sandro perri / ryan driver
03-11-2011
raw sugar, ottawa

ryan driver was a nice surprise tonight.

i tend to loathe folk music. yes, it's about the passion and the delivery. yes, i understand that. however, i also understand that all music is fraudulent on an emotional level. if you're going into a concert with an attempt to be moved by the performance, you're essentially going to watch a stage performance. you're going to see a collection of actors put on a play and be moved by their ability to manipulate you. the irony, of course, is that most folkies don't realize this. as a punk, i simply can't stomach such levels of pretension.

so, when i saw "acoustic folk" in the description for ryan driver, i wasn't expecting much. nor did i know who he is. i actually quite enjoyed the sackville disc released in the early days of constellation records, and still have a copy of it somewhere.

that description does not do justice to what i saw him perform, nor do the few tracks i was able to find online. the attached video is the closest....

.....but what ryan driver managed to pull off in front of me was a melodic combination of folk melodies, jazz voicings and classical noodling performed solo for voice and classical guitar. it sounded like a cross between nick drake and lenny breau.

i don't know his material well, nor do i know if what i saw tonight was an anomaly. the existing recorded material appears to be arranged for multiple musicians, not solo guitar. in fact, i suspect that he may have rearranged some pieces for multiple musicians specifically for solo guitar.

....however, i highly recommend you go see this guy's short set on his tour with sandro perri while you can.



i hadn't heard anything about or from sandro perri since '03 or '04 ish, back when he was using the name polmo polpo. to say that i found his transformation into an indie prog front person to have taken me by surprise would be an understatement.

perri seems to be a rather serious front person. sure, he tells the odd wry joke; so did robert fripp. the music is also quite serious, with straight-faced lyrics and elaborately constructed, overly detailed instrumental sections. you may get the urge to dance when he's playing, but you may be afraid to under fear of him looking at you like you're an imbecile. so, you're more likely to sit and watch cross-legged...

some people may argue that the record is proof that sandro perri is a great songwriter, but i would argue that the show tonight was proof that he's a terrible rock star. i don't have any constructive suggestions to add on that point.

now, i'm not trying to dissuade you from going to the show. i'm just saying you should be prepared for a very serious concert.