April 11, 2010 – Had a wonderful house concert experience tonight up in Indianapolis. My dear wife Rhonda and I cruised up from Bloomington to catch a fellow StringDancer member in the act, the multi-talented Bob Lucas performing solo at Cyndi Wagner‘s house (Cyndi is a tireless advocate for the Indianapolis Songwriter’s Cafe, a community of Indy-based fans of songwriter-driven acoustic music). It had been a long week for wifey and me, and we both needed a nice shot of some sweet acoustic music before starting another round of work.
Bob Lucas is a friend from my ’70s Bloomington, Indiana days, when he pretty much ruled the roost around this town with the local wood-music hipster musicians and the fans who kept them busy, and his skills haven’t diminished over the years, but rather have mellowed and matured like a fine cabernet. Once you catch a taste, you quickly learn to savor it, and keep coming back for more.
Now, Bob is a mighty good acoustic guitar player and fiddler, and to my ears his far-reaching, versatile frailing 5-string banjo picking ranks among the best I’ve ever heard (being a banjo picker myself, I have a soft spot for players who can embrace this quintessentially American string instrument and do it justice). But certainly it’s his amazingly supple tenor voice and deeply satisfying songwriting skills that set this man apart from the vast majority of his contemporaries. And besides his musical talents… Bob’s warm, down-home and engaging presence is simply a treat to be around.
This from his website:
Bob Lucas is a songwriter, actor, singer & multi-instrumentalist. He has lived in Logan County, Ohio for the last 15 years working for the locally known as well as nationally famous Mad River Theater Works where he holds the position of music director and songwriter in residence. While at Mad River he has written music for and performed in 25 original plays.
Before coming to Ohio, Lucas formed the ground breaking folk group “Eclectricity,” touring internationally with famed actor and singer Theodore Bikel. As a songwriter he has achieved success having his songs recorded by international recording stars such as Alison Krauss, New Grass Revival, Sam Bush and Kathy Chiavloa. His debut solo album, “The Dancer Inside You” received a four star rating from Downbeat Magazine. Recently two more of his songs have been released on the award winning Alison Krauss and Union Station album “New Favorite”. BobLucasMusic.com
For tonight’s show, Bob contended he was a little out of practice, having been preoccupied in recent months writing a play on the life of the brilliant black inventor, Lewis Latimer, whose efforts to improve on Edison’s incandescent light bulb contributed significantly to the success of modern electric lighting. But rusty or not, Bob delivered the goods this evening, singing and playing his beautifully etched and inlaid open-pot banjo, acoustic guitar and fiddle, showcasing several songs he wrote for his play and many old favorites from his large repertoire of original compositions and traditional tunes, all intermixed with a judicious sampling of stories and ad-libs delivered in his typically affable style. Bob was accompanied on guitar for a couple tunes by his longtime cohort and Bloomington icon, Mark Bingham, who produced Bob’s above-mentioned 1972 album, The Dancer Inside You. The music flowed on, the hour got late, and Bob finally let loose his hold on the audience (which BTW included StringDancer members Bob Stoner and Allen Deck). Those gathered reluctantly accepted the inevitable, but were mighty glad to have been there to enjoy it all.
It’s evenings like this that confirm my belief that the best music is often acoustic music, delivered with a lot of heart and soul and not so many decibels. It’s not all that difficult, really, to crank up the volume, crunch out the power chords, appeal to the god of boogie, move the booze, rock the house and send folks home with ears ringing. It takes real artistry to coax the subtle goods from acoustic instruments and quietly lift up the spirits of those who will listen. The most magical concerts I’ve ever experienced consist of one, two, maybe three players who have that special knack for the sweet acoustic side of music. Bob Lucas was born with that gift.
