Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Brown-Edmond-concert-WPKN

Full Text:

A Full House For The Always Magnetic Greg Brown

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

Like many of his songs, the performer Greg Brown says his long-term career

plan is on a "slow fade." Fortunately, this fading out of the performance

spotlight is a self-imposed one.

"When I left Prairie Home Companion I was performing 140 times a year," Mr

Brown said last week while waiting in the green room at Edmond Town Hall prior

to his much-anticipated return performance after a three-year wait by area

fans. Mr Brown was back in the area not only to perform for his fans, but also

to offer a benefit concert for listener-supported radio station, WPKN.

The singer-songwriter's trademark voice, a gravely mix hardened over the years

through cigarette smoking, performances and Mother Nature's intent,

reverberated off the walls of the small room where Mr Brown and his pianist,

Radoslav Lorkovic, were hanging out before their concert.

"I quickly reduced that number to 90 performances a year by last year, and

this year I am down to 75 shows per year," he continued. "By next year I

expect to perform only 55 to 60 times a year. Over the next few years it will

all kind of fade out...

"That's my plan, anyway."

In that case, Greg Brown's fans should make every attempt to catch the

magnetic performer in person as much as possible before this self-imposed

retirement into seclusion comes to pass.

The good news is, the recording process will not be stopping. Mr Brown says he

will be back in the studio in February, working on an album of traditional

folk songs.

By the looks of the turnout last week in Newtown, Mr Brown's fan base is as

strong as ever. At the beginning of his November 12 performance, which was

preceded by a short but dynamic set by Karen Savoca and Pete Heintzman, only a

handful of seats were left open in the auditorium.

For those accustomed to the humorous banter and comments that highlight Mr

Brown's concerts, there was a wait for this last Thursday. Taking the stage

and fine-tuning his guitar, Mr Brown first performed three songs from his

Further In album, including the title song and "Two Little Feet," before

addressing the audience with more than a quiet "Thank you" between songs. It

just took a little warming up before he was ready to talk, but when it came,

that unmistakable voice and its anecdotes were as welcomed as the songs

themselves.

The piano accompaniment was not always very obvious. For much of the first

half of the concert, Radoslav Lorkovic (who has a few CDs of his own) simply

tickled a few keys here and there. At other times, however, the piano's

addition changed a song entirely.

"You Drive Me Crazy" and "Just By Myself," played back-to-back, were two songs

where the piano made a noticeable change. The tempo was picked up and the

result was an almost jazzy approach to Mr Brown's songs.

The addition of accordion, instead of piano, of course was also noticed in

something like "Late Night Radio," from Bathtub Blues . Overall, the concert

included very few of the songs from Mr Brown's newest album, called Slant 6

Mind .

By the end of Mr Brown's set, Ms Savoca and Mr Heintzman were invited back out

for a few songs. With Ms Savoca's percussion and Mr Heintzman's bass

additions, plus their vocals, along with Mr Lorkovic's piano accompaniment, it

was a rousing way to close a concert by a performer who generally performs on

his own (his next album will be a return to his traditionally acoustic guitar

performance).

Using instrumentalists is an on-again, off-again addition to Mr Brown's

current tour. Mr Lorkovic is not on the bill for the entire tour, but when

both musicians are available, the combination is magical.

"Rad is one of those musicians that I can just sit down and start performing

with," Mr Brown said last week. "There's a magic that just starts between us.

We don't have to talk about what we're going to do. I can just start playing a

song, any song, and he's right there."

Whether Greg Brown's performing career will truly be diminishing within the

next few years is still up in the air. Of course, his fans hope he won't

retire, ever. For now, anyway, any stage where he performs becomes an

enchanting visit into his world of characters, whether in his musicians or

those introduced in song.