Songwriters have always held a special place in my heart. I attribute much of this to musical influences from my parents in my younger years, for which I am quite thankful. To me, it says something about an artist if they can stand in front of a packed out audience armed with nothing but a guitar and their voice, and keep everyone interested. Throw in a little bit of storytelling, and it sounds like you’ve got an evening of it. Tuesday, March 3rd was just that at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha, NE. The sold out venue, which was seated for the first time I’ve seen, was jazzed up for an intimate night with newcomer Jonny Burke and the classic Todd Snider.

Todd Snider

More pictures and a review on the evening after the jump.

Jonny Burke is a soft-spoken guitar player with an extremely mellow voice. He hails form Austin, TX (doesn’t everyone in music these days?) where he formed a band named The Dedringers, who have now split. Burke has played the Waiting Room previously with his band, but now Burke has hit the road on his own, and is currently opening up for Todd Snider.

Jonny Burke

As I stated earlier, Burke’s voice was extremely soft, yet easily likeable. He rambled through several songs, with the crowd seeming to receive him quite well, talking briefly between his easy-to-follow lyrics. During his short set, he brought a gal onstage to accompany him on vocals and the tambourine. Although she had a nice voice, I think Burke’s solo performance was much better, as she seemed to take away from his stage talent. Everyone was there to see Snider, but thankfully the crowd packed in early, giving this rising talent a good sized audience to showcase his aptitude, and get his name out there. With that in mind, I wouldn’t object to the possibility of seeing Burke’s name in the future, as I think he has what it takes to be a successful songwriter.

Hailing from the Portland, OR area, Todd Snider has been making his way across the United States telling stories and playing his songs for anyone that is willing to listen for the last 15 years. He is extremely well known in his own scene, but unfortunately to most lay people, a ghost. I think Snider would like to keep it that way, as his personality and live performance seem to thrive off of playing smaller, intimate and sometimes rowdy bars and clubs. Personally, I have been a fan of Snider for a couple years now. He seems to have a song for every type of mood you’re in, whether that is sad, happy, lonesome, excited and often if you’re just in need of a good laugh. His slightly raspy voice is easily identifiable and complements his guitar and harmonica work well.

Snider came out greeting the crowd to praise, and quickly rattled off several songs. He then told us how much he appreciated that we were all singing his songs to him, and he would get to our requests after playing a few songs that he wanted us to hear. He would soon begin telling us the story of his song, "Stuck on the Corner", off of his latest effort, Peace Queer. The story begins with Snider pulling up to a fast food restaurant. As soon as he gets to the window, he is greeted by an older gentleman in a suit and tie, hanging halfway out the window yelling at the poor 17-year-old drive-thru worker. Snider proceeded to explain that he couldn’t quite understand what could be so fucked up about drive thru food that you have to ream some kid making minimum wage, using the empathy he had for this kid as fuel for writing the song.

The remainder of the night continued in much the same manner, with Snider taking requests such as "D.B. Cooper", "Easy Money", "Double Wide Blues" and "Tension," telling stories about the songs and having informal conrversations with the crowd the entire night. The relaxed environment seemed like the perfect setting for the evening, allowing Snider to become comfortable with the audience. He seems like an extremely down-to-earth guy and has some interesting, yet understandable outlooks on life.

Todd Snider's sound guy with a little vocal cameo

Overall, it was a wonderful night of acoustic music between the two artists. Burke came out and meandered through his slow-paced, heartfelt set lighting up the mood for the night. Snider took over the rest of the night, doing exactly what you would expect if you are familiar with him. His low maintenance approach to his set and his interaction with the audience is quite favorable in a singer/songwriter scene. It makes it very easy to keep your attention focused on his music, especially if you know the story behind it. Snider is by far one of the best performers I have seen in this genre to date.

As always,
The Toastman