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I've been a fan of Utah Phillips's music and storytelling for several years now, ever since ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
resourceress gave me a copy of The Past Didn't Go Anywhere. However, several attempts to see him perform live have failed: Last year he was in Chicago while I still lived primarily in Arizona; then he was in Arizona after I had moved to Chicago. Argh!
This past week, Utah came back to Chicago and I finally got a chance to meet him and see him perform. A few hours before the show, he met with me and half a dozen other Chicago members of the Industrial Workers of the World, which is the labor union that both he and I belong to. The IWW was founded in Chicago in June 1905, so we were discussing plans to celebrate the Centennial next summer. Looks like a big folk music concert (or two) will be part of it, and he is going to try to get Ani DiFranco to come out as well.
After that, we went for dinner while the sound check was taking place, then came back to see the show. His performance, of course, was excellent. I was unfamiliar with most of the material that he played, which surprised me because I have four of his CDs. No problem, though -- new music is a good thing. Utah told a number of stories, too, as he is wont to do; most of those I had already heard before. Some of the stories were more recent: His daughter Morgan had been in NYC for the RNC last week, and had also gotten arrested, so he talked a little about the conditions at Pier 57, where we had all been held.
Anyway, I'm quite pleased that I was in town this time when Utah came to perform. Since I seem to be travelling nearly half the time, that isn't something which can be taken for granted! He is performing next in Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow and I'll be driving up north to see that show, too.
resourceress gave me a copy of The Past Didn't Go Anywhere. However, several attempts to see him perform live have failed: Last year he was in Chicago while I still lived primarily in Arizona; then he was in Arizona after I had moved to Chicago. Argh! This past week, Utah came back to Chicago and I finally got a chance to meet him and see him perform. A few hours before the show, he met with me and half a dozen other Chicago members of the Industrial Workers of the World, which is the labor union that both he and I belong to. The IWW was founded in Chicago in June 1905, so we were discussing plans to celebrate the Centennial next summer. Looks like a big folk music concert (or two) will be part of it, and he is going to try to get Ani DiFranco to come out as well.
After that, we went for dinner while the sound check was taking place, then came back to see the show. His performance, of course, was excellent. I was unfamiliar with most of the material that he played, which surprised me because I have four of his CDs. No problem, though -- new music is a good thing. Utah told a number of stories, too, as he is wont to do; most of those I had already heard before. Some of the stories were more recent: His daughter Morgan had been in NYC for the RNC last week, and had also gotten arrested, so he talked a little about the conditions at Pier 57, where we had all been held.
Anyway, I'm quite pleased that I was in town this time when Utah came to perform. Since I seem to be travelling nearly half the time, that isn't something which can be taken for granted! He is performing next in Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow and I'll be driving up north to see that show, too.
Tags:
- iww,
- music,
- resourceress,
- rnc