Bruce Cockburn delivered a memorable solo performance at the Charleston Music Hall, blending his poetic lyricism, atypical melodies, and masterful guitar playing. With an intimate setting and a focus on the songs that have moved so many, the evening’s concert was a soulful journey that left the audience stirred to the core.
“His songs have a way of leaving a deep groove.”
I’m almost certain that everyone who loves the music of Bruce Cockburn can remember which song of his they first heard. His songs have a way of leaving a deep groove. You just knew — this is a different kind of writer, even before you could pronounce his last name.
This would be my first time seeing a show at the Charleston Music Hall in South Carolina. It’s a quaint theater that seats just under a thousand people on John Street in Charleston. I looked around and saw two guitars propped up on stage. A wind chime dangled near a stool.
“There aren’t many who can really pull off a solo show.”
There aren’t many who can really pull off a solo show. I’ve seen some who were exemplary, the very best being John Sebastian. Bruce Hornsby is excellent solo, as is Scott Kirby, a great independent artist. The late J.D. Souther was another one.
Add Bruce Cockburn to the list. He walked out on stage confidently, but very calmly. When you’ve written songs like Cockburn, you don’t necessarily need a band.
I’ve gone through periods where I was crazy about the stripped-down performances and recordings. People like Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, and the late Gordon Lightfoot have really knocked me out with just solo acoustic. At times I’ve thought that if I was king for a day, just guitar and vocal would be the law of the land. You know, like you’d hear it around the campfire.
“Bruce is yet another Canadian singer-songwriter who seems to have gotten in line multiple times when God was handing out talent.”
It occurred to me that Bruce is yet another Canadian singer-songwriter who seems to have gotten in line multiple times when God was handing out talent. You could say the same of the aforementioned Lightfoot, as well as Leonard Cohen, David Wiffen, and Joni Mitchell.
Bruce Cockburn is one of those singer-songwriters who can really affect the heart. Poet is an apt description. Some of the lines he delivered that night seemed to echo after he sang them, but not in the sonic sense. It was like the words reverberated mentally.
“More than anything else, it was the songs that people came for.”
It’s a delight to see him on a stage like the Charleston Music Hall. With a lunar background and simple lighting, it created the perfect ambience to really listen to the words and melodies. More than anything else, it was the songs that people came for.
Cockburn seems to be one of those artists who pours the entirety of a story that would take most people pages and pages with pen and paper, into just four minutes in a song. His talent is poetic succinctness.
One person in the audience called out “talk to us.” Bruce responded that he may at some point. It seemed that Bruce was focused on performing as many songs as he could. He even remarked that he had a lot to sing. He was a man on a mission.
“His show is for people who have been emotionally and even soulfully affected by the music.”
Bruce’s singing and playing are best described as honest. And the folks who came out were there for that reason. His show is for people who have been emotionally and even soulfully affected by the music.
You could clearly see that the audience knows the music. Aside from the applause in-between tunes, you could hear every note. People were there to listen.
Some performers can be quite loquacious and tell story after story. Barry Manilow or Julio Iglesias are two that follow the conversational approach. On the other side of the coin, you have Bob Dylan who may say one sentence all night, and at other times won’t say a word. Bruce Cockburn hits the median, with occasional ebb and flow throughout two sets and an encore.
He did get chatty before introducing a very creative song about Canadian poet Al Purdy. He seemed excited to talk about the atypical nature of how the song was crafted and what inspired it. Other than that, he let the songs speak for themselves.
“This world is always a place where we can perish, yet there is love.”
Two songs got the most visceral reaction. There was the blissful “Wondering Where the Lions Are,” complete with audience participation. The other being “Lovers in a Dangerous Time.” Cockburn said that one was inspired by thinking about kids in a schoolyard. This world is always a place where we can perish, yet there is love. No matter how dangerous a time or place is, “You still have to live and you have to give it your best shot,” Cockburn told Paul Zollo.
“Pacing the Cage” seemed to be the favorite that people needed to hear. After coming out for the encore, you could hear “pacing” and “cage” ringing out from different parts of the theatre.
And what a song it is. Through the years some legendary singers were as affected by that ballad as the people in the crowd — from Judy Collins to Jimmy Buffett. I saw more than one person who was brought to tears.
“I could listen to him forever.”
And before I knew it the concert was over, but Bruce left everyone filled up. I got up to leave. A man sitting with a cane said, “I could listen to him forever.”
P.S. — I sound like a broken record. But, if you only take one thing away from this review, let it be this: go to the show.
