Guy
Forsyth Shady Grove, Austin
9/30/99
What’s the best thing to do on a beautiful fall night in
Austin? Well, if it’s Thursday, the place to be is Shady Grove where KGSR sponsors
Unplugged in the Park, featuring some of Austin’s most prominent musicians. The
series started on September 23 with Wes Cunningham and culminates on October 28th
with Kelly Willis.
The Guy Forsyth Band was center stage this past Thursday and treated
a Standing Room only crowd to his unique blend of blues, country, folk, cajun, and rock.
What was supposed to be an "unplugged" set, turned out to be an experiment in
both conventional and uncoventional instruments. His multi-talented band stayed seated the
entire show and showcased kazoo, saw (played with a violin bow), paint sticks on an amp
for percussion, ukulele, washboard, and various tones of harmonica. Forsyth combines
sensitive lyrics in a variety of formats that make his music both insightful and fun. He
looked as comfortable doing the country number "Heart Shaped Hole" to the
ballad, "My True Friend," to the anthema "Children of Jack" to an
Irish sounding ditty to an entire rock set. Forsyth remained a strong yet understated
presence. Looking more like Richie Cunningham in is white Chuck Taylor hightops, he
delivered strong vocals and accomplished finger-pickin’ guitar. His voice could be
described as being like Robert Earl Keen or Harry Connick Junior, but without the twangy
Texan or French cajun inflection. Cheeky comments to the crowd between songs included
cracks on Garth Brooks ("I thought he was Trent Reznor when I saw his picture the
other day") and sweet song dedications to his mother (who was in the audience) made
Forsyth likable for more than just his musical abilities. The title track of his current
Antone’s release, "Can You Live Without," was the highlight of the two hour
set. In and of itself, that track is reason enough for adding it to your collection.
On That Note, I'm outta here......
C
|
