Chris Smither 8/25/18 Guthrie House Great Barrington MA

Veteran folkie Smither was at this year's Green River Fest. I passed on him there knowing that I would be traveling to the Guthrie "church" in late August. The Guthrie Foundation is a non-profit affair helmed by Arlo and fam to help the needy in this area. Hot meals, free legal services, yoga, and even BYO God religious services are provided in this church/concert space. We figured that sleepy-eyed Chris was in his mid-70s. His effortless acoustic picking style was rooted in folk, but dabbled in blues and Nawlins soul. He played sitting, while his feet tapped percussively. This wasn't just keeping time, but an added dimension to the one-man, one-guitar troubadour. Two full sets of songs dotted with stories over the years. Before doing a cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybelline" (in a minor key!), Chris talked about choosing songs to cover. They need to be "sturdy" so they can handle abuse and interpretation. Another story came regarding his popular "No Love Today" song which has a refrain referencing the produce man's call down his street as a youth in the Big Easy. He said he was in Hawaii and stumbled upon a kid playing the tune in a produce stall. Chris remarked that it made him feel good that the youngster was playing his tune, to which the kid responded ," that's not your tune man". Other covers of Doc Watson's " Sittin On Top Of The World", and Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues" were excellent. In the handshake line, a guy in front of me had a picture of Chris in a Newport Folk program when he played there at the age of 23, "just want to see if your autograph looks the same" he said.