Vance Gilbert, March 21, 2003
Vance Gilbert
His songs are quirky, yet touching. The lyrics alone are better than almost anything else you’ve heard, but Gilbert also packs a sassy vocal punch between songs. Then there’s Gilbert’s wizardry on acoustic guitar. He pounds, claws, scratches, caresses, and the resulting sounds frame his voice in some natural, elemental way that couldn’t result from simple chords or even complex finger-picking. It’s possible, even probable that any time you see Gilbert in person his songs will make you laugh and cry simultaneously. But don’t roar or sob too hard — you might miss something.   FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

Boston-based, Philadelphia-raised guitarist Vance Gilbert is among the quintessential musical poets of the 1990’s. His lyrics are highly personal, his tenor vocals fluid and enthralling. There’s an undercurrent of optimism behind Gilbert’s music that, combined with the upbeat nature of his songs, gives you a feeling of utter joy.   DIRTY LINEN
[ Vance Gilbert’s website ]

YOU CAN CALL HIM EDGY. You can call him provocative. Vance Gilbert commands attention. You may never have a neutral response to his lyrics or what he says to the audience — but you don’t go to a concert to be bored, do you?

This singer-songwriter hit the ground running in the early 90s and has made a name for himself with four albums, country-wide gigs, and the company he keeps on-stage. Close to home, his 2000 “Somerville Live” album has been cited as the disc “young songwriters should study the way law students cram for bar exams.”

Gilbert’s latest CD, “One Thru Fourteen,” brings you the energy and diversity he is known for. You get the full-tilt pop of “Waiting For Gilligan,” the country-soul caress of “Son Of Someone’s Son,” and the Gipsy Kings-like intensity of “Why Are We So Cruel?” The straight-up blues vibe of “Hard To Love,” the splashy 60s romp of “Don’t Leave A Trace,” even a dead-on nod to Billie Holiday in the fully orchestrated “I’ll Cry Too” are captured on this original, self-produced album, along with acoustic standards “Highrise” and “Eliza Jane."

Come challenge yourself with a “rare performer for whom people lean forward in their seats as eagerly between songs as they do during them” — Vance Gilbert.

$15

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