Last night I had the pleasure and the privilege to see Bill Callahan and his band perform at the Whirling Tiger in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s the second time I’ve seen Bill. The first was June 21, 2019 in Portland, Oregon.
If you’re not familiar with Bill Callahan, I recommend you stop reading right now and go find his music and listen. He’s a musical artist unlike any I know, and last night through a set of unusual circumstances I was able to meet him and tell him how much I appreciate his work.
Last night’s show was a little mellower than the show I saw in Portland. Bill’s music has a great sense of space. It’s less formulaic than most music you’ve likely ever heard. He is clearly in the singer-songwriter genre with elements of Americana, country, rock, and blues, but there’s more. I can’t quite explain. Go listen.
At the venue, the people in the crowd were all friendly and social. I met other fans and we talked about how Bill’s music overflows with poetic emotion. We agreed that it was almost like he’s untouchable, beyond comparison, just pure honesty in musical artistry.
And then, as we were leaving, a newfound friend said, “look, there he is.” Sure enough, Bill was standing by a door as the crowd all made their way out. We stopped and talked and he was kind enough to let us each get a photo with him. Then he went in the door. I’m not sure anyone else talked to him. It was an unusual moment for me, almost surreal.
I let Bill know that I think his work is some of the best songwriting around today. Of course, he was graceful. But I continued to tell him that I am a life-long songwriter and that what he does is beyond what most songwriters do. I said, “my songs are so structured.” Let me explain.
What makes Bill Callahan one of the best songwriters I’ve ever known is that he is able to weave in and out of traditional songwriting and into something that is almost free of traditional song form. His band helps to create a flow, a waxing and waning. Again, it’s hard to explain because there is no one else who does quite what he does.
Bill played for two solid hours. If you know his music, he played selections from some of his greatest works, clear back to his music with the band Smog. If you don’t know his music, here’s his discography via wikipedia.
Let’s stay in touch. – dse
