Charlie Parr walked onto the Arbor Loft stage, bundled up in a made-for-Minnesota-winters cardigan, minutes after opener Al Olender finished up her set. He sat down, settled in with his Mule resonator guitar and started to tune it. Or was he just playing?
The Rochester crowd milled about, conversing, getting a set break drink. Parr kept picking away, and it became more and more evident this was some mighty fine playing that deserves an attentive ear. And after a little while he leaned into the mic and started singing, “Can you remember what it’s like / When all the world’s filled with light / Now do you have that in your sight / Then spread it around, do.”
And Parr’s set started just like that, no welcome, no pretense, he just got right to it with “817 Oakland Avenue” off his excellent 2022 release Last of the Better Days Ahead. The crowd quickly quieted, the lights went down, and the show on Thursday, December 1st, had begun.
About 90 minutes later, after the peppy “Jubilee,” he flatly announced that was the end of his set, “Do you mind if I do the encore now?” With that he left the crowd with a stirring a capella rendition of the gospel, “Ain’t No Grave Gonna a Hold My Body Down.” He opened unceremoniously with a long guitar exploration and closed with just his voice. In between those bookends, the set was filled with the lush combination of his deft finger picking and rich voice.
Sometimes seeing an artist perform solo, even the great ones, you are left wondering what could be gained with a band or even just an accompanist. Not so with Charlie Parr. He sounded perfect all on his own. Through finger picks, slides, foot stomps and that ragged voice with unexpected range, there wasn’t empty space wanting for anything more. And modifications, like an “aggressive capo” on the mostly instrumental “Jaybird” got even more sound from that guitar.
“You know you’re at a folk show when a guy talks awkwardly while tuning his guitars.” Parr said, while tuning his guitar. He tuned quickly though, and like the way he opened his show, his tuning turned to playing without pause or hesitation. The show kept moving, with engaging upbeat songs, even if they were depressing in nature. He provided “palette cleansers” with some traditional folk blues tunes, like Brownie McGhee’s “Sportin’ Life” and Blind Willie McTell‘s “Delia,” the closest he was getting to playing a seasonal holiday song (not very close at all.) His original “On Stealing a Sailboat” referenced Arlo Guthrie in style, a romping spoken word story. No, there was no question or doubt about this being a folk show, or an Honest Folk show for that matter, the promoter closing out the year in grand fashion. We look forward to what’s in store for 2023.
The full house lent an attentive ear to opener Al Olender, a young singer-songwriter from the Hudson Valley making her third return trip through Rochester this year. She immediately connected with the crowd on catchy and clever “All I Do Is Watch TV,” finger picking and strumming her vintage electric guitar and emoting with her silky smooth vocals. Her friend Amanda Brooklyn came out to aid with sparse but well-placed harmonies. She cut through sad subject matter with engaging and humble humor, in her lyrics, with in-song jokes, and witty banter. She was admittedly nervous performing a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou,” (you wouldn’t have guessed it from her delivery) but had no hesitation baring all about her own experiences in a bad breakup on “Liar Liar.” Olender is a new voice to keep an eye out for.
Charlie Parr – Arbor Loft, Rochester – December 1, 2022
Setlist: 817 Oakland Avenue, Last of the Better Days Ahead, Everyday Opus, Sportin’ Life (Brownie McGhee), Don’t Send Your Child to War, Cheap Wine, 1922 Blues, Dog, Jaybird, Over the Red Cedar, On Stealing a Sailboat, Delia (Blind Willie McTell), Jubilee
Encore: Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down
