For most of us last May’s Rhythm and Roots festival will seem a lifetime away as we continue to adapt to the reality that the word ‘summer’ may no longer require a place in our vocabulary.
But for those who were present in the Rivercourt Hotel on an implausibly sun-drenched, early May, Sunday afternoon to watch the creative genius of songwriter Sam Baker unfold before our eyes, the memories will be hard to shake.
If we had known then what we know now we might have fully appreciated the fine weather that accompanied the day, but little could have been done to make us appreciate more the simple craft of Baker’s soulful lyrics and the gentle fumbling of his strapped fingers across the guitar strings.
The amiable interaction between Baker and a captivated crowd transformed a bright, open conference room into an intimate setting for a performer who could have been playing to a selection of his closest friends.
One feels that with Baker’s character, any effort at all on the part of the other party would see a friendship formed more easily than with most, so in a sense that’s exactly what his audience was.
All very well but a little late for the review nearly five months later I hear you scoff. But those who missed out on his Rivercourt performance, and more especially those who didn’t, can delight in the news the silver-haired strummer returns to the Marble City tomorrow night.
And a performance in the more intimate surroundings of Cleere’s Theatre, although meaning those who dilly-dally may miss out, could mean an even more powerful experience and a chance to get even closer to a special performer.
Special in more ways than one. Special for the wonderfully demure and imperfect craft of his songs which often tell of sad or even mundane realities yet shine with an irresistible providence. Special for the unique tail that binds his musical journey to his sometimes tragic past. And special for his courage in continuing on that journey in spite of the many obstacles.
For those of you have not heard his story, Baker’s outlook largely revolves around one specific incident which changed the Texan’s life in a matter of seconds. His is an incredible tale of a man who rebuilt his life from tragedy to follow his calling and put down his experiences in song.
After discovering a penchant for travelling after his high school years back in rural Texas, at the age of 32 Baker was travelling on a train through Peru when a terrorist bomb tore through the carriage he was in.
The explosive was planted by the Maoist group ‘the Shining Path’ in the luggage compartment of the carriage, which Baker was sharing with a German family. The blast took the life of the family, including the young boy sitting oppposite him, and left Baker with numerous injuries but alive.
Among the catalogue of injuries he sustained was initial minor brain damage affecting the part of his brain where words are stored and long-term he suffers from tinnitus and a considerable loss of hearing, while the fingers of his left hand are permanently scrunched and twisted.
Baker admits that the years in the immediate aftermath of the incident were at times dark and pronounced by anger and confusion, his rehabilitation coloured by his physical ailments and the mental images of the young German boy brutally killed in front of him.
Eventually he decided to channel his efforts into song and began the tortuous journey of ‘re-learning’ to play the guitar left-handed, gripping a pick in his twisted left hand and allowing his better right to tackle the fret board.
He also learnt to restructure his songwriting from an initially ‘frantic shot-gun approach’ to the now carefully considered, startlingly poignant tales that characterise his first two albums, ‘Mercy’ and ‘Pretty World’.
Since the dark days of questioning that followed the explosion, Baker has learnt to take a day to day approach to life through the brazen realism of his songs.
“Ultimately I did come to a point where these days are beautiful. Because they are so short and so quick to pass. And that’s all we’ve got - no matter what we hold in our hands, drive around in, put in the bank or shower ourselves with. All we’ve got is this one breath. And then, if we’re lucky we have the next breath,” he once said.
But that fateful day in 1986 still resonates in the imagery of his songs, particularly ‘Broken Fingers’ from the ‘Pretty World’ album, which deals directly with the explosion and the death of the young German boy.
“Forget his face, of course I don’t, it’s like a crystal vase...These broken fingers, some things don’t heal. I can’t wake up from a dream when the dream is real...Forget his eyes? His silhouette? Of course I don’t, of course I don’t forget. They are blue eyes, a silhouette, there is death, it’s a death I don’t forget...”
Gazing upon Baker delivering such heart-breakingly provocative lines, you might be forgiven for thinking you are watching a friend you’ve known for years spontaneously performing in your living room, albeit an incredibly talented friend capable of creating the most memorable images with a sparse combination of words and melodies.
Catch him at Cleere’s this Friday, October 3. Tickets are available from Cleere’s and Rollercoaster Records.
