[FM] Late Reviews: Bill Miller & Ariane Lydon (long)

[ZSparrow@aol.com]

Happy New Year!  As part of my resolutions, I'm going to stop procrastinating 
and write about things when they happen, rather than months later.  But 
first, if it's not too late, a quick review of two excellent 2000 shows I 
saw, so maybe you can catch these performers in 2001.

These shows both happened the same magical musical weekend.  I saw Bill 
Miller on Friday, 9/22/00, at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and Ariane 
Lydon at the Hideout (Chicago).  Both were part of larger festivals/shows:  
The Old Town had continuing Native American music that day because of ... oh, 
this is why one shouldn't wait to write reviews.  Solstice?  Full Moon?  
Harvest Moon?  This is bad.  But that's what Bill Miller was part of.  And 
Ariane Lydon was a featured performer in Female Songwriters You Wanna Hear 
(FSYWH), a rotating roster of female songwriters organized regularly by 
singer/songwriter Nancy Walker (formerly of Sons of the Never Wrong), an 
excellent performer herself.

Bill Miller

I'd seen him once before at Schuba's, so I'd known what to expect.  At 
Schubas, they never announce the performer, but leave it to him/her to make 
his/her presence felt so that the audience stops talking and the house turns 
off the canned music.  The warmup person just stood there looking unsure for 
the longest time before anyone noticed his presence.  But when Bill Miller 
walked out, a large, powerful looking Native American, long hair and dressed 
in a white outfit with fringes and sporting feathers on his guitar, he didn't 
even look at us and we fell silent.  He literally parted the air and the air 
stood still.  He picked up a long reed instrument and began the intro to 
"Reservation Road," a haunting number if there ever was one.  A highlight is 
when he picks up another flute(?) as well and blows both at the same time, 
creating harmony with himself.  I didn't know such a thing was possible!  And 
the audience is hushed, caught in his powerful spell.

He began his OTS performance in this same manner.  He also had another man 
playing with him (whose name I don't remember) who was very good.  Bill 
Miller plays both his own songs and covers; he played Hendrix's "All Along 
the WatchTower" and interspersed Indian chants throughout -- amazing, makes 
it his own, sounds like what you know but like something completely new.  
Many of Miller's own songs touch on American Indian issues and are quite 
powerful.  The man goes wild on guitar solos and unless you are dead you are 
totally involved.  And while he uses Native American Indian influences 
throughout, I'd also say he is heavily Springsteen-influenced (to me, the 
highest complement):  he performed several songs where I immediately thought 
of Springsteen, and he conveys a Springsteenesque energy throughout:  I kept 
expecting him to leap from the stage, to fly through the air, so much energy 
contained in one place would have to disperse and it does, right into the 
crowd and soon the whole place is rockin'.

I am always impressed when a performer is so giving, and when one is not 
afraid to sing about issues important to oneself, to harness the powers of 
one's ancestry in addition to modern influences.  I bought Miller's 
"Reservation Road" (live) CD via the web -- billmiller.com -- he has many CDs 
but does not seem to bring them to concerts.  I highly recommend both the CDs 
and especially his live performances.

Ariane Lydon

Prior to this show, I had never heard an Ariane Lydon song.  Her stage 
presence was very friendly, unassuming, and natural.  She told great stories 
that were amusing and interesting in themselves as well as enhancing the 
meaning of her songs, or explaining how/why she had come to write particular 
songs.  Her voice is low and unique, not what you'd expect, and she started 
out on the guitar; soon she held us all in a dreamlike trance, like her songs 
cast a spell over the audience.  Her personna was cheerful, her songs 
haunting.

Most amazing was when she played the 12-string guitar and a full stand-up 
harp at the same time -- honest!  I might not have believed it had I not seen 
it for myself.  She sat down, played the guitar with her right hand and the 
harp with her left and it sounded like at least two people were playing.  And 
the song itself -- all instrumental, that one -- well, first she told a story 
that involved her waking up in a field to find the field all lit up by 
fireflies (that story alone was worth it for me!), and then she plays this 
amazing song.  Truly, it was stunning.  Afterwards she said, "I know, I 
amazed myself the first time I found I could do this," and told how she'd 
been practicing for a recording, and she needed to hear how the harp & guitar 
would sound together, so... 

I bought her "Lady of the Green" CD (available from Waterbug, I'm pretty 
sure) and it stayed in my player for months.  In addition to the beautiful 
music, the lyrics are thoughtful, dreamlike, dark, light.  From "You are Not 
Alone":
"Snow-field down to the tree-line/ I'm standing absolutely still./ The open 
invitation has left a space between 'I won't' and 'I will.' /Well, I will!"

She has other CDs too, I guess -- it was harder to find out about her on the 
web but she's on Waterbug's website and also FolkLib Index for Ariane Lydon 
at <A HREF="www.folklib.net/index/l/lydon_ariane.shtml">
www.folklib.net/index/l/lydon_ariane.shtml</A>.  But I would highly recommend 
seeing her perform, for the music, her skills, her performance, and the spell 
that the whole thing casts.

Sue Fink from Chicago