The genre of soulful, indie (primarily bearded) singer-songwriter has exploded in recent years as acts such as Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver have taken turns tugging at our collective heartstrings. And though these modern day troubadours of melancholy all seem cut from the same general cloth of mellow, acoustic-guitar-driven folk complemented by sparse accompaniment and the occasional hint of electronic infusion, they all come at it with their own individual stories, backgrounds and, ultimately, musical styles.
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| William Fitzsimmons |
One of the most unheralded of these sensitive woodsmen is the silky voiced William Fitzsimmons. He bears all the trademarks of the modern indie folker, including the ability to rock a plethora of instruments, a flat-out mastery of melody and, of course, a show-stopping hive of facial hair.
But what truly sets Fitzsimmons apart is the authenticity of his heavy-heartedness. Fitzsimmons was raised by two blind parents (who eventually divorced), was divorced himself and earned his master’s degree in counseling after years of working with the mentally ill. If there’s anyone truly in tune with the darker side of life, it is this guy.
As a completely appropriate steady rain fell Thursday night, a sparse but eager crowd gathered at Shank Hall to witness Fitzsimmons and his upliftingly depressing interpretations. South Carolina-based Slow Runner opened the show with an intoxicatingly restrained set. The three-piece outfit was at its best when at its most experimental. As the lead singer manned the keyboards, the two other members shifted effortlessly between drums, electric guitar, bass, keys, mandolin, banjo and slide guitar with all three layering on the harmonies. After finishing up their set and taking a short intermission, the Slow Runner boys returned to the stage, this time with Fitzsimmons in tow.
Slow Runner – Love and Doubt from mef on Vimeo.
There are no frills to a William Fitzsimmons show. The unassuming folk icon came out rocking a red flannel shirt, dark-colored knit cap and unflattering khaki pants, but the beard was looking more majestic than ever. The self-deprecating and oddly charming Fitzsimmons riffed about people mistaking him for a homeless man when they pass him on the street.
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| William Fitzsimmons |
The show kicked off with Fitzsimmons’ closest thing to a hit, the beautiful “Passion Play.” The song earned the already Internet-popular singer/songwriter a bit of mainstream notoriety after appearing on the shows “Scrubs” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Spot on renditions of “Beautiful Girl” and “Find It In Me” followed with the accompaniment of Slow Runner adding a driving intensity to Fitzsimmons impeccable acoustic guitar mastery.
After getting the crowd warmed up with a few songs, Fitzsimmons took his first turn at crowd interaction with the token “How’s everybody doing tonight?” The rousing reaction from the audience made Fitzsimmons’ response all the more apt. “Well, you’re about to get real f**king sad.”
And he was not kidding. A string of tunes painfully outlining the artist’s personal struggles with pain and loss followed, delivered with haunting skill and soul. But as Fitzsimmons broke out material from his new album, Gold In The Shadow, there was a noticeable influx of positivity. The album, which Fitzsimmons described as his first album not about divorce (he took the opportunity to sheepishly apologize to his fans for that), is a surprisingly uplifting glimpse of a man coming to terms with his demons and moving forward with his life.
And as he led his band mates off stage and into the center of the crowd for an impromptu unplugged encore, we saw what makes Fitzsimmons such a magnetic musician. He’s got the chops to be sure. His breathtaking voice is pitch-perfect live, his accomplished musicianship evident in every finger pick. But to pull off creating depressing-ass music as a career, an artist has to be likable. As a listener, you want to be able to pull for this guy. You want him to figure out what it is that is making him so sad, and come through to the other side unscathed. You just hope he doesn’t start writing upbeat pop music when he finally gets there.
