Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Casbeers
San Antonio, Texas
“You’re mine tonight.” Karen Michelle Johnston clasped the audience’s attention right from the beginning. The veteran alternative-folk singer-songwriter, in her usual clothing combination of black hat, white shirt, black vest, and black jeans (accompanied with dangling silver earrings), stood confident and politically conversational, making the night seem to be a talk-sing event, a mini rally – in what used to be a church. What once was a pulpit now became the concert stage, the stained glass behind it became the display for a large portrait of the cover to Michelle Shocked’s current Soul of My Soul album and the audience sat in pews instead of chairs. But despite the once-sacred environment and Michelle’s communicative agenda, the night was riddled with jovial laughter and audience participation to Michelle’s impassioned poetry.
Each tune was not only prefaced with a comment, but even mid-song Michelle interrupted to mix politics with wit. With her song “The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore,” she expressed her concerns over the “jobless recovery” belief that held sway with some American politicians. “Raise your hands if you’ve lost a job or know someone who has.” After many hands were raised, Michelle sneered, “That’s a jobless recovery?” to which laughter permeated the air. “I was born and raised at the mouth of the Hazard Holler/Where the coal cars rolled and rumbled past my door/But now they stand in rust row of all empties…” she continued singing, encouraging and commending her audience’s involvement.
Aside from beautifully soaring vocals and all-around sincerity, Michelle mastered the stage with her upbeat persona. She had her arm in the air, stomped her foot and moved from one end of the very small stage to the next. And the humor and intelligent discussions were bottomless. She performed “a new song that requires singing on your part. All you have to sing is ‘doo doo do doo.’” “Pompeii,” which can be found on her current album, represents the times that we’re in: “But who was the dumb ass that built that civilization at the mouth of a volcano!” And if that wasn’t enough, she inserted some ecologically minded comedy: “think about all the nuclear energy, the clean coal Mount Vesuvius produced.”
Michelle Shocked’s intense song performance blended well with her socio-political views. Instead of losing her audience through frankness and biting commentary, she articulated her beliefs through humor and an inviting tone. After a series of critically supported albums and songs, including the classics “Anchorage” from Short Sharp Shocked, Michelle’s over 20-year career is a testament that she is still an exceptional performer.
by Jeff Boyce
Casbeers
San Antonio, Texas
“You’re mine tonight.” Karen Michelle Johnston clasped the audience’s attention right from the beginning. The veteran alternative-folk singer-songwriter, in her usual clothing combination of black hat, white shirt, black vest, and black jeans (accompanied with dangling silver earrings), stood confident and politically conversational, making the night seem to be a talk-sing event, a mini rally – in what used to be a church. What once was a pulpit now became the concert stage, the stained glass behind it became the display for a large portrait of the cover to Michelle Shocked’s current Soul of My Soul album and the audience sat in pews instead of chairs. But despite the once-sacred environment and Michelle’s communicative agenda, the night was riddled with jovial laughter and audience participation to Michelle’s impassioned poetry.
Aside from beautifully soaring vocals and all-around sincerity, Michelle mastered the stage with her upbeat persona. She had her arm in the air, stomped her foot and moved from one end of the very small stage to the next. And the humor and intelligent discussions were bottomless. She performed “a new song that requires singing on your part. All you have to sing is ‘doo doo do doo.’” “Pompeii,” which can be found on her current album, represents the times that we’re in: “But who was the dumb ass that built that civilization at the mouth of a volcano!” And if that wasn’t enough, she inserted some ecologically minded comedy: “think about all the nuclear energy, the clean coal Mount Vesuvius produced.”
Michelle Shocked’s intense song performance blended well with her socio-political views. Instead of losing her audience through frankness and biting commentary, she articulated her beliefs through humor and an inviting tone. After a series of critically supported albums and songs, including the classics “Anchorage” from Short Sharp Shocked, Michelle’s over 20-year career is a testament that she is still an exceptional performer.
by Jeff Boyce
