Doug Kolmar at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, April 5, 2008

Concert Review by Bob McKillop

 

The First Parish Congregational Church in Saco looks like a scene from a science fiction movie, where a familiar, historic building has been given a futuristic appendage that reflects more modern sensibilities.  While the entire building is new, the “churchy” part looks like a nineteenth century New England frame church building.  The rest of the building looks like a barn on Mars.  But I digress – this is not an architectural review!

The First Parish Church hosts a coffee house series, and the sanctuary where the concerts are held is beautiful; the people who host the series are warm and friendly, and they have great taste in music.  On Saturday, April 5, I attended a show that featured two local folk music heroes. The headliner was Catie Curtis, and Doug Kolmar opened the show.

I am a big fan of Doug’s music.  His debut CD, “Homebody / Somebody” was released in 2005.  It consisted of six of his best tunes at that time; my favorites tracks included “Whatever”, “Better Part of Me”, and “Dream Darkly”.  Doug’s first disc was notable for the songwriting, and for the competent, jazz-influenced guitar work that makes his tunes so enjoyable.

His opener set for Catie Curtis included “Dream Darkly”, which gets better each time I hear Doug play it.  The rest of the set consisted of three of the best songs from his newer, 2006 release, “As If I Was Almost Here”, plus one other song that I had not yet heard.  Great stuff!

“Indiana” is a gently rolling, image-laden tribute to the rust belt.  It is full of stories about factory workers, grimy cities, and changing economic values.   A nice finger-picked riff opens and closes the song and each verse, while the meat of the tune is carried along by an introspective chord progression that fits the theme of the song very well.  A guitar break again shows off Doug’s finger style skills.

“Sailor Song”  is a story of a sea-going man and his redemption.  “I am a stone washed by the sea… you are a beach comber finding me” is the refrain that sets the mood and the story.  Doug’s arrangement manages to find a connection with maritime music without making the song sound like a sea shanty.  I did miss, in this live performance, the great mandolin part laid down by Alan Dickson on the record.

It was great seeing Doug play a set in this gorgeous venue, opening for a national folk act – he deserves it.  Even if his vocals stray from perfection from time to time, his music is honest and authentic, well written, and harmonically sophisticated.  His performances are warm, always well-rehearsed, and very enjoyable.

Doug’s CDs are available from CD Baby,  and the tunes are available on iTunes and Rhapsody.  You can catch Doug on the radio on Friday morning, April 25, at 8:30 AM, when he sits in the studio with Chris Darling on Us Folk, WMPG community radio, 90.9 or 104.1 FM, or streamed live at www.wmpg.org.  Check out Doug’s webpage at www.dougkolmar.com.