Bodie House presents at the Thousand Oaks Library

David Wilcox

Friday, September 10, 2010

$20 Early Bird (ends 7/31/2010)

$25 Regular Rate (after 7/31/2010 and at the door)

David loves music for how it has tuned up his life.  More than just entertainment, music has been a compass to navigate a life worth singing about.  Some people describe the effect of what David does as if he were a mystic or a healer.  So here are three different views from Gary Jules, Elizabeth Lesser, and Brian McLaren of what David does with this simple sound.  First, Gary Jules describes the effect of David's musicianship.

Gary Jules writes:

For most of us who are referred to as "singer-songwriters", there is more to a good song than just words, music, and performance.  Each is beyond important of course but, to pummel the cliché yet again, we want the whole (song) to be greater than the sum of its parts (words, music, and performance).  With really good singer-songwriters, these three elements become akin almost to the three dimensions of the physical world - a well-written song performed by someone who is really feeling it becomes a real "thing".  Recordings, then, are like photographs of  "things".  Yeah, like Pinnochio, only with feelings.

David Wilcox is just this kind of singer and songwriter, and the songs on Open Hand exemplify perfectly what can happen when the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.  The first song I heard from this collection was Winter at the Shore.   The opening chords move simply and inevitably toward their resolution, like seasons. At one point before the vocal starts, it sounds as if Dave's fingers might just stop playing.  But they can't.  The approaching resolution is . . . inevitable, as the passing of time.  The images are pregnant.  "The ghost of you/ dances through/ the memories of this town".  Winter in a beach town means "off season".  I think most days of a life are "off season", though we rarely take pictures on those days. Songs remind us to.  Eleven words in it's already a sonic photograph of a magical world -- the passing away manifest in chords, fragility in the performance, the story on the way.

FURTHER INFO:

• The doors open 1/2 hour before the show, so if you are one who likes to sit right up front and watch the hands of the musicians, you may want to get there early to get a good seat.
• There is an appetizer/dessert/coffee/soda potluck at all of our shows, and food contributions are appreciated but definitely not required.. we are all confirmed choco-holics, so the more the merrier! At this venue, because it is at the library, there is a no alcohol policy...:( so sorry!...you can always stop at your favorite wine bistro on your way in...
• This show is $20 (all proceeds go to the musicians!)
  

See you at a show! If you can't get to one of ours, one of the other  shows in the area... there is a lot of wonderful live music to see! Don't forget to click on the link below to RSVP.