Landmark’s Folk Series Finishes on a High Note

final “Fabulous Folk” series concert was Saturday, and the event lived up to its name.

Vance Gilbert and Ellis Paul, longtime friends and former roommates and both accomplished performers in their own right, came together to swap songs and punch lines. The two performers, armed with just acoustic guitars, shared the stage and took turns doing songs. One of the greatest things was seeing the other musician respond to the musician who was playing. They watched each other perform with a combination of awe, admiration and amusement – often clapping loudly for each other. It was actually… heartwarming.

Both men are phenomenal guitarists – so smooth and adept that I saw them playing chords I didn’t even know existed, and they did this with complete ease. Both men are also excellent vocalists – with solid ranges that they aren’t afraid to stretch. But clearly, Gilbert was the comedian and Paul, the straight man.

There were so many highs in this particular show that it’s hard to know where to begin. Possibly the most mind-blowing moment for me was when Vance Gilbert performed “Georgia on My Mind” (most famously done by Ray Charles) and then, astoundingly, segued into Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing,” and then back to “Georgia.” It wasn’t just the astonishing pairing of these two songs – Gilbert also managed to work in circular breathing into the mix, holding a note for what seemed an indefinite time. For those unfamiliar, circular breathing is technique where a performer manages to sing and breathe simultaneously (try THAT at home if you think it’s easy).

Paul, during one of his turns, did a stunningly beautiful rendition of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” – while wearing a pair of sunglasses borrowed from an audience member. Paul also demonstrated his proficiency on a harmonica on some of his numbers. Another highlight from Paul was his Johnny Cash tribute, which included a lot of enthusiastic audience participation. The audience also joined in on a number from Paul’s new CD, “The Hero in You.” The song, about the famous Chief Joseph who uttered the memorable words “I will fight no more forever,” required the audience to do a sort of choreography involving all kinds of entertaining arm gestures. Vance Gilbert seemed terribly excited that Paul was doing this song, yelling “I LOVE that one!” and enthusiastically doing the choreography onstage.

The two most touching songs were Paul’s song about Hurricane Katrina, which he played on the piano, and Gilbert’s “Old White Men.” Gilbert prefaced the song by talking about his difficult childhood and not fitting in, and how he was sort of taken in by “old white men” who looked past his awkwardness and his skin color, and taught him how to fix things. It was an amazingly well-done biographical song that really spoke to me.

For their last individual songs, each performer chose to cover Joni Mitchell. Paul did “The Circle Game,” and Gilbert performed “A Case of You.”

The two men finally performed simultaneously during the closing number – an astonishing and strange Beatles medley, starting and ending with “Dear Prudence.” The piece almost defies description, but I counted about twenty different Beatles songs worked into it, ranging from “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” to “Come Together.” They even managed to get a few bars of the Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson collaboration, “Ebony and Ivory” in there as well. My jaw was literally hanging open by the end.

After thunderous applause, the two performers returned to the stage for their encore, Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me.” Gilbert did an astonishing mock trumpet solo that would have impressed Bobby McFerrin. All in all, it was a fabulous evening of folk music.

Landmark’s final concert of the season will be the Callaway sisters on June 16.