Live Review
Steve Lee
3rd & Lindsley – 7/10/2008
Steve Lee is right: he is one of only two bearded Asian men I know of—and the other is Judge Ito.
Steve Lee is one of Nashville’s most uniquely gifted artists. Usually, when an artist gets the label “genre-defying”, it is a bad sign. All too often, it is dead giveaway that the artist does not really “have a sound.” Even though I cannot tell you what genre he goes in, Steve Lee has a sound—it’s John Prine meets Raffi on acid. There is a palpable Country influence to the native Arkansan’s style, but both his songs and his delivery make the listener wonder whether this is kids’ music.
Therein lies the genius of Steve Lee: the surface simplicity of his music allows him to go places no one else goes. His palette and imagination are as varied and seemingly chaotic as the front of his custom-painted nylon string guitar.
Drummer Jano Rix perfectly summed up the Steve Lee show at 3rd and Lindsley on the 10th of July when he walked up to a woman after the set and asked if her cheeks hurt.
She, like everyone else who stayed out late on that Thursday night, had been smiling and laughing the entire set. In my book, it is always a good show when it hurts to smile the next day.
With so much of modern music revolving around parity and cliché, it is so refreshing to see an artist where you have no idea what will come out of his mouth next—really, no idea. There were a few times at the show where I thought to myself, “only at a Steve Lee show.” For example, local singer/songwriter Daniel Ellsworth sat crossed-armed on the stage until the very last song of the set. He then stood up, took a harmonica solo, and sat back down—that was his entire contribution. There were moments during the show I was sure were impromptu improvisation and yet somehow the band came back together as though it was all part of the plan. At one point, Steve Lee stepped off stage and began shouting into a megaphone. I had absolutely no idea what he was shouting, but it did not really matter. Only at a Steve Lee show…
It is difficult to pick a “song you must hear” by Steve Lee. His live show (with the Gabe Dixon Band as his backing band), is an experience unto itself. But I have to recommend listening to his 2007 release “What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee?” Though the studio effort has more of a 70’s Funk vibe to it than the live show, I would have to recommend “Good Morning” and “Green Means Go.” Those two capture the (albeit whimsical) brilliance of a Nashville songwriter who is like no other.
upper photo credit: Neil Visel |