One of the criminally underrated singer songwriters still touring the states into his 70s is Steve Forbert. He left his hometown in Mississippi in his teenage years and like many musicians before and after, he headed to New York. His early albums gained understandable traction, with at least a couple songs still often in broad rotation. Indeed, his is one of the great debut albums. He managed to avoid the usual sophomore slump on his second release.
Over the ensuing decades, he has released a solid body of work. He drew deep from that vast songbook at a wonderful gig at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, right around the corner from Joshua Tree.
In a pre-concert chat, he told me that the album still remains the format of choice for him. He confessed he would not know exactly how to present a single song; in isolation it would “not have a home.” But then he went on to describe that his song Ebeneezer Is Back in Town would be the exception to the rule. It came to him as a reaction to another New Yorker, in this case, Donald J Trump. Forbert wanted to add it as a bonus cut to his CD, so that it would have a physical home.
When I asked how he captures an inspiration for a song, Forbert said it might be a snippet that appears from seemingly nowhere, or even a thought developing during a sound check. Across all the years he clearly remains gratified to be able to write, record and perform his songs. Forbert reiterated that the live experience and the album format remain front and center in his approach to creating music. He described his early days busking in Grand Central Station and gigging around Greenwich Village. Indeed, this part of his life is well described in his evocative book Big City Cat bringing to mind similarly memorable descriptions of coming to New York in landmark books by Patti Smith and Bob Dylan.
We rounded up our chat as Forbert was preparing to go on stage. He advised it was the third night of the gig, and because his wonderful keyboardist was still learning the songs Forbert would be using a set list.
When on stage, Forbert’s well worn guitar (slung back on one hip) has likely seen as many miles as he has. He looks a dozen years younger than you’d expect.
At Pappy and Harriet’s (a delightful venue which has hosted some of the best songwriters around – can you say Paul McCartney?), Forbert pulled from his deep songbook for an evening full of gems.
Songs that took many in the crowd back to their college years were delivered in heartfelt fashion: Thinkin’, What Kind of Guy, The American in Me, Clouds Roll Past the Sky, to name a few.
One of the most poignant audience participation experiences in years was when Forbert advised the crowd he would give us the nod to sing the refrain of “yeah, yeah, yeah.” The song was about when John met Paul, told from the former’s slightly egotistical yet heartfelt perspective. Simply brilliant.
That boy sure could sing the kinda songs
That this boy’s singing, if he should come along
Our great group could sure do something strong
And you’d see the things that I see
You’d see the things that I see
What Kind of Guy and Goin’ Down to Laurel were in the setlist as well. It is doubtful anyone left the show other than uplifted.
(photos by Brad Auerbach)
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