I saw Slaid Cleaves last night at The World Cafe Live in Philadelphia and was not disappointed. Why the tag "WRITER-singer-songwriter"? It seems to fit the kind of songwriting he excels at - slice-of-life songs about the locals in the bars he used to play, songs about everyday people and not ME ME ME. Story songs, not love songs, though there is love aplenty within. He's somewhere between folk and country (Americana, perhaps?) with a smoky drawl - fantastic, expressive voice. In concert, he played with another guitarist - not totally necessary but appreciated - as Slaid is more of a strummer than a picker. He sounded great, told interesting stories (just like his songs) and, surprising me a bit, introduced many as about real people and events, not fictional characters. I bought the two CDs of his that I don't own from his wife at the merchandise table. I love doing that, as I figure it puts the most cash in the artist's hands. Not many good videos on YouTube, so you will have to live with an audio track, one of my favorites of his entitled "Key Chain".
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