Subject: Review: Kings of Mongrel Folk: Graham & Johnson
From:
Joe Offer
Date: 26 Mar 07 - 10:31 AM
I went to a delightful house concert last night - The Kings of Mongrel Folk: Mark Graham and Orville Johnson. I thought I'd never heard of Orville Johnson, but I see he posted in this Mark Graham thread (click). I knew Mark Graham was the guy who writes those funny songs, and that's why I went to the concert. So, I expected funny songs, but I didn't expect the superb musicianship and all-round good music.
I got to the concert about ten minutes late, so I didn't quite catch on what this mongrel folk thing was - but it was the focus of Mark and Orville's stage patter for the whole show, and it seemed to be a pretty good gimmick. Apparently, Mark and Orville claim to be the only performers in the "mongrel folk" genre, so naturally they are the kings of the genre - although there is some disagreement about which of the two is the "Pete Seeger of the Mongrel Folk Genre." Whatever the case, the Mongrel Folk thing made for some funny banter between the two.
There were lots of funny songs, most written by Mark Graham; but there was lots of other good stuff, too. They did a couple of traditional folk songs, "Didn't He Ramble?" and "John Henry"; and they also did old chestnuts like "Shadrach" and a rendition of "Stormy Weather," with Mark playing a wicked clarinet. First time I've heard a clarinet in a folk concert, and boy, it was good. Mark also plays harmonica like I wish I could. I'm sure DADGBE will vouch for the quality of Orville's guitar playing, and Orville also has a terrific singing voice.
But I suppose the audience was there (like I was) for the Mark Graham songs, and there were plenty of them. Well, the guy next to me wondered why Mark and Orville were doing so many Austin Lounge Lizard songs, and I had to explain that the Lizards like to record songs written by Mark Graham.
The concert was at Bill Wagman's house in Davis, California. It's always a treat to go to concerts there because I usually know half the audience, and I can always count on seeing Dick and Carol Holdstock, along with DADGBE (Ray Frank) and his wife Mrs. Dobro. There were a few rather strange Mongrel Folk groupies mixed in the audience this time - it was interesting to hear them speak adoringly to Mark and Orville.
So, it was a terrific concert, and I think The Kings of Mongrel Folk should make a world tour, so more people could become acquainted with the genre.
-Joe Offer-
So here's the set list, in case anyone's interested in what songs they sang. I wonder how many songs I missed at the beginning.
"Last Words"* (can I have your stuff when you're gone?) "I'm in a Hole and I'm Diggin' It Deeper" (great clarinet) "No Democracy in Heaven"* "Billy Gray" (the outlaw) "Oedipus Rex"* "Shadrach" (Meshach Abednego) - my dad used to sing this one "Texas" and "Speed the Plow" (fiddle tunes played on guitar and harmonica) "Blueprint for the Blues" "The Neighbor of the Beast" (667) "Strange" [break] "Good Understanding" "Their Brains Were Small and They Died"* "It's Always Somethin' (to keep you from bein' with me)" "John Henry" "Tap Dancin' on the Moon" "Zen Gospel Singing"* (my personal favorite) "Stormy Weather" (classic song, great clarinet) "Hooray Hooray, This Woman Is Killin' Me" (or something like that) "Didn't He Ramble" (best rendition I've heard) "The Mongrolian National Anthem"* (Life Is Hard When You're Dumb) [no silly attempt to leave the room before the encore] Encore: a wonderful rendition of "Blues for Johnny"
Afterwards, I had a nice chance to chat with Mark about British architecture and Irish traditional music and stuff like that. He's a nice guy with a wide variety of interests.
*I marked the songs I know as Mark Graham songs with an asterisk. I suppose he wrote a couple of others in the set. I think they also did "I Can See Your Aura and It's Ugly," but I didn't write that one down. And I'm sure I didn't get all of these song titles right. Hey, nobody pays me to write reviews, ya know.
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sj
