When you are pulled through the rough side of the ringer of life, you are given a tremendous power as an artist; able to harness something that not all can fathom. This is what makes an artist like Vic Chesnutt so appealing. His fourth tour stop just happened to place him one block from my apartment in Philly, and I was ready to see Mr. Chesnutt with bells on. Being a Widespread Panic fan has made me a huge music fan in general, and one of their biggest influences is Vic Chesnutt. Vic is currently out on the road with a small band promoting his new album Silver Lake with a whirlwind tour that takes him all over the country. Silver Lake is Vic’s 11th album, two of those being side project releases with the Panic boys.
Vic sounds as if he has been through three lifetime’s worth of emotion. His lyrics are both heavy and beautiful. Emotions flow out of his performances from calm, sweet areas to dark, scornful &angry. He reeks of vocal style. The Georgia man touches people in a way most artists only dream.
At ten on the nose, Vic was wheeled up to the top of the stage and the crowd quickly filled in the gaps on the floor. He began with his same gritty, nasal tone that makes his sound so unique. He played a beautiful song called "Stay Inside" off his new album singing "well, I guess I’m thru stewing, how ‘bout let’s roll the rock away / My bed clothes have gone all funky, I need to get out of this cave…stay inside." His voice sent chills up the spines of most in attendance as he sounded as if he was expressing his desires, and at the same time laying judgment on all of us. The accompanying guitar player matched Vic’s six string with a nice mix of electric harmonics and riffs that brought balance to Vic’s raw lyrics.
Here sat a man that was thrown into a wheel chair after a horrible car accident years ago, putting himself up on a stage just for the love of playing. I stood directly above him, perhaps seven feet from his head, and watched as his hands repeatedly struggled with the guitar. Despite the battle, a beautiful melody came forth while his drummer softly brushed at the set never breaking a sweat. In fact the drummer never even took off his wind breaker. Later he joked that he was in fact the "wind breaker" of the evening.
Vic pulled out "My Last Act," one of my favorite tunes from his album Left To His Own Devices about midway through his performance. I am always floored to see the emotional power released from this man. He played his guitar with such soft strums, yet his voice raged with fury through the song. It was one of many highlights of the evening. "Girls Say" and "In My Way, Yes" were knocked out from a less then frail Chesnutt. The night ended with a nice sort of lullaby style tune that sent everyone home with a warm fuzzier feeling then usually Vic shows. We had all been given the opportunity to peer into Vic Chesnutt’s world. People take different things away from that peek. I saw a different side to Vic that night, a side that is more dynamic and uplifting then previous times. He poured out a little of himself and we drank. We walked away full of new respect for a great musician and an even braver man.
