Seeing a Robert Hunter show is like viewing the blueprint layout for a Dead song. It's stripped down, naked and stands only on it's foundation. It has none of the bells and whistles, drums and space, or solos and jams added to it...it's just Hunter, the song, and you. It is the epitome of intimacy, and I always feel as if I am seeing a private engagement; what every head would truly desire from those emotional Jerry ballads. Yet each time I see him perform, aside from the tweener sets for Phil and company, the audiences somehow seem to get smaller.
When I approached the Somerville Theatre, a nice crowd mingled outside in the artsy courtyard of Davis Square, holding candles and huddling together. I thought for a moment that Hunter actually had a scene developing, but it turned out to be an anti-war rally. I did notice however that a few of the demonstrators managed to sneak out early and see the show.
In tune with the happenings, Hunter started off with a tour medley, singing of his road travels thus far, and touching on the plight of the country at such a strange political time. The collage slipped into "Bertha" and after a tuning session he crept into crowd favorite "Box of Rain". Not only was the balcony closed, but the orchestra seating was sparse, so despite the occasional St Patrick’s day reveler, his voice was able to carry off each corner of the theatre in crystal clear fashion. By "Cumberland Blues" he finally warmed up enough to get his fingers really moving, and the set progressed steadily till the conclusion with the poignant "Standing on the Moon", which brought the audience to practically hold it’s collective breath. The lyrics touching on our current state of affairs as subtly, and simultaneously as direct, as only Hunter can.
Second set came right out of the gates with the powerful "Days Between". Bookending a setbreak with those two songs was an emotional pairing, and I suspected that the entire show would meander down an introspective path, but he actually tore it up as I hadn’t seen him do before. Once the energy built in the room, the central focus of the set developed into a segue-filled showcase of classics including "So Many Roads", "Direwolf" and "Peggy O", with each song appearing numerous times. With Boston having such a rich Irish history, and it being the weekend of the green, Hunter utilized the opportunity to sing "Danny Boy". Although he asked the crowd to sing along, they let him carry it alone, and it was beautifully done.
Then, before encoring with his usual "Boys in the Barroom", he launched into a long spoken word rendition of "Wind Blows High". Commenting on the imminent war and the ongoing struggles in the world today, Hunter sang to the attentive crowd, "If you ain’t scared, you ain’t looking".
Ain’t that the truth.
To read the Boston entry to Hunter’s tour journal click here.
All photos courtesy of Norman Sands www.kingidea.com
