Last update - 00:00 08/05/2007
The most interesting, boring singer
By Ben Shalev
What a voice Bill Callahan has. Deep, low, measured, quiet, penetrating, even chilling. A voice that encompasses a series of captivating contradictions: power and fragility, authority and self-doubt, and - more than anything else - distance and proximity. It was worth going to the Barbie Club on Sunday only to expose oneself to the beauty and complexity of this voice. And there were other reasons, too.
The show seemed somewhat hesitant at first, at least to those unfamiliar with Callahan's character. Someone once defined him as "the most interesting, boring singer." Perhaps in saying this he meant that it takes time before Callahan's songs exude their rich depth. But last Sunday it took only a quarter of an hour to dispel the slightly reluctant first impressions, influenced to some extent by Callahan's static body language. From that moment on, it was an alluring, sometimes downright moving, performance.
Until his last album, Callahan used the artist name "Smog." This is a somewhat peculiar choice considering that his private world revolves around nature (his songs are filled with rivers, valleys and animals) and that his presentation is best described as "lucid." In fact, one source of extraordinary joy in his performance on Sunday was that the Hebrew-speaking crowd could follow his lyrics and really listen to them in a way highly unusual for performances by foreign artists.
"Take me through the sweet valley where your heart blooms. Take me through the sweet valley where your heart is covered in dew," in his wonderful song "Say Valley Maker" is only one example of the lovely lyrics that continued to resonate after the performance.
Callahan's clear expression derives from his unique voice and presentation and from the simple, minimalist nature of his music.
On Sunday, he appeared with a fiddler, a drummer and a base guitar player who took pains to remain in the background and even left Callahan exposed, when required, in songs like "Rock Bottom Riser." They also knew when to inject energy that charged the performance with power, in songs like "Cold Discovery." Those efforts breathed air into Callahan's typically contemplative, even despondent tone.
When a certain lightheartedness suddenly ruled the stage, in two songs with an almost country flair, it was a pleasure to watch Callahan's transformation. Lifted from his shutdown state, the singer, who had remained planted like an ancient tree during most of the performance, moved his charmingly lanky legs.
Bill Callahan at Barbie, Tel Aviv, 6.5.2007