Seth Glier ~ 2018 August 31 ~ The Spire ~ Plymouth, MA
Band Personnel: Seth Glier, lead vocals, guitar, piano, electronic effects, percussion; Rachel Coats, upright bass, guitar, piano, vocals; Kelly Halloran, fiddle, vocals. Opening band, King Margo: Lucciana Costa, vocals, guitar; Rachel Coats, vocals, bass, guitar
Set List
Water on Fire - I'm Still Looking - The Next Right Thing - Birds - Like I Do - Sunshine - Too Much Water - Man I Used To Be - Love Is a Language - Justice For All - If I Could Change One Thing - It's a Bitch (Craigslist Song) - Plastic Soldiers - Just Because I Can - Standing Still ... encore ... The Stars and Glitter - The Men That Drive Me Places {Ben Rector}
Setlist also posted to setlist.fm
Video
The Man Who Drives Me Places
Review
I first saw Seth Glier perform at a four-performer workshop at the 2017 New Bedford Folk Festival, at which time I was very impressed with his musical variety and his songwriting. Since then I have missed a couple of chances to see a full show of his, so I was very glad to have the opportunity to see him and his band perform at this great new venue in downtown Plymouth just two blocks from the Forefathers Monument.
Seth Glier, a native of Massachusetts, like many of my favorite performers, is hard to put into a category. Although I first saw him at a folk festival, it would be inaccurate to call him "folk." He is a very talented singer-songwriter-musician with an astonishing range of songwriting and production skills and a very strong voice.
There were aspects of Seth's performance that reminded me of other favorites of mine. He has the heart and sincerity of a Willie Nile, the vocal qualities of a Parsonsfield (sometimes he sounded like Chris Freeman and other times he sounded like Max Shakun), the technical wizardry of a Sharkey McEwen, the witty banter of a Ray Mason, the commitment to social justice of The Kennedys. He puts all these ingredients together into a wide-ranging presentation of superb pop music. He's also a very nice guy, as a brief conversation with him after the show proved.
The 17 song set was chosen primarily from his new album, Birds, which I had previously listened to on Youtube, and purchased a copy tonight. Seth played the grand piano for more than half the songs, mixing in songs on the guitar and one song on which he played a percussion instrument that another concert goer compared to a bunch of quahog shells rattling together. (I'm sure it has a name, but the name is unknown to me.) He was accompanied by Rachel Coats on an electric upright bass, guitar, piano, and wonderful harmony vocals, as well as Kelly Halloran on fiddle and harmony vocals. The three musicians gathered around a condensor mike at the front of the stage for a song or two, again reminding me of Parsonsfield.
If I had to describe this show in one phrase, it would be wide-ranging. The songs went from quiet piano ballads to almost-rock uptempo numbers. He used some electronic aids on two songs. I'm not a big fan of too much live looping, but he used these electronics just enough. On one song in particular, the chilling "Justice for All," his use of looping allowed him to create impressive vocal and percussive effects that really made the song. He used some vocal echo a couple of times to good effect. He incorporated beautiful actual bird calls into the song "Birds." But on most of the songs, it was just him with his band and the instruments. On a few songs, including the two-song encore, it was just Seth with the grand piano and his amazing voice. The variety of textures and musical approaches in this show was truly brilliant.
Seth is a truly good hearted person who, inspired by his nonverbal autistic brother, devotes himself to advocating for the autistic. His commitment to reaching out and touching the hearts of his listeners was evident in much of his commentary, as well as the songs themselves. But he's also got a funny streak. Recently on tour in China, he referred frequently to his fiancée. When asked by one of his Chinese colleagues what the word meant, he happily explained that it means the woman he's going to marry. "You're going to marry Beyonce?!" responded his local friend. The audience roared with laughter.
The show was opened by King Margo, a duet consisting of Seth's bass player, Rachel Coats, and a colleague of hers from Nashville, Lucciana Costa. They played a half hour set of upbeat, country-tinged songs and were well received by the crowd.
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