Tom Paxton with special guests David Mosher and Theresa Smith at The Ark on 10/10/08:

Since I imagine many of my readers are folk music fans, I also imagine many of you are familiar with Tom Paxton's music.  At the very least, I imagine his name is familiar to you.  His name has been familiar to me for several years, but it wasn't until Friday, 10/10 that I saw him perform live and heard his music for the first time.  He performed a show at The Ark, and I decided to attend when I learned two Michigan musicians I greatly enjoy -- David Mosher and Theresa Smith -- would be opening the show, and that David would then be playing with Tom throughout his set. 

I've been to The Ark on nights when the room was completely sold out of its 400 seats, on nights when there were only 50-60 people present, and on nights in between.  On this night, the room was not sold out, but neither were there many empty seats.  We sat on a far end of the front row facing the front of the stage, and it turned out to be a great vantage point for experiencing the music and watching the interaction between performers on stage. 

For David and Theresa's opening set, they started and ended with a David original song (What Follows Fall and Passing Of A Train, respectively) and did a handful of covers in between.  Theresa sang lead on Somewhere In My Broken Heart and Someone To Watch Over Me.  She has one of those strong and yet delicate voices that can take your breath away.  Somewhere In My Broken Heart is a particular favorite of mine to hear her and David perform.  I love the original version recorded by Billy Dean (who wrote it), and it moved me to tears the first time I heard them perform it together earlier this year.  Thus, hearing this song again was a high point of my evening.  They also performed the Gillian Welch song Wichita, a song I've heard Laura Bates & Brandon Foote also cover, and I enjoyed hearing it again.  David and Theresa really compliment each other well when they perform together.  They harmonize beautifully, and David is an incredible instrumentalist.  I
 get few opportunities to hear them live, so this one was a treat.

I was expecting the intermission to fall between David & Theresa's set and Tom's set, but instead, Tom came out and did a few songs immediately after David and Theresa's last, and then the intermission came before Tom did another full set.  I've been trying to think of one word to describe the impression left on me by Tom's music, songwriting, and stage presence, and the best one I can think of is -- impressed.  He started out doing some very political songs that -- if you agree with what he sings -- are absolutely hysterical.  If you don’t agree with his words, it would likely be difficult for you to appreciate these particular songs.  While I could immediately think of some folks who wouldn't find them humorous at all, I laughed until my side hurt.  He also sang a song about firefighters at the World Trade Center on 9/11 that caused me to weep openly, as well as a couple of delightfully poignant songs about his two daughters as young children and all
 grown up. 

Tom struck me as a seasoned performer just grateful to be doing what he loves in front of warm crowds who appreciate it.  He also spoke very highly of The Ark as a venue, which endeared me to him all the more.  David and Theresa sang with him on a couple of songs, but for the most part, Tom sang and played guitar, and David played guitar or mandolin to accompany him.  I've already said how amazingly talented I think David is, and he exemplified this on this night, creating the perfect accompaniment for Tom that was subtle yet an integral part of the performance.  And Tom, for his part, looked to be truly enjoying himself on stage and to be pleased to be sharing the stage with these tremendous performers.  I went into this concert having only a vague idea of what to expect, and I left smiling and incredibly glad to have shared the experience with the rest of the audience. 

Like many other performers at The Ark, Tom signed autographs afterward, and while I didn’t speak to him long, I did have a chance to thank him for a wonderful show in passing, and he seemed to appreciate the compliment.  I also chatted briefly with both David and Theresa, who were also signing, and they seemed happy with the performance, glad to see us (They had both met Jenn and I at previous shows in the past.), and thrilled to have been a part of the evening.  All in all, it was another fabulous night of music!

Hope everyone is well.