THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605180043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music review
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
CALL IT WHAT you will: roots-rock, cow-punk or twang-core.
The style blends country, rock, grunge, blues and folk, all packed into a movement that eschews trendiness or fashion. The sound is inspired by the pioneering work of Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Poco, the Byrds and The Blasters.
In the mid-80s, the now legendary group Uncle Tupelo forged this song-rich sound, producing several memorable albums, including the lauded ``Anondyne.''
Out of the ashes of Unk's demise came Wilco, led by Jeff Tweedy (who visited the Boathouse last year) and Son Volt, led by singer/songwriter Jay Farrar.
Wednesday it was Farrar's turn to show Hampton Roads music fans what the critical fuss is all about. And the fans weren't disappointed.
Opening with a fury of cutting grunge guitars, Farrar led his band of multi-intrumentalist Dave Boquist, bassist/singer Jim Boquist and drummer Mike Heidorn through a 90-minute set of music from its debut album, ``Trace.''
It was a glorious set of pop music that shined the boots of Hank Williams and George Jones and polished the amps of Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
Farrar and band demonstrated the stage presence of a wax museum, but no one cared. The crowd wasn't there to witness the flash-in-the-pan antics of groups clad in black with lyrics to match.
Rather, the audience thrilled at Farrar's vocals delivered by an aching voice steeped in a road-weary melancholy. His voice had that whiskey-soaked, lived-through-it-all quality, and when he harmonized with Jim Boquist, it brought to mind the brothers Everly and Louvin.
Midway through the show, Farrar and company switched instruments and delivered a semi-acoustic set of about a half-dozen songs that contained more genuine country than all the hits from those slick Nashville hunks in hats. Dave Boquist did a superb job handling the banjo, lap steel and fiddle while Farrar strummed his acoustic guitar and sang with an ache in his voice and a tear in his beer.
The band offered the crowd just about all of ``Trace'' with an Uncle Tupelo song thrown in here and there for good measure.
Roots-rock is now a viable musical trend and Wednesday Son Volt showed why with Farrar's solid songs and convincing vocals and the band's empathetic backing. As Son Volt's output rained from the Abyss stage, the audience soaked it up like a sponge. by CNB