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Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul & Slaid Cleaves
August 16, 2003 @ The 2003 Apple & Eve Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI
It was a Maine-iacs paradise as two of Down East’s favorite sons (and
guitarist/dobroist Jeff Plankenhorn) converged on the showcase stage at
Newport to share stories and songs of the road. Fresh off a tour that
featured tributes to Folk icon Woody Guthrie, the talented pair mixed
original numbers with traditional and new musical settings to Guthrie’s
immortal words. Paul opened the musical meeting of the Maine men with a
sibilant whisper of Mark Erelli’s “The Only Way.” When it was his turn,
Cleaves changed the tempo and the tenor of the set with the twangy
“Wishbones.” As soon as Paul launched into an unevenly paced version
of “The World Ain’t Slowing Down,” the fan-packed tent erupted in applause.
Giving the crowd some time to calm down, Cleaves told a humorous story of
the neighbor in his adopted home of Texas who inspired the sadly knowing
song “Horses and Divoerces,” which was made all the more Country-fied by
Cleaves’ impressive yodel solo. Picking up on the story-telling idea, Paul
explained how he and Cleaves had decided to write a love song while on the
road. The result was the simple though painstakingly-constructed loss poem
“She Was.” Stepping out from behind the dobro, Plankenhorn offered a
playful entreaty called “Theresa” with Cleaves offering solo support. After
Paul demonstrated his ability to put Guthrie’s words to beautiful music
with “God’s Promise,” Cleaves closed the set with an unplugged revival of
the Gospel standard “This Morning” that, though at times hard to hear, was
easy to feel.
- Matthew S. Robinson
c. 2003, M. S. Robinson, ARR
2
Ellis Paul and Patty Griffin
February 21, 1998 @ The Somerville Theatre, Somerville
 Mixing his chunky, rhythmic and percussive strum with ghostly, resonant
and absolutely stirring vocals, Paul won the crowd over with his wide
smile, cute humor and "Aw, shucks!" humility. Belting out his messages
with facial contortions which ran down to his feet, Paul mixed old faves
(including a Reggaed remix of "Paris In A Day") and material from his
forthcoming album "Translucent Soul" (the title track of which is a
gorgeous tribute to Paul's friends and fellow folker Vance Gilbert and the
wonderful relationship they share). With solid control over his mumbly
slur, his mis-syllablization and his distance from the mic, Paul worked
his voice and his mother-of-pearly Gibson in a captivatingly diverse style
which ranged from timid and informative to torrential and imperative. He
astutely claimed to be only a "v" away from Elvis, but The King should be
so lucky!
Aside from an anti-climactic impromptu final encore, the highlights of the
night came when Patty joined "Paul" on stage. Their sound was as warm and
comforting as "a wool blanket on a cotton sheet." Re-enacting her
perfectly-picked accompaniments on Paul's "Deliver Me" and "Last Call,"
Griffin acted as a soulful shadow, backing and supporting Ellis with
ethereal vocal flights.
When it was her time to shine solo, Patty's sometimes gently timid but
often relentless and even grating metallic strum and surprisingly big and
echoey Nicks/Raitt-y voice overwhelmed the stage. Even after a few monitor
adjustments, Griffin's in-laid and slightly off-tune guitar forced her to
yell a bit. While the clarity of her lyrics suffered somewhat, her vocal
strength was hardly challenged. Her recent recording stint in Nashville
was evident in her voice, as was a distinct emotional range from happiness
and hope to anguish and anger. Admitting to having a "sleepy day," Griffin
kept the pace up for most of her set and, by the end, had worked the crowd
into a three-encore ovation (including one with Paul, who had been
cheering his fellow Maine-iac from the wings all along). Not even a broken
string could prevent Griffin from halting the musical magic created this
night in Somerville. She and Paul are true musicians and true storytellers
and their traditional reunion was a treat for all involved.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1998 M. S. Robinson, ARR
1
Ellis Paul
April 25, 1997 The Me & Thee Coffeehouse
 Taking the pulpit of the Unitarian Universalist Church dressed in jeans
and a self-ridiculed Delta Airlines staff jacket, Ellis opened with a
selection from his new album “Carnival of Voices” (see review) called
“Trolley Car Trail,” a gently padded pick through Park Street station and
connecting points. Mixing gorgeous fingering with JT mouth twitches, Paul
swallowed and spit-up sumptuous syllables, drawing his audience into his
lyrical secrets and stories with each note. Despite being but one man with
two guitars, Paul’s performance was incredibly varied. Mixing old tunes
like “Ashes and Dust” with the pounding new single (Yes- a folk single!)
“Deliver Me” and soon-to-be-recorded debuts about dry Utah towns and, Paul
also offered his own personal favorites such as the brilliant anti-love
love song “Here She Is” (lyrically reminiscent of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet
CXXX”) and even a tune by close friend Vance Gilbert (see March issue).
Throughout the show, Paul displayed the talent at both writing and
performing that inspired his introduction as “the whole enchilada” (er-
lobster roll, this being Marblehead).
Despite the Carpenter Gothic arched roof, Paul’s smooth tones pushed his
lyrics to enfold and enrapture the entire room. Even when he stepped back
from or even unplugged his mic, Paul’s subtle swelling power was
unavoidable. Though Paul’s lyrics occasionally fell weak or were lost in
his invitingly smoky whisper, his guitar took up the slack, allowing his
vocal tones to act as a second instrumental line. However, during his
beautifully achy a cappella version of “Say Something” (which just
happens to be Paul’s e-mail address), Paul staved-off the desire to
accompany himself and instead let his voice be its own instrument. Though
his gaffes were few, Paul had the honesty to admit them. “When you make a
mistake,” he advised, “play it twice. That way, it seems like you meant to
do it!” Even when a string broke, Paul played on, rearranging his
sparkling arrangements to adjust to the oddly-tuned 5-string.
With his “aw shucks” humbleness and down-home charm, Paul played to and
for his audience, allowing them to dictate many of his selections, even if
he had not played them for many months. Among his familiar favorites were
his cleverly pointed “Autobiography of a Pistol,” sing-along versions of
“Paris in a Day” and “300 Miles” (featuring special guests the Williams
Brothers), the oft-requested but never (professionally) recorded wedding
song “Shiny Black Shoes” (which Ellis generously allowed to be taped for
the upcoming marriage of a pair of fans) and the grandfather of all
familiar songs, a childishly airy take on “Happy Birthday” to yet another
devoted fan. As he stepped down into the congregation for his second
encore ‘unplugged’ closer, Paul completed the circle of closeness and
immediacy he creates with every song. Set in a warm and accepting church,
Paul’s performance truly was a near-religious experience!
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1997 M. S. Robinson, ARR
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