[FM] Noah Zacharin: Impressionistic Review

[ZSparrow at aol.com]

I'd first heard *of* Noah Zacharin, a Toronto-based singer-songwriter, years 
ago, but I didn't get to hear him play until December '04 when he passed 
through Chicago for a single gig.  As I was unable to make that gig, I'd invited 
Noah to our singer/songwriter circle, held the first Friday of each month at the 
wonderful Old Town School of Folk Music. 

To be honest, I'd checked several of his song samples at 
http://www.cdbaby.com/noahzacharin and thought I knew what to expect:  I liked the snippets and 
figured I'd enjoy him live, and most likely I'd be pleasantly entertained.

I hadn't expected to be blown away.

It was a typical freezing cold Chicago night, and when Noah came to our room, 
he looked like Mr. Winter himself:  thin, all dressed in black, long black 
coat, wild, dark hair with a bit of white.  (He'd brought a friend with him, 
Laura Fernandez, also a very talented singer-songwriter.)

Introductions were made, and Noah and Laura sat patiently listening to 
everyone's songs and critiques.  Noah had pulled out his guitar, and quietly added 
accompaniment to some of the songs -it's always nice when someone in the circle 
enhances another's song - nothing showy, but really intriguing.

Finally Terry MacNamara sang one of his blues songs, and indicated someone 
could jump in with a solo, and Noah just took off.  It was powerful and 
original, again not showy or show-offy, just... amazing!  It was like a giant jolt of 
coffee hit the room and when the song was over, everyone was just staring.

Well, the next person up was me but I couldn't stand the suspense any longer, 
it was getting late and I HAD to hear Noah, geez, everybody did!  So I passed 
my turn to him.  And there he was, all wild and wintery, playing this very 
unique guitar style, I wish I could explain it but I can't, and this absolutely 
amazing song that just riveted the room, called "Nothing that I can Do."

Here's the thing with being blown away:  it's nothing you can expect or 
demand, it's always a gift, and for me, it's usually when I see someone live.  When 
I go out I hope to be entertained, possibly enlightened, rejuvenated, maybe 
impressed or amused.  But being blown away is like seeing a surprise shooting 
star.  And what blows one person away won't necessarily do it for someone else.

However, I think I can safely say that Noah blew away our entire circle.  As 
my friend Steve said, he completely inhabited the song.  The words were 
sparse, and the guitar solos give you time for the lyrics to sink in - not at all 
distracting, even with the excellent playing.  And the images are powerful, but 
it's the emotion that comes through so loud and clear.

And you can hear it for yourself!  "Nothing that I can Do" will be on Noah's 
forthcoming CD, but in the meantime, if you go to www.noahsong.com, then click 
on the "New Works" link, you can see the lyrics and listen to the .mp3 file.  
I'd quote the chorus here because it's so beautiful, but I think it will be 
more powerful if you are able to experience the musicality at the same time as 
hearing/reading the lyrics, so I'd highly recommend this link!

Now to try to condense the rest of this story.  A few years ago, on this very 
digest, there was a debate about which was "better," live music or 
recordings.  I prefer to hear someone live first, and if I'm intrigued enough, I'll buy 
the recordings and study them at my own pace.  In the case of being blown 
away, I simply MUST get a recording and then I'm like a dog with a good bone, 
gnawing away as I study the lyrics (imperative to have written lyrics) and listen 
to the music.

So after hearing Noah at our circle, then also at the open mic that followed, 
of course I needed to perform this ritual.  Noah recommended an earlier CD, 
"Silence Spoken Here," that he thought I'd like.

And I really do like it:  it's amazingly poetic, beautifully recorded (Noah 
did the whole shebang himself, the recording and music), thoughtful... but 
nothing, NOTHING like what I was expecting after hearing him live.  Even his voice 
has changed, the way he pronounces words, his vocal tone, the energy.

This is not a bad thing:  but because it took me by surprise, I had to let go 
of my expectations in order to really enjoy it.  Noah calls this his "saddest 
CD," but it's an exquisite sadness, like a beautiful frozen snowflake, as 
opposed to sadness that gets immediately in your bones, like his newer songs.  
Instead of a blown-away feeling, it sneaks up on you and makes you want to 
listen again and again, until you get in to that level and experience it 
completely.  Which, of course, I did.

A few amazing lines quoted next:

* From "A Little Silence":  "I like a little silence/ I like a little space/ 
between the visions that have gone/ and the ones that I still chase..."

* From "Still Life":  "sun keep on rising, my eyes are going down/ a train 
whistle starts to cry"

* From "The Rain (et al)": "rain like dream has no sound/ but when it falls 
on leaves and ground/ sweetest applause I've ever found/ now I don't mind the 
rain at all" AND later:  "a thousand sleepers still wet with sleep/ awake into 
the same old scene..."

It's just so beautiful, there's lots more, but this is getting really long.

So the last thing:  I went to cdbaby.com and bought "Big Daddy Z," a later 
Noah CD.  It's like, woah, somewhere down the line he must have met Robert 
Johnson and made some sort of deal!  Noah's version of Gregg Allman's "Whipping 
Post" is absolutely chilling.  Never heard anything like it.  And Noah's "Ten 
Tons of Road" is more like what I heard when I heard him live, both musically and 
lyrically:  "Ten tons of road beneath my wheels/ a million miles of sky 
above/ Cannot take me far enough/ To ever forget our love" 

I don't think Noah's going to Folk Alliance this year, but he may be in 
Montreal at that time, so... perhaps some of you will get to hear him while you're 
there.  In any case, Noah Zacharin is someone I'd definitely recommend hearing 
live, as well as recorded.  I look forward to hearing his upcoming CD!

-- Sue Fink, zsparrow at aol.com