Go See Willy!

I have a piece of advice for you, no matter what your taste in music, your feelings about going out to see live music, your geographic location: when Willy Porter plays a show within a 100 mile radius of you, GO SEE HIM. I can still remember the first time I saw him play, 20 years ago on the patio of the Union in Madison, Wisconsin. It was 1988, and I was a freshman in college, and I was absolutely blown away. Not only is his guitar-playing out of this world, but also his songwriting, singing, and stage presence are over the top good. Every time I have seen him play, he seems to put an incredible amount of effort into the performance. He sweats, he sways, he gets red in the face and tears out his heart and serves it up on his magical voice. Searching for his music on You Tube, I discovered a video of Willy performing at an elementary school. The man was rockin', having fun, and giving his all. This man is a true blood musician, and he always has a shy grin and a kind of gee, shucks "thanks guys" when the thunderous applause salutes his efforts. His songs are dense with emotion and well-crafted metaphor, and if you close your eyes it seems hard to believe you are hearing just one man with two hands and one guitar.

His shows are very entertaining, too. He has a fresh anecdote or joke between every song, and he usually does an improv bit where he writes a song based on random words and ideas called out by the audience.

Please, don't miss Willy. Get in your car, drive to where he is, and prepare to be blown away.