like a gun in
"I act like a boy I can't sleep How is it anyone
Next came the truly amazing "Hellfire In The Holy Land"...a song Michael prefaced with the announcement he's planning what one might call a "pilgrimage" to Jerusalem in October as he embarks on an attempt at "a retry of the last 25 years of my life"...then added in recognition of the very ambitious nature of such a resolution, "I don't know if it's gonna work..." Whatever the case, his performance of this incredible song most definitely worked...
"Come tomorrow, a Come tomorrow, when Turn a cheek and offer 'Cause there's hellfire
After this Michael shared the first of three brand new songs debuted at this show, "A Kind of Love Song"...
"All I can think about is
And the things in my
...at the conclusion of which, he asked the very talented duo of Brian Fitzpatrick and Ed Fritze, who have frequently shared the stage with Michael at shows in recent months, to join him (on guitar and piano, respectively) for the second, "Hole In My Heart"...
"There's
a hole in my heart
Next came a tune only slightly more familiar to some, as it remains a very rare (though always welcome) addition to live shows, "Death In The Autumn Air", for which Ed performed (very beautifully) on accordion...
"Empty
kisses Come
back to
Like a dream
Michael then switched to piano for the Randy Newman cover, "Guilty"...
"Yes, baby, I been And I shouldn't come by, But I found myself in And I have no place
...the remembrance of "Summer Days"...
"Now those days are just And how I miss 'em, How I miss 'em... And I miss you, too..."
...and one of my all-time favorite songs, "Lantern"...
"I think of you when the And I find your face in I hope you think of And there's one thing
Returning to the guitar, Michael then launched into the coolest version of "Spark" I've ever heard...to the tune of "Broken Down Fence". An intense, powerful and yet somehow jaunty performance....okay, maybe you had to be there, but believe me, it was great!
"Some doors
seem like they're
The hand of fate still seems
And to follow that, he subsequently offered the rapt crowd what he introduced as "an oldie but a goodie"...referring, of course, to "A Wall I Must Climb"...
"I'm frightened, for I fear I am a wall I must climb."
Next came a much newer composition, before embarking on which he noted, "this might sound a little like the 3rd or 4th song I played...but it doesn't. It's just your imagination!" (Actually, it doesn't) All it sounded like to me was "Grace of God"...
"Dyin' ain't no
way to make And I
ain't quite ready to
There but
for the grace of
After this Michael once more invited Brian and Ed back to the stage "to bring it on home" before beginning the third (and my personal favorite!) of the evening's three debuts, "Oh,Baby, I"...
"Oh, baby I... I'm the only one Oh, baby, I... 'Cause I'm so
Oh, baby, I.... I wish I was Oh, baby, I wish
...at the conclusion of which Michael said, "That was, like, on the verge of rock!" The verge of rock, perhaps, but most definitely well beyond merely the verge of fantastic! And, as the show began to wind down, the boys favored us with (the also on the verge of rock...and likewise excellent) "20 Miles South of Nowhere"...and as usual they jammed!!!
"Dan sat at the He was talkin' She was headin' Runnin' from
Alas, after this came perhaps the only moment no one looks forward to at a Michael McDermott show... that of its conclusion. Nonetheless, as he's so frequently done before Michael chose to end on the beautiful note(s) of "Around the World"...
"I know that I have I've befriended the
But... of course, the crowd wasn't about to let him go without an encore....
...which it doesn't look like Michael was too willing to share...only kidding! Actually, he very graciously returned to the piano for a beautiful rendition of "#49"...
"Lifelessness cries from the Lawyers debate the
After the show, despite the "thematically dark" set he'd played on this night...and for which he at one point apologized to the crowd, as you can see Michael still had a smile (okay, maybe even for a moment a Cheshire Cat grin!) to share with the camera as he posed for photos, both alone...
...and with fans and friends...
As always, Thank You, Michael, And again, Please Come Back Soon!!!
|
