The focus this month is on one of the most literate and engaging songwriters and performers on the circuit today: Peter Mulvey. Raised in Wisconsin and schooled in performance on the streets of Dublin Ireland, he launched head first into making it as a musician in Boston in his early 20’s.
This concert was captured at the very intimate listening space that is the Wagon Shed. Concert series organizer Art Wachter recorded the the show for WPSU.
A major goal of the Folk Show Road Show is to make the experience of listening to the broadcast or stream as close as possible to the experience of being there live in the audience, while at the same time skipping the inevitable pauses, or dead ends that don't work well on radio.
Of all the Road Shows to date, this is the closest to an unedited experience. Mulvey has an authentic and seemingly easy rapport with his audience that makes the concert flow from song to story, to song in a way that carries you right along. You will notice some bleeps, and we did cut out a few small things, including some sniffles that betrayed his cold that Novemeber 2015 evening. His voice was certainly affected, but still powerful and enjoyable, and his warmth and energy didn't seem to be hurt. We did cut one long song introduction that many listeners would find very funny, but went too far over the line for radio. If you're curious, you'll have to catch Peter in concert, and ask about Michelle Bachman's husband and the quote that occasionally pops up on his website's "quote a day" generator. It's a doozie.
The intial plan for this month's Folk Show Road Show was to split the time more evenly with The Frank Vignola Trio. But the Peter Mulvey concert was so seamlessly strong, and the tunes from the Vignola Trio so impressive, a better approach seemed to give listeners a taste of Vignola in this broadcast, and feature the whole concert in a future Folk Show Road Show. The trio includes Frank on guitar, Gary Mazzaroppi on bass and Matt Flinner on mandolin, each a master of their instrument. Vignola is virtuoso on jazz and lots more, sideman to stars like Leon Redbone, Madonna and Ringo Star in his earlier years, warm, funny and engaged with his own audiences today, and surrounded with acclaimed collaborators. Mazzaroppi has played with the greats in jazz and bluegrass, from Carnegie Hall and Blue Note in New York, to Tanglewood in Mass. to Capri,Italy. Matt Fliner won two National titles at Winifred, on banjo and on mandolin. The Associated Press says Flinner " blurs the line between Jazz and bluegrass, traditional and avante-garde.
Stayed tune, you'll be hearing the Frank Vignola trio on an upcoming Folk Show Road Show broadcast !
