…sign at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center…
photo by Tim
by Andrew Rogers
The Kate is a relatively small venue, very cozy and intimate, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Dar Williams perform there. We didn’t even mind having to sit a row apart, in the same seats, Tim in the row behind me. But Tim wasn’t in his seat much, poor guy. He still has a lingering cough from the bad cold he caught early in January. For much of the concert he was out in the lobby, where he could listen to the music without disturbing the rest of the audience.
Dar was amazing! These are some of the songs I remember her singing – no doubt there were some more: February ~ The Light and the Sea ~ The Beauty of the Rain ~ If I Wrote You ~ Buzzer ~ I Have Been Around the World ~ When Sal’s Burned Down ~ Mercy of the Fallen ~ Crystal Creek ~ Storm King, which she dedicated to Pete Seeger. All of us joined her in singing If I Had A Hammer in memory of him, too. Her stories in-between the songs were heartwarming and funny. It was wonderful spending an evening immersed in her music and inspiring lyrics. Beyond wonderful…
Oh my fair North Star
I have held to you dearly
I had asked you to steer me
‘Til one cloud scattered night
I got lost in my travels
I met Leo the lion
Met a king and met a giant
With their errant knight
There’s the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim
To know what’s right
There’s the weak and the strong
And the beds that have no answer
And that’s where I may rest my head tonight
There’s the weak and the strong
And the many stars that guide us
We have some of them inside us
~ Dar Williams
♫ (Mercy of the Fallen) ♫
Wow, that had to be an amazing concert! Wish I could have been there.
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
It was amazing, Kathy, especially since I’ve been trying to catch her for years! Now you have me wondering what the music scene is like down south there in Ecuador…
I also wish I could have been there!
Oh Rosie, it would have been great to have you there!
Hadn’t heard of Dar Williams until now. So off I toddled to YouTube to listen to one of her songs, “Christians and Pagans”. What a talent ! I can just imagine what a wonderful concert it must have been !
“The Christians & The Pagans” is one of my favorites, although she didn’t sing it that night. Maybe next time! She is an extraordinary troubadour and I’m grateful to the friend who introduced me to her music many years ago.
I haven’t heard of Dar until now, either. Am listening to the Mercy of the Fallen song now. What a wonderful night. So sorry to hear about Tim’s lingering cough.
“Mercy of the Fallen” is another one of my favorites, and I teared up when she sang it. There is nothing like live music to stir the soul and lower the blood pressure. 🙂
THANK YOU for introducing me to Dar Williams. Like the responders, I’ve now made the opportunity to listen to her on YouTube and I’m oh-so-glad I did!
You’re welcome, Laurie! I just discovered that YouTube has a “Top Tracks” for Dar and other artists, so I can listen to one song after another while I’m on the computer…