Richie Havens
Richie Havens
Casbeer’s At the Church
San Antonio, Texas
The admixture of acoustic folk music, a church building and alcohol might be unusual to the average concert attendee nowadays, but it does not automatically mean the setting is a recipe for disaster. Reach back into the grooves of the 1960s and you will see that challenging norms was the order of the day, whether it was “Jesus freaks” fusing rock with gospel music, soul performers merging the fervor of gospel with radically militant themes, experimental psychedelics or aural musical revolutionaries such as the Beatles, James Brown and Bob Dylan. But what spoke to the commoner the most was folk music, the layman’s language, a musical genre that saw a great revival in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and itself challenged traditional views of yesteryear. One such folk artist from this era – the veteran Richie Havens – is still able to draw from his roots in this period and relay them to nostalgic and young college-level audience members at a former church-now-turned-concert venue.
Draped in a long, blue dress shirt of exquisite material, with finely embroidered edges, Havens, with his trademark overgrown beard, sat on a stool, singing at times and then talking to the people as if he were a half-singer-half-spoken word storyteller. “This tour started in January 1969,” he mentioned humorously. “For all of you young guys, my generation was very interesting. We were the best-looking generation.” Probably true, but his generation was also the generation of revolution in the modern sphere; Havens is a symbol of this. And you’re never too old to tell jokes, as Havens admitted: “I’ve been here a long time…I hear aliens now.”
The mixed bag of songs included renditions and originals, ranging from the Gary Wright classic “Love Is Alive,” the blues of Dylan’s enduring “Maggie’s Farm,” his remarkable take on the Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” and his signature tune “Freedom” based on the timeless spiritual “(Sometimes I Feel Like A) Motherless Child.” The latter was illustrated by jovial handclaps from the people, and in the last segment of the song, Havens actually performed a guitar solo on his feet that deserved its standing ovation even before he finished.
There’s no doubt that Havens is an exceptional guitarist, his fingers radiating percussive sounds, and that his smoke-tinged, gruff vocalizations matched the constant toe-tapping of his right foot. While he hardly looked at the audience when he sang, the emotion displayed on his face seemed to transport him back into the 1960s, inspiring the idea that music is ageless. And even though his deep voice mumbled at times when he spoke, you were still able to get the crux of his message if you followed closely. Even if folk music isn’t your interest, Havens’ wonderful guitar skills and careful selection of songs – balancing them with upbeat folk and balladry – all made the performance memorable.
by Jeff Boyce
Casbeer’s At the Church
San Antonio, Texas
The admixture of acoustic folk music, a church building and alcohol might be unusual to the average concert attendee nowadays, but it does not automatically mean the setting is a recipe for disaster. Reach back into the grooves of the 1960s and you will see that challenging norms was the order of the day, whether it was “Jesus freaks” fusing rock with gospel music, soul performers merging the fervor of gospel with radically militant themes, experimental psychedelics or aural musical revolutionaries such as the Beatles, James Brown and Bob Dylan. But what spoke to the commoner the most was folk music, the layman’s language, a musical genre that saw a great revival in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and itself challenged traditional views of yesteryear. One such folk artist from this era – the veteran Richie Havens – is still able to draw from his roots in this period and relay them to nostalgic and young college-level audience members at a former church-now-turned-concert venue.
The mixed bag of songs included renditions and originals, ranging from the Gary Wright classic “Love Is Alive,” the blues of Dylan’s enduring “Maggie’s Farm,” his remarkable take on the Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” and his signature tune “Freedom” based on the timeless spiritual “(Sometimes I Feel Like A) Motherless Child.” The latter was illustrated by jovial handclaps from the people, and in the last segment of the song, Havens actually performed a guitar solo on his feet that deserved its standing ovation even before he finished.
There’s no doubt that Havens is an exceptional guitarist, his fingers radiating percussive sounds, and that his smoke-tinged, gruff vocalizations matched the constant toe-tapping of his right foot. While he hardly looked at the audience when he sang, the emotion displayed on his face seemed to transport him back into the 1960s, inspiring the idea that music is ageless. And even though his deep voice mumbled at times when he spoke, you were still able to get the crux of his message if you followed closely. Even if folk music isn’t your interest, Havens’ wonderful guitar skills and careful selection of songs – balancing them with upbeat folk and balladry – all made the performance memorable.
by Jeff Boyce
