[FM] Greg Greenway with Janet Feld: Bedford, MA Review

[Roberta Schwartz]

Greg Greenway
with Janet Feld opening

A New Song Coffeehouse
The First Church of Christ, Congregational
Bedford, MA 01730
(781) 275-1135
http://www.newsong.com

Saturday, January 26, 2002
8 p.m.

It was an unusually warm night for late January, but it's always warm 
inside Jerry Christen's and his loyal band of volunteer's venue, A 
New Song Coffeehouse in the center of Bedford, Massachusetts, a few 
short miles north of Boston and Cambridge.  In what must be the only 
sunken kitchen in all of the coffeehouses in the northeast, the New 
Song volunteers cooked up a selection of luscious cakes and pies to 
help the music go down.  But tonight was to be a special night, with 
both local favorite Janet Feld and nationally known singer/songwriter 
Greg Greenway on the bill.

Janet Feld, who has a devoted local following, opened the evening 
with a flawless set of songs that featured her self-deprecating 
humor.  Her ability to poke fun at herself and her "midlife crisis" 
hit just the right notes with this mostly middle-aged audience! 
Tunes like "Houdini Bikini" and "I'm Married But I'm Not Dead" 
certainly resonated with this group.  And she had everyone in 
stitches with "Do You Want to Be Right?" which dares to ask the 
question, "do you want to be right/or do you want to be in love?" 
"Tick Tock World" featured some great guitar picking and Greg 
Greenway on accompanying vocals.  Feld was a real treat for this 
listener, who will be sure to look for her to see what she's up to 
next.

Janet set the stage for the multi-talented, Cape Cod-based Greg 
Greenway, who has graced the national acoustic music stage with his 
dynamic performing style, powerful guitar playing and passion about 
the state of the world around him.  What has always set Greenway 
apart is his ability to rouse a crowd into a devoted group of 
followers.  It's the closest thing to attending a religious revival 
in the secular world of acoustic music.  But...we were sitting inside 
of a church.

Greenway, armed with a supple tenor, poetic lyrics and stellar licks 
on guitar had the audience's attention right from the start.  He 
began with "A Road Worth Walking Down," which is the title song of 
his first CD.  His soaring voice and dynamic delivery took us through 
a set featuring many of the songs off of his new recording, SOMETHING 
WORTH DOING, which could be the story of Greenway's life and music. 
"The Way of the World" tells the story of Greenway's move to Boston 
from Virginia; "Every Little Day" is an upbeat and happy song which 
hooks you right into its uplifting groove; and "Passion Dance" which 
has a rich, romantic melody that takes you off on its passionate ride.

The highlight of the first set, though, was Greenway's rendition of 
his song about Martin Luther King called "In the Name of Love," which 
he combined with a section of U2's "Pride" to deliver a powerful 
message of what the heroes of our time have meant to us.

Greenway returned for the second set with some old favorites, many 
involving audience participation.  "Crack in the Wall" is one of my 
favorites from Greg's CD SINGING FOR THE LANDLORD.  It's an a capella 
piece delivered with great force, great emotion and is dynamic and 
empowering in Greenway's hands.  "Don't Make Me Sing" is the artist's 
way of poking fun at that part of the audience who would rather not 
sing on a sing-a-long.  "Archaeology," from MUSSOLINI'S HEAD, is one 
of Greenway's best songs, and offers a glimpse of his journey from 
the carefree days of being single, to being a dedicated partner and 
husband.  It is rich in metaphors and images that stay with you. 
Greenway was called back for an encore, and he ended with his comic 
piece, featured on the radio talk show, Car Talk, entitled "Driving 
in Massachusetts."  He had the audience in stitches.

It was another great night of song at A New Song Coffeehouse in 
Bedford, Massachusetts.

And...check out more about Greg Greenway and where he's playing next 
at: http://www.greggreenway.com Janet Feld has a website at 
http://www.janetfeld.com

Thanks for reading, now go out to a show and have a listen....

Roberta Schwartz
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Roberta B. Schwartz
rschwartz@oeb.harvard.edu
Staff Writer, Music Matters Review
http://www.mmreview.com
Reviewer and Review editor, FAME
http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/famehome.htm
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