Concert Review
Danny Schmidt
March 4, 2011 @ Two Way Street Coffee House
By Mark Hornok
Danny Schmidt has a gentle and almost shy voice when he speaks to the audience. His songs speak much bigger. Friday night Schmidt brought his quiet, but big songs to the Two Way Street Coffee House in Downers Grove.
If you don’t know Danny Schmidt, he has been making a real name for himself on the folk circuit over the last 12 years. Schmidt's lyrics can be humorous or sad, but they all paint a picture of a topic. His latest record, Man of Many Moons, is for the most part just Schmidt and the guitar. The album seems to focus on some of the trials found in relationships. Schmidt lives with singer-songwriter Carrie Elkin, and her name came up in several stories. The show featured eight tracks from the record, with several being highlights. Both “Houses Sing” and “Man of Many Moons” dealt with the hard choices that men and women deal with, but still sounded beautiful.
The venue is in the basement of a church and Schmidt mentioned it several times, even joking out loud if “there were any rules about bad language” during the show. The church vibe was strong in the one of the best songs of the night, “Stained Glass,” and the community feeling of the show felt right as Schmidt sang “Company of Friends” from 2007’s Little Grey Sheep. This was his third visit to the Downers Grove venue and he seemed to have an affinity for the staff.
The show closed with Bob Dylan’s “Bucket of Rain.” Schmidt’s recording of the song is on his new record and the lyrics and feel flow right along with his originals.
Seeing a talented and original songwriter like Schmidt in this venue is a real treat. During the show, Schmidt lovingly commented about the history in the room that has been hosting folk shows for over 40 years. I hope we both make it back soon.
The setlist:
Cries of Shadows
Better Off Broke
This Too Shall Pass
Houses Sing
Man of Many Moons
Ragtime Ragtime Blues
Walking in the Winds
Stained Glass
Know Thy Place
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Two Guitars
Serpentine Cycle Of Money
Two Timing Bank Robber’s Lament
Guilty By Association Blues
Almost Round The World
Blue Railroad Train
Company Of Friends
God’s Love Of Man
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Buckets of Rain
By Andrew Smith
Back in the mid-'90s, I had a second-shift job at a business near the Two-Way Street Coffeehouse. On Friday nights, I used to get off work early and hightail it over to the coffeehouse to catch the music. I did this for a good two-to-three years it seems. When I no longer worked in the area, I just stopped going. "Out of sight, out of mind" as the saying goes.
This was my first visit back to the venue, and although my memory might be a little foggy, I'd put Danny Schmidt right up there with some of the best artists I ever saw there back in the day. His lyrical ability as a songwriter is top-drawer, and I also like his vocal phrasing. His phrasing is very natural and easy to listen to. His songwriting is also good from a musical standpoint: His guitar work fits the mood of each song, yet it isn't pedestrian. "Two-Timing Bank Robber's Lament," "Blue Railroad Train," and "Company of Friends" were also highlights of the show for me, but both sets were strong top to bottom.
I was so impressed with Schmidt as a songwriter, I bought his just-released CD at the show. I hardly ever impulse buy in this way when I go to shows. I figure if I really want the CD, I'll buy it some other way in the days or weeks after the show. I even had a friend I was with offer to burn me the copy he was buying, but I insisted on buying my own: I wanted to support a songwriter of this caliber. Andrew Calhoun of Waterbug Records is a big fan of Schmidt, and he was in the audience simply to catch Schmidt's show. Schmidt returned the gesture by asking Calhoun to step up onstage and sing two of his own songs at the beginning of his second set. After this show, I can see why Calhoun's such a big fan, and I have to agree with him. I can't wait to investigate Schmidt's previous catalog as well as catch him the next time he's in town.