“Welcome to our living room”
So announced pioneer of country rock Chris Hillman as he made the packed Scherr Forum feel like a cozy night by the fireplace. Teamed with longtime mates John Jorgensen/g-mand, Herb Pederson/g-ban and Mark Fain/b, Hillman brought his recently published memoir Time Between to musical life as the concert delivered each song to represent a stage in his sonic pilgrimage.
Each era was talked about and performed, ranging from his earliest days growing up in nearby Rancho Santa Fe with folksy tunes like “Fare Thee Well” and leading up to his legendary days with The Byrds in “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “The Bells of Rhymney”. These songs of a half century ago, as Hillman himself, have aged remarkably well, with the bluegrassy colors emphasized by the strings and patented velvety harmonies of voices creating an ethereal and upbeat swing.
The continued mix of tales and tunes carried the evening through the early days of country rock with Graham Parsons on “Sin City” and “Wheels” to the more assertive moments of his days with Manassas on “It Doesn’t Matter” with Jorgenson supplying some slight of hand tasty guitar work on the former and Fain producing a rich solo on “Born To Lose”. Jorgenson brought out some clever slide guitar work on the bluesy “Given All I Can See” and Pederson picking and grinning on the minstrel’d recent song “Bidin’ My Time” and the sing-songy “Here She Comes Again” with the patented meld of 12 strings guitars with textured vocals in a style that seems not only timeless, but lost on a current generation of angst driven groaners.
Throughout the evening, Hillman kept his career and songs in an eternal perspective, closing with pilgrim focused “Heaven’s Lullabye”. Throughout the inspiring 2 hour show, the audience learned that in Hillman’s musical world now abide melody, rhythm and harmony, but the greatest of these is harmony.
Upcoming shows at the Bank of America Performing Arts/Scherr Forum include 10/01 Hot Club of Cowtown, 10/07 Frankie Valli, 10/07 Ranky Tanky and 10/15 Spyro Gyra