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In a Green Man Minute: Bill Callahan

Cold-blooded. **
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** Seen at the 2007 Green Man Festival. Callahan played the tightest set of the festival’s three days. Self-assured to the point of contemptuousness, he also came across - strange fire and ice in his veins - as humbled, as though in submission to his songs and the fact of performance.

Said performance saw a burning coldness toward imperfection marshalled by the guitarist and transmitted to his clean-cut keyboardist and long-haired drummer. The former, I believe, was Jonathan Meiburg. (Can anyone confirm? See photos below.) The only crack in the resin of Callahan’s cool was to be found on his instrument: Joanna Newsom’s name “encircled” by a heart and accompanied by a small note, all drawn in red pen.

He played new songs - mainly from Woke on a Whaleheart, his latest album - which washed over us like a hypnotist’s voice, each a heavy shroud we were loath to pull off.

At last, he indulged us with “Cold-blooded Old Times”, his final number. See the clip from “Sycamore”, below.

Clip from “Sycamore” (1 min)

Not loading? Watch it on the boswest YouTube channel
See also: “Rock Bottom Riser” (complete song, also recorded at Green Man 2007, posted by missyhate)