The following piece appeared as a cover story for the “Calendar” magazine section in The Boston Globe:
Boston Fixtures
By Matt Robinson
It’s January. That sound you don’t hear is coming from clubland. But though this may be the slowest time of the year on the night scene, there are certain acts you can count on. Just as you have throughout the year.
Boston is blessed with a core of talented performers who make their living playing the same gig most every week of the year. Predictable, yes. But that can be a good thing. For every night of the week, there is at least one place where you can go for a solid evening of music.
The talent pool is wide and deep: Geoff Bartley, the pied piper of folkdom; pop impresario Rick Berlin; jazz stylist Bert Seager; bluesman Jose Ramos; the omnipresent Winiker Orchestra; the predictably unpredictable Fringe. And that’s just a sampling we have room for here.The Hootenan-er
Geoff Bartley
Where: Monday and Tuesday nights at the Cantab Lounge, 738 Mass. Ave.
Cambridge; 617-354-2685.
Age: 51
Years playing Boston: 24
Biggest gigs: Playing guitar for John Gorka and Tom Paxton; winning the
National Fingerpicking Guitar Championships in Winfield, Kansas.
Favorite song: Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”
Most common request: “One Kind Word,” an original
Between the trendy Good Life Lounge and the timeworn 7-Eleven, the many worlds of Cambridge converge at the Cantab Lounge.
Barflies, poets, R&B groovers, and hard-core folkies cram this gritty pub appropriately named for its hometown’s inhabitants, Cantabrigians.
A long, mirror-backed, bottle-festooned bar lines one side of the room; a wall decorated with a large caricature painting of the Cantab’s famous weekend star, Little Joe Cook (a.k.a. The Peanut Man), lines the other. Squeezed in the front is a small raised stage laden with instruments and equipment.
On weekend nights, when Little Joe works his musical magic, the platform rocks to his famous backing band, The Thrillers.
But on Mondays and Tuesdays, the focus is on a slender man with a silver ponytail and a blond guitar. Singer-songwriter Geoff Bartley has toured the world; performed with Richie Havens, Dr. John, Suzanne Vega, and Leon Redbone; and since 1991 made his musical home here in Central Square.
Bartley’s song circles and pickin’ parties have become regular landing spots for some of the region’s hottest performers. Past midnight, you may see Catie Curtis or Ellis Paul plop down on a bar stool to listen to the next generation of acoustic stars.
“Whenever anyone needs guitar lessons or just advice, I always mention Geoff,” says Paul. “He’s such a good songwriter and guitar player and he’s been on the scene for so long. He’s like the godfather of the Boston music scene.”
The New York native co-wrote with John Gorka “Raven in the Storm” and “Cut By Wire” (both of which were recorded by Grammy winner Mary Black), and still tours and records. But at the Cantab he assumes the role of musical shepherd.
Monday night is pure folk, in all its incarnations. Bartley usually opens the night, performing classic blues or his own reflective songs, which are marked by vivid naturalistic imagery. His husk and honey tenor is complemented by his eloquent arrangements.
After just a few songs he turns the stage over to folkies young and old, armed with guitars and tales to tell. After each two-song set, Bartley drapes an arm around the performer, offering encouragement and
sometimes gentle criticism.
“I try to be candid,” Bartley says. “I don’t want to lie to these kids. I’m not going to tell someone he’s great when he obviously isn’t.”
Tuesday night, the instrumentation broadens a bit. The six-strings are joined by four-stringed fiddles and the occasional whiskey jug for what has become one of the region’s most popular bluegrass gatherings.
“The bluegrass crowd is very different,” Bartley says. “But it’s cool because they all know each other and all sound pretty good together.”
Bartley spends most of both nights hunched over the soundboard, tweaking every last drop of talent out of his weekly charges.
“Sometimes, I have to tweak pretty hard,” Bartley laughs, his ponytail bouncing on his back. “At worst, it’s two bad songs.”
Though the lounge’s clientele tends to be mostly local – which in Central Square can mean almost anything – most everyone turns from the televisions and genuinely applauds at the end of each song.
“It’s a good place to begin,” Bartley assures. “Everyone’s here to listen and to share.”
