Word: dar
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From her early days playing at open-mike nights in Northhampton, Mass., Dar Williams has stood out among folk singers. Her intelligent and deeply personal lyrics have sparkled against her exquisite voice and her acoustic guitar. She has explored relationships with people and with the world over her first three albums. Now, with her latest tour and disc (The Green World), Dar has taken herself one step further: into the realm of the folk-pop crossover...
...ingredients to this crossover was the addition of a full band behind Dar. While at first, the mere idea of Dar's use of a band in concert seems sacrilegious to fans who have followed her from the start, it didn't take long for Dar to prove that she can do no wrong. Yes, she brought a band, but it only enhanced the "Dar Experience" (which will be explained later). It complemented her every note, rising to the crescendos and falling away when Dar needed a more personal interaction with the audience...
Attending a Dar Williams concert is more than simply listening to incredible music, it's participating in "The Dar Experience." Dar weaves together intelligence, quirkiness, humor and lush melodic arrangements that entertain and enlighten. Only she could craft pop songs out of a failed 17th-century Polish messianic cult, psychotherapy or the anti-Vietnam activities of former priest Daniel Berrigan. Her radio-ready single, "What do you Love More than Love" skews off center with its focus on Buddhism. Even Dar recognizes the unlikely nature of her topics, joking between songs...
This self-mocking humor was a critical part of this installment of the Dar Experience. For every song, Dar has a story, shedding light on the sometimes-cryptic lyrics. Her warm, funny manner during these anecdotes made the Orpheum seem as intimate as a small club. She engaged the audience with stories that were as intelligent and entertaining as the songs themselves. Where else would a Dar fan find out that in her original vision for "The Christians and the Pagans" (yes, the title says it all), the chorus was to be sung by a giant hall of naked feminists...
...Philip Berrigan. But perhaps the overriding theme on this album is one of renewal. In "Spring Street" Williams confides her battle with uptown pretensions and affirms that she'll push [herself] up through the dirt and shake [her] petals free. In each sentiment expressed in The Green World, Dar Williams has surely accomplished her goal of "capturing life at strange angles...