By: David Schultz

As this year’s American Idol once again reminds us of the tenuous connection between fame and musical talent, we should all cleanse our souls by finding and listening to an unsung singer-songwriter that truly deserves the attention and publicity presently lauded upon overblown karaoke performers. One such guitarist worthy of acclaim is the Wisconsin’s Willy Porter. The wickedly talented and entertaining performer recently returned to New York City for a one-night stand at Joe’s Pub in The Public Theater. Porter, who last played the Pub with his band, returned with only a pair of guitars and his looping machine, making great use of the cabaret setting. Although Porter thrives in rowdy settings, able to handle the unruliest and chattiest audience members with his quick wit and Midwestern charm, the more intimate confines of Joe’s Pub allow him to really connect with his fans.

What Porter does with an acoustic guitar is simply masterful and needs to be seen in a live setting. Porter’s fingers glide across the fretboard with a natural ease that seems otherworldly, as if he’s channeling a higher musical force. Often it’s difficult to believe that many of the sounds coming from his guitar are actually being played with his fingers. On “Breathe,” he moves from a lilting leisurely opening into a breakneck pace that he remarkably sustains throughout the entire song. At the outset, the crowd didn’t seem to know how to react to Porter’s 9-string wizardry: awed by Porter’s prodigious skills as well as showing respect by not talking over his playing. The silence didn’t last long. Capable of striking up a conversation with seemingly anyone, Porter bantered back and forth with the crowd, telling stories connected to the music. It’s when Porter talks to the crowd that his true personality, one tightly tethered to the music he plays, comes through.

Porter’s songs come complete with an introspective honesty: while not exactly unique to the affable guitarist, it is a trait shared by the most outstanding and interesting singer-songwriters. As the themes Porter touches on aren’t exactly geared towards younger listeners, it’s not surprising that his audience skews a little older. Songs like “Tilt-A-Whirl” capture certain elements of youth but from a wiser, learned viewpoint. Porter’s poignant insight and humorous observations help give voice to many of the nondescript feelings that lurk within as years pass on.

One of Porter’s most engaging feats is his ability to write a song with the audience. Much like the Flying Karamazov Brothers challenge their fans to bring them difficult and odd-shaped objects to juggle, Porter has made a sport of adlibbing a tune that incorporates a wide range of subjects thrown his way by the audience. The marvel isn’t only that he’s able to work everything; it’s that he creatively adapts the music to the motif. With some of the ideas suggesting a barnyard motif, Porter created a farmland soundscape with his guitar and looping machine before offering commentary on Jenna Bush’s wedding and somehow working in a reference to a fish tambourine. It’s as intellectually stimulating a feat as it is humorous and entertaining.

Porter closed the show with a touching rendition of “Paper Airplane” and then unleashed a barrage of requests by asking if there was something special anyone wanted to hear. After being bombarded with a wide variety of songs, he played a guitar medley that included a phenomenal instrumental version of “Jesus On The Grille.” When Porter opened for Glen Phillips at New York City’s Canal Room a couple years back, the Toad The Wet Sprocket lead singer self-deprecatingly bragged that he would be able to play as well as Willy Porter – as long as he practiced 8 hours a day for the next 10 years. With all due respect to Phillips, Porter simply plays on a level that cannot be attained by practice alone.

Labels: Willy Porter