Concert review: Chad Lewis/ Nikki Tatom at Narrow Path

Jam-packed little room, wasn't it, MonkeyManiacs? I'm not good at head counts, but we definitely filled the Narrow Path listening room to capacity for an intimate double-set of contemporary folk music by two promising local artists.
Nikki Tatom got things started with a set of well-chosen covers and insightful originals. You can tell a lot about a singer songwriter by the material they chose to cover -- it tells you why they write the way they do, what they aspire to, and even to an extent, whether they are likely to achieve their aspirations as songwriters. It's a simple principle: you are what you eat. If a songwriter takes in a steady diet of formulaic hits, then you can expect to hear music and lyrics that cause you to look at life in exactly the same way you always have, or even worse, don't cause you to think at all.
When a writer chooses to feast on Dylan, McCracken (Sandra, that is. Former Caedmon's Call member Derek Webb's wife, a great lyricist in her own right) and Patty Griffen, you can bet that their original music will aim for a certain richness of texture. Griffen is Nikki's musical hero, and it showed. We heard several Griffen covers, including a concise performance of "Moses," and perhaps Griffin's most familiar song (since it was turned into a country hit by the Dixie Chicks) "Truth #2."
Steve Moore performed impressively throughout the set on mandolin and guitar, as well as supplying strong vocal harmony. Lorie King, who would sound good singing a chapter of "begats" to the tune of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," provided background vocals on several songs as well.
Nikki needlessly apologized for not sounding like Dylan before launching into his "Down in the Flood." Actually, Nikki's voice has the perfect silkiness for a folk singer, and remind B-Dog of Sarah Masen. And notwithstanding Dylan's legendary prowess as a songwriter and stylist, any young female whose voice DID smack of Dylan's gravelly whine should probably have to submit to an exorcism. Fortunately, that was not the case. And headliner Chad Lewis added Dylanesque harmonica chops to Down In The Flood, a pleasant surprise.
Nikki's originals were the highlight of her set, though. War Admiral is everything a folk song should be. "The Modesty Song" has all the positive attributes of a novelty song, while not actually being a mere novelty, since it actually has a timely message (which I was reminded of several times, sitting in a southern Indiana coffee house Saturday night, watching a parade of Britney wannabe's stream in for latte's -- and knowing that this is a Christian owned business next to a mega church, and thus draws local Christian youth as its primary customers).
Over time, I'd expect Nikki's writing to grow stronger and take more center stage, eventually relegating the covers to second-tier status in her live shows -- maybe two or three covers in a field of originals. I'd also expect that, as Nikki's confidence grows from more positive experiences like this concert, her vocal technique will come to the fore. She covers her nervousness well, and actually makes it a endearing part of her stage persona -- you feel like you're watching an old pal sing a song around a campfire, but the only downside of this is that you sometimes have to struggle to hear her over the instrumentation. When she cuts loose she'll find that she has nothing to be afraid of, because she clearly has talent.

Chad Lewis headlined the show, joined by backup singer and rhythm guitarist Jason Shaw. Chad sings like someone who knows who he is, knows how to steer a crowd and get us into his groove, and knows that it will lead to a successful concert -- all the attributes that a headliner needs. He performed many original songs from his four CD's. I'd describe his style as Nordic Folk. I'd imagine that if Lewis lived a few hundred years ago, he'd be some village's leading troubadoor of sea shanty's and woodland ballads. Here is someone who could alternately calm the townspeople or lead them into battle, as could Jason Shaw (the only trouble there was that Jason's mic wasn't loud enough - or wasn't on. Not sure which, but the mix wasn't quite right from where I was standing).
Highlights included "Georgia I'm Free," a poignant tale of love, loss, and recovery based off a true story, as Lewis's songs tend to be. "Remind Me" is a powerful prayer for God to remind us who He really is, and who we are in Him. "Suffering Song," the title cut from (I think) Chad's latest album, shows how God uses our weaknesses to draw us to him and accomplish His purpose. Chad writes like a pastor -- a Nordic folk-singing pastor, that is!
As a personal note to Mr. Lewis, who sported a new, shorter hairdo, a good product to use is American Crew Fiber. B-Dog uses it daily, to give my hair long-lastind hold while making it appear full. Gels don't cut it -- they make me look like God has decided my hair should be much thinner and less pre-eminent than it once was (which in fact, He has). Doesn't look like you have that problem yet, which makes me wonder why you wanted to cut your hair (B-Dog wishes he could have his long, loopy locks back, but that's another story).
Chad's banter is conversational and funny. He seems like someone who has been performing for many years, and knows how to draw people into the world he illuminates with his craft.
Chad's voice is big (see, like I was saying -- Nordic. Viking) and smooth. It says "Here I am. Pay attention to the words I'm singing." And so you do. And so we did. Good show. Good singers. Good musicians. Good songs. Check out www.chadlewis.net for more information about the headliner, music downloads, stories behind his songs, and pictures. www.nikkitatom.com is a newer site that doesn't have much info on it yet, but of course you can check out Nikki's blog from my links, or type in her address: http://nikkitatom.blogspot.com