CONCERT REVIEW
Cliff Eberhardt at Old Stone Church
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 9, 1998) -- Among the unexpected surprises listeners were treated to by Cliff Eberhardt on Sunday night at the Old Stone Church House Concert series were a complete rendition of the children's song, "B-I-N-G-O," a deconstruction of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" which, as Eberhardt demonstrated, matches the happiest lyrics with the saddest music ever written, repeated versions of the lead-guitar intro to Grand Funk Railroad's "American Woman" with a bit of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" thrown in for good measure, and several extended, seemingly improvised comedy routines that could undoubtedly garner Eberhardt a slot on "Comedy Central" should he further desire to pursue that aspect of his talent.
Then there were Eberhardt's songs, which presumably were the bait that lured a packed crowd of folk fans to the deconsecrated church on a Sunday night, although that may also have been due in part to the attractive pot-luck dinner that preceded the affair.
But seriously, in spite of Eberhardt's wildly comic antics, fans were treated to a compelling performance by the Northampton-based, nationally-known singer-songwriter, who played about a dozen of his searingly passionate portraits of love gone wrong, love gone right, and life full of mixed-up confusion.
Eberhardt's gritty, rough vocals and rootsy, percussive guitar style rubbed up against his love of old-fashioned melody and pop-song structure, lending songs like "This Old World" and "Someone Like You" a complexity or ambiguous quality that belied their catchy sincerity.
Eberhardt's winning stage presence made it all seem effortless, belying 20-odd years of carefully honing his talent as a solo artist and as a guitarist in the service of the likes of Richie Havens and Melanie.
Local singer-songwriter Ed Kohn, of Windsor, warmed up the crowd with a set of his own compositions. While Kohn's traditional-style ballads, such as "Fundy Bay" and "Snowfall," were timeless and carefully wrought, it was his topical and satirical numbers, including "Landlubber's Lament," an a capella look at the horrors of contemporary white-collar working conditions, and "Another Ewe," which examined the issue of cloning from the sheep's point of view, that had the crowd in stitches and chanting "Ed, Ed, Ed" like refugees from the Bay State Games being held up the road.
[This review originally ran in the Berkshire Eagle on Feb. 10, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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