TRACY CHAPMAN
TRACY Chapman is a fine songwriter who makes pretty, socially conscious records, but in concert this woman has all the sharp edges of a polished bowling ball.
Dull? Some plants are more exciting than this neo-folk singer.
The Roseland Ballroom, where the show was staged Tuesday, may have been part of the problem. Not because the club did anything wrong, but because it’s just too big a joint to present a folkie whose songs all sound the same.
Call it consistency of writing, uniformity of vocal style, or the one-trick-pony attack, but this was a sleepy-time show.
In a small coffeehouse-club like the Bottom Line, where the one-on-one experience is achieved with more ease, Chapman would have been considerably better.
It should be noted the fans who packed the hall to hear Miss C. seemed enthralled by her uncompelling performance. They sighed when she delivered her signature vocal quiver, they indulged her with knowing nods when she addressed them in clipped thoughts that said “aw-shucks, I’m shy.”
They cheered ‘n’ clapped, yet it wasn’t all love ‘n’ kisses.
One heckling beast dared think the emperor was naked when he shouted: “Play something that doesn’t suck!”
He must have either fallen asleep or the Tracy-adoring, more sensitive members of the audience stomped him to death because the dissenter didn’t utter a peep for the rest of the show.
Chapman sells records, and in concert she obviously connects with her fans because even when she bloodlessly rendered the title track of her new “Telling Stories” disc or sang “Less Than Strangers,” they approved as loudly as they did when she played her big hit, the now-ancient “Fast Car.”
This concert was evidence that Chapman would make the perfect opening act for another band. She just has a handful of great tunes that, when strung together without the filler, make for an exciting little set.
If the program consisted of “Fast Car” and continued with the lite-reggae of “She’s Got a Ticket,” “Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution” and closed with the passionate, tell-me-you-love-me blues of “Give Me One Reason” it would have been short and sweet.
At Tuesday’s performance, she seemed to move a mountain of dirt for those few nuggets of gold.