Sunday, April 13, 2008

Chad Mitchell Trio & Tom Paxton in Salem: 4.12.08


The keys of the magic of the Chad Mitchell trio is tight harmony, melodic clarity, and cleverness in lyric and execution. They were a folk group with roots in a college glee club, hence the emphasis on harmony and clarity. Their initial group had a four year run and then a second manifestation of six that brought John Denver to the attention of the world when he replaced Chad Mitchell. (There is a parallels here to the role John Stewart played when he replaced Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio.)

They are men in their near seventies now doing a select number of dates, like this one in Salem, seemingly more for joy than profit. Chad Mitchell introduces themselves by the lives they have had since the times of the trio, when they were a mainstay of variety shows, beginning with Belafonte's concerts at Carnegie Hall through years of television with Sullivan, Dinah Shore and many others. Mitchell worked as a singer, a cabaret artist, a realtor, worked as entertainment director for a cruise line. Mike Kubluck became the arts administrator for Spokane Washington. And Joe Frazier went to Yale Divinty school and became an ordained Episcopalian minister.

So what's it like with all original members circa 70 years old? Their delivery is still hearfelt and lovely, but sometimes it was more than that. Like when they delivered a rousing version of Woody Guthrie's ballad of the Ruben James that was responded by the crowd in one of the liveliest ovations of the evening. Likewise was the power in their complex arrangement of When Johnny Comes Marching Home with its direct and strong imagery and delivery which felt very topical, but perhaps not as direct and topical as their update of the George Birch Society Blues updated with venom to the George Bush Society Blues. Part of the secret of the Chad Mitchell Trio was that the messages were delivered by clean cut college men from a school out West. There is something still disarming about that except now they are three elder, one a near Anglican priest delivering these words.

I don't think there could ever be a Chad Mitchell concert without the influence of Tom Paxton. Paxton's What Did You Learn in School Today? and The Marvelous Toy were among the trio's best known tunes. So it makes it an even more significant evening when Paxton was there to open and help close out the evening. His opening How Beautiful upon the Mountain began the evening and set the tone for the evening. Almost immediately the crowd sang along with him on the chorus, essentially to a song they had never heard before. I felt like a Unitarian singing along to a folksong in public, but I have to admit, it was kind of like revisiting an old campfire. Paxton's set had some tunes about our current wartime situation ("This is just a surge for Victory" went one lyric) along with a moving tune about the firemen of 9/11. And it was kind of fun to hear him pull out Bottle of Wine (as in "fruit of the wine, when will I ever get sober")

But it was his tender songs about his daughters Jennifer and Kate and his wife of 45 years that came across best, especially with interplay with string wizard Paul Prestopino. And his Last Thing on My Mind certainly holds its own as one of the finest ramblin' on songs of the Folk era.

Are you going away with no word of farewell?
Will there be not a trace left behind?
Well, I could have loved you better,
Didn't mean to be unkind.
You know that was the last thing on my mind.

And it only seemed right for The Chad Mitchell Trio to become the Chad Mitchell Quartet with the addition of Paxton delivering his well known Ramblin' Boy and the moving plea for a peaceful world Ed McCurdy's Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream. It was a special and lovely evening and was made even better by the company of my mother and aunt. Certainly, sixty miles seemed like a short distance to travel for such rewards.
posted by well-executed buffet at 8:04 PM
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