Waning January Moon
Longtime Moonlight patrons will remember the affection we held for Malcolm Holcombe, and the regularity with which we put him in front of our Birmingham audience. Our very first encounter with his singular personality was at a Small Stages house show in Forest Park, perhaps around 2001, during which he pretty much held it together in a riveting set, while keeping a lid on an army of barely-controlled private demons. By the time we brought him to the Music Cafe in Vestavia in January of 2004 (the first of six unforgettable performances at that location), he had met his saving angel and miraculous wife Cyndi, gone home to small-town North Carolina, and began walking a directional lifeline.
The best part of Malcom’s show was watching the reactions of the uninitiated in the audience, reacting to the parts where his feral and ferocious fretwork and vocals caught them unprepared, and the alchemy by which their anxiety morphed into rapture, by his incongruous sweetness and humor. Those who lined up afterwards to buy his CDs and stammer their compliments were met by direct contact with his piercing ice-blue eyes, and the gentle demeanor of a wolf that they realized would not eat them.
Malcolm was stricken with cancer last year, and died just a few months ago, after a decade of earnest creative output that left us enough recorded material by which to sanctify his unique genius. The link below gives you a lengthy read by Nashville songwriter/journalist Peter Cooper (himself now a member of the heavenly choir) that captures the fiery arc and spirit of an artist we will always celebrate, and were lucky to have as an advocate and friend.
https://www.nodepression.com/malcolm-holcombe-an-appalachian-ghost-story
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January 25, 2011
Friends of The Moonlight--
Three more shows finish off our first month of this new year, all of 'em are with visiting songwriters from the western mountains of North Carolina--- fertile territory indeed, for the kind of lyrical narratives we Southerners recognize as our own--->
Thursday the 27th-- MALCOLM HOLCOMBE, $12
You can comb the Thesaurus for proper adjectives to describe this man and his performance--- yeah, several terms come close, but none quite nail it down square. Each time we have presented Mal, we marvel at the process by which first-time listeners come to love him--- at first they're startled, then mildly alarmed, next fascinated, eventually awe-struck, and finally enchanted. Holcombe is a very complex artist in the guise of a simple messenger--- rough, gutteral, fervent--- but possessed of an irresistible wit and warmth that presents itself immediately.
Regarding his onstage intensity, Malcolm offers a few thoughts:
"Well, it's like Lonesome George Gobel said : "'When I come to a part I know, I play the hell out of it!'" When you get behind a mule or you get behind a tractor, or you get behind a faucet when you're sloppin' the hogs, when it comes time to take care of business, you try to give it your best and give it your all. That's an ongoin' challenge for everyone, competin' with yourself. But when you're in the service industry — which I feel like I am — you need to deliver the goods the best that you can."
www.malcolmholcombe.com
Malcolm Holcombe, January 27 2011, 22 present
Friday the 28th-- DANA and SUSAN ROBINSON, $12
A husband and wife duo, whose years of relentless travel have burnished their roots/folk presentation to near perfection--- picking up influences from backcountry firesides to urban streetscapes, they know American music firsthand, and manage to distill it into a rich, smooth extract with a slight pepper kick. The traditional instruments they've mastered include banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, underlaying woven vocal harmonies in service to the stories being told.... the sound and feel of modern Appalachia and its outlands.
www.robinsongs.com
Dana and Susan Robinson, January 28 2011, 24 present
Saturday the 29th-- PRIVATE EVENT (Could'a been yours!)
Sunday the 30th-- MICHAEL RENO HARRELL, $12
He's the cousin at the family reunion that will recount a forgotten tale about something you did together as children, make you hit the floor laughing, and have you both seem like heroes at the end of it. No less a songwriter and singer than raconteur, Mike's an endless source of anecdotes, yarns, and dirt-road fictions that feature the very same characters we recall as part of our own memories. In five minutes' time he'll have you hooked deep into some contemporary saga involving fireworks, mailboxes, and bicycles with no brakes--- an epic, comic cliffhanger that's poignant and ridiculous at the same time.
In addition to being a regular musical artist at MerleFest and countless other folk festivals here and abroad, Michael's been honored with the designation of Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival, and has been appointed Teller In Residence at the International Storytelling Center, an annual event and facility in Jonesboro, TN.
www.michaelreno.com
Michael Reno Harrell, January 30 2011, 15 present
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WE SAIL INTO FEBRUARY WITH THESE COMING EVENTS---
Thursday 2/3-- SUZI RAGSDALE, and COWBOY JOHNSON, Texas meets Tennessee, the sweet and the salty, both returning to The Moonlight by demand, original songs by keyboard and guitar
Friday 2/4-- MARC GUNN, "The Celtfather", a blast of Irish authenticity, more than just jigs and reels--- a big, smiling guy with a kilt and an autoharp, taking no prisoners
Saturday 2/5-- MARSHALL CHAPMAN, Nashville's seasoned country-rock diva and author, talk about salty! "An example of the triumph of rock 'n roll over good breeding..."
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