Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 • Berkley Hart captivates college crowd

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, edition of the Lassen County Times.

Ah, I love going to a Berkley Hart show. When I heard the San Diego duo had been booked to play the final installment of this year’s Summer Nights on the Green series at Lassen Community College on Wednesday, Aug. 19, I quickly marked the date on my calendar. I’ve been a huge fan since the first time I saw them in Susanville nearly a decade ago.

I wasn’t disappointed and neither was the large, enthusiastic crowd scattered across the lawn outside the LCC cafeteria. LCC and the Lassen County Arts Council sponsor the free concert series.

On stage the two singer/songwriters play off each other brilliantly. While Calman Hart cashes in on a quiet and humble persona, Jeff Berkley assumes the role of a jovial but irreverent class clown, mocking himself, cracking jokes and drawing lots of attention.

“Here’s another one of my dad’s pulpit jokes,” Berkley quipped. “For those of you just joining us, my father’s a traveling evangelist, and he tells jokes from the pulpit. I tell whatever jokes he tells because I know I won’t get in trouble if there’s a preacher/pastor guy out there somewhere. If he can tell them in a church, I know I can tell them here.”

Berkley’s eyes sparkle and his sheepish smile turns into a devilish grin as he adds a slight moment of silence to set up this joke.

“So this guy goes into a psychiatrist’s office wearing nothing but cellophane,” Berkley said before a long pause. “The psychiatrist says, ‘Sir, I can clearly see you’re nuts.’”

But the between song banter, funny as it is, isn’t the greatest part of a Berkley Hart show. It all starts with the songs, and both Berkley and Hart enjoy justly earned reputations as world-class songwriters who explore a variety of topics from their own personal and individual perspectives.

But even the catalog of wonderful songs isn’t the greatest part of a Berkley Hart show. The two singers’ voices blend perfectly and the dizzying jangle, from their two acoustic guitars create a sound that’s part folk, part country, part singer/songwriter and part rock and roll. It’s a music derived from the deep roots of American music, and the showbiz industry folks call it Americana.

Hart has an uncanny knack of pulling the listener through a variety of emotions with his songs that often have more than a little bit of unexpected twist to them.

For example, on a song like “Barrel of Rain,” Hart evokes a smile the first time the chorus comes around. He flips the emotion as the second chorus makes you want to cry. Then Hart brings the listener full circle, and by the time he hits the third chorus you want to smile, laugh out loud and cry all at the same time.

He’s a wordsmith of the highest order and quite simply one of my all-time favorite songwriters.

Hart also writes songs with his kids, and they often take on a humorous flavor, such as the crowd pleasing “Big, Bad Barbie Doll.”

While Berkley might be the trickster on stage between songs, his writing is thoughtful, imagistic and frequently cinematic. There’s a smoldering intensity in his work that threatens to break into an open fire at any moment. But over the years, he’s started developing that little twist thing on his own. Look out, everybody!

As different as they are on stage and as writers, the duo sometimes works together to create some of their music.

But even the music, as delightful as it is, isn’t the greatest part of a Berkley Hart show. The best part is the joy they bring to the audience through their willingness to share themselves and their songs. I can’t imagine how someone couldn’t enjoy themselves watching these two perform. As far as I’m concerned, a Berkley Hart show always ends way too soon.

During their two 45-minute sets at the Summer Nights on the Green performance, Berkley Hart presented material from all five of their CDs, including a generous sampling from the newly released “Las Vegas” as well as a couple of songs from their concert DVD, “Oh, Berkley Where Hart Thou?”

“Las Vegas” earned a nomination as Best Americana or Country Album for the 2009 San Diego Music Awards. The album features performances by a who’s who of Southern California talent including Brian “Nucci” Cantrell, drums and percussion; Rick Nash, bass; John McBride pedal steel and electric guitar; Doug Pettibone, pedal steel; Dennis Caplinger, Appalachian instruments; Ben Moore, piano; Sharon Whyte, accordion; and Barbara Nesbitt, backing vocals.

Before it was over, the crowd gave Berkley Hart a warm, standing ovation. They deserved it. And let me tell you, I can’t wait until the next time they come to town.