The Nez at the Birch

I'm a little late posting a recap of Michael Nesmith's performance at The Birchmere. His April 17 concert was the last of his current tour, and it was a sellout, which made it fun to be in a crowd of true fans. But like the time I saw Wicked with busloads of teenage girls who knew every line, I was the outsider, the casually interested audience member in a crowd of Nez-heads.

I guess you have to address the Monkee in the room, because truthfully that's really only how I know of Michael Nesmith. Many of his fans were clearly Monkees fans, and of course I remember the show well. He was the quiet, wry, serious, intelligent Monkee. I don't remember if he was my favorite or not; I might have liked Davy back in the day, because Davy was the cute Brit who once played the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, like my beloved Jack Wild. But I digress.

Links: 

Washington Post review of the performance, by Dave McKenna

Rolling Stone Q&A, posted April 1, 2013

Couple of videos - and pardon the bobbing-eating-drinking-talking silhouette in the foreground. It's all part of the Birchmere experience. *g* 

Also on YouTube:
* First encore, Tonight
* Second encore, Thanks for the Ride

There was a lot of love in the room, and the Nez responded with a great deal of warmth. It was clear that he enjoyed what he was doing. What I loved most were the stories, or rather vignettes, that preceded each number. He takes you to the place where he was in his head when he created the songs, and even though he doesn't have the best voice, he has an artist's vision. It was an embracing and gentle experience. I can see why the fans love him.

I had more to say about the Nez experience as it relates to the Clay Aiken experience, but it would probably require more research and analysis. The phenomenon of having one's big-time show-biz career launched "overnight" by a wildly popular TV show is the obvious similarity. The Nez and Clay both have expressed gratitude for the experience and the lessons. But they both have moved on. They both had record-label frustrations, too. The great Nez story was about being expected to record hits, which led to his titling his next album And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'. Brilliant!

The short story is that the Nez listened to his own voice, worked with musicians he loved, and kept experimenting and growing. It's what artists do, and the audience continues to welcome it.

love, hosaa
cruisin'