Martin Sexton at Cedar Cultural Center on 11/14/02
By: David de Young
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That being said, seeing Martin Sexton perform live is as amazing as everyone says it is. And by everyone I mean both music journalists and your neighbor across the alley. Furthermore, you are likely to be left wondering, as I was, how so much talent can be concentrated in a single person and how that same individual can have such an overwhelming and downright spiritual effect on such a large number of people, show after show, creating an experience that is both universal and personal at the same time.
Syracuse, New York born and raised Martin Sexton and his long-time drummer and friend Joe Bonadio did a two night stand at the Cedar Cultural Center here in Minneapolis on Wednesday and Thursday night of this past week, and I find myself regretting I only saw the Thursday show instead of both. Fortunately, I received several accounts of the Wednesday show I missed. Wednesday's set list being very different from Thursday’s I can only be left feeling I didn't get the whole picture of Martin's visit to town by taking in only one of the nights.
If Wednesday's and Thursday's shows are any example of how different and essential every Martin Sexton show is, it's tempting to just jump in his van and just ride around the country with him to see the entire tour. In fact, filmmaker Darren Johnson (Northern Dawn Media) did just that last year to direct the yet unreleased film of Martin Sexton on the road that could be considered companion footage to Sexton's latest independently released "Live Wide Open" (Kitchen Table Records, 2000.) Although Sexton's website (http://www.martinsexton.com) doesn't have a lot of info on the upcoming film, there is still a fair amount of chatter on his bulletin board about it. I will add more details regarding the film when I get them, but suffice it to say that part of the reason it's still under wraps is that it will be submitted to the Sundance film festival in 2003, and one Sundance criterion is that it be a world premier. And to complement Mr. Johnson's filmmaking, the clip of the film I've seen (a performance of "Glory Bound") Johnson did an incredible job of capturing what it's actually like to see Martin Sexton live, and trust me, that is one tall order.
Thursday night's show was the busier night of the two hosted by the Cedar. In fact according to the Cedar staff, it was the busiest nights period in quite a while, surely as busy as I've ever seen the Cedar though my experience is more limited than it should be. Normally shows there include seating, but for these two nights the chairs had been removed to give the larger audience all a chance to get more intimate with the performers. The crowd was just about the right size I think to hit that critical mass necessary for that ever important exchange of energy between performer and audience to allow that energy to begin feeding back into itself.
From the first song I was quite literally spellbound. I can only describe the effect as absolute magic. I found myself wondering if Martin had sold his soul to the devil for the quality of his voice, his ability to play guitar and to translate ideas and stories into song and present them. The range of his voice, from Smiths-era Morrissey-like falsetto to near yodeling, and guitar playing drawing from styles as diverse as folk, funk and soul demonstrate about as wide a range of ability as anyone you'll ever see. And during the second song ("Free World") when Martin did a vo-coder like effect with an effects box I felt as if I'd momentarily been transported back to the late 70's for the Frampton Comes Alive sessions.
The full room was already warmed up, but something about the energy just made it warmer and warmer in there. Sexton commented, "Throw another log on the air-conditioning mother fuckers." Ultimately the back door of the Cedar was opened to let in some refreshing cool air. Sexton broke into the next song and again I found it hard to believe I was hearing just a guitar player and a drummer as they sounded like a full band, with a bass player. Sexton's voice on this song made sounds that were downright trumpet-like.
"Freedom on the Road" got played somewhere around this point, but the darkness of the room made my scrawled notes even more illegible than normal. Because of this I'm also not sure if his version of "Raspberry Beret" by Prince was actually a medley with his well-known original "Love Keep Us Together" or whether they were just played back to back. But in any case "Gypsy Woman" and "Candy," the next two songs were definite set highlights. Thursday's rendition of "Candy" nearly brought me to tears, especially the closing line "Like a lost angel not long for this world." You could have heard a pin drop in that room during that song which Martin played without percussive accompaniment. In fact I could have sworn I heard a drop of sweat from Martin's forehead hit the Oriental rug beneath his feat.
I get the idea that my friend who attended both shows was not the only person who went both nights when Martin's comment, "Here's a song that was requested last night. So I hope you're here tonight" drew chuckles from a few audience members. In fact, my friend found the requests he'd made after Wednesday's show, "Candy" and "Gypsy Woman" both played the following night.
Other songs Thursday were "Caught in the Rain," and "Things You Do To Me." Sexton finished up the set proper with "In the Journey," a song that was included on his initially cassette-only release way back in 1990, but nevertheless a song which has only gotten better with age.
Saying, "Thank you Children of God, we appreciate it" he left the stage, almost running into me on his way out of the auditorium in the dark stage left.
One encore included a sweet and slow version of “Purple Rain,” for which his sister Colleen joined him. Sexton will continue his relentless touring through the end of the year making his way through Minnesota, Canada then back to his native East Coast, finishing up with a New Year's Eve show in Philadelphia. For details see http://www.martinsexton.com. Keep in mind that if he comes anywhere close to your town, attendance is not only recommended, but speaking as a newly converted fan, it is essential.
Location Info:
Cedar Cultural Center
Artist Info: Martin Sexton
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