review
Fishbowl
follies:
7 feel
like
one big
giant
smile'
“I moved to Oregon from the city . . .
and the songs just started coming out.”
OREGON! Here we are, in Eugene,
in the middle of Oregon, in the middle of
Kathy Smith’s songs, her singing, her
playing, her presence. And her
presence is often. Unusual. Seems a
person with her “talent,” and her
recognition through record albums, and
her ability to perform in front of an
audience would transport her to
“stardom.” Album promotions. Con
cert tours. Television. THE WORLD!
But we’re still in Eugene. With her.
For someone who has such com
mercial potential, she is determined to
still be with us. Often you see the signs
around campus: they say KATHY
SMITH coming to play somewhere. Not
just any somewhere, but here. Eugene.
“Hey, did you hear Kathy Smith’s
gonna be here next week?”
“No, that’s far out. Where?”
Flocks of people, ambling around
campus—everybody’s readin’ them
signs (everyone’s havin’ those same old
dreams...), KATHY SMITH
coming.
She begins her concert by getting to
know the piano. Not just start in. Not
pushing the keys to deadness. Gently
rolling over them. Spinning melodies
while rolling her fingers over the keys.
Getting to know them. Gently mingling
with the evening.
Then, the first song. Long piano in
troduction. Sweet smoothing voice
beings. Singing of wagons, and
traveling and 100 miles and “going
hoooooooooooooome.” A
loooooooooong, sweet home, crystal
clear, confident, home is there, you
know it, she sings it.
Her voice surrounds the fishbowl.
Transforms it—not instantly, but
continually. Empty wanderers peeking
through entrance doors, craning from
the cold outside to the warm Kathy
Smith presence, voice, song. First the
cold outsiders are attracted to the
culinary: a sign behind the counter
screams POPCORN! and the 10 people
long line to wait to get hamburger,
coke, shake, fries, FOOD. But Kathy
Smith’s voice weaves through the air,
surrounding the fishbowl, engulfing
listeners.
She’s singing just to you. And then
again she sings to all of you. “Darling,
there have been so many songs gone by
The songs continue without breaking
up APPPPPPLAUSE in the middle, she
weaves her songs together with piano
interlude.
She is asking all who are there to
“touch my soul” as she touches theirs.
It’s her voice that’s the best. It is so
clear, so beautiful and surely heartfelt,
the emotion, it cranes through, no
blockades, interruptions, barriers. And
she can control it—sometimes her voice
strays and wanders through varied
chords in instants of times, yet she is in
full control, she knows where her voice
is, and where it is going, and so many
times it ends up on a long, feeling tone
of pleasure, happy to be here, happy
you’r§ here.
“So many people wandering lonely,
“Out looking for their one and rally
During her concert, other in
strumentalists appear. Quiet har
monies and accompaniment with
acoustic guitar, skin drum, violin,
piano. Harmonies trickle in, and a
bottom bass piano set of chords
unassumingly emerges. People helping
with the music. On and on.
A song extends into instrumentation.
Just a rhythm, thriving. Swaying back
and forth for a few moments in time.
The crowd of people filling the fishbowl,
mesmerized. Along for the ride. And
Kathy Smith tells them:
“You know, there is really only one
ingredient to singing and playing
music, and to living. It’s surrender. I
mean, there are other ingredients. Like
love. But surrender is so far out,
because we’re not playing the music,
it’s playing us.”
Kathy Smith’s music definitely has a
message. It’s a “get together love one
another” message, in nearly all of her
songs. Not only do you feel good while
listening to her music, you feel calmed
and peaceful. Optimistic.
And while some will tell you that such
optimism is a lot of commercial rot,
and things can’t be good, not that good,
well, it’s just not true with Kathy Smith
and how she appears. She’s convinced,
she has conviction, she is undaunted.
Doubters will not get at her undying
optimism for life. She will not ignore
them, she will embrace them. Doubters
are part of life, and are part of each and
every one of us, she would say.
At least, that’s how she comes off in
concert.
And it’s a tremendous uplift to be
there with her while she is singing and
playing. It’s a truly calming ex
perience.
At the end of a song, she tells the
people in the fishbowl, as she strums
her guitar, strumming, strumming, “I
ain’t quitting until there’s a single spirit
in this room.” People start clapping in
rhythm, start smiling, start swaying,
start “getting together.” She smiles.
She stares, during the middle of a
song, at one person listening to her. She
stares, then says, “YOU, you, you, you,
you, you, you,. . . just let it be as easy
as it is.” Then she repeats it: “Just let
it be as easy as it is.” Flowing, flowing,
people are sharing, that’s her message.
She adds, “You got it to give, now give
it away.” She smiles.
“We are one in the spirit, we are one
in the Lord,
“And we know that our unity will one
day be restored.”
Photo by Eric Browne
“Order number 22, your order Is
ready!” CRINGE. Some people tense
up—why the heck do they announce a
hamburger order in the middle of one of
Kathy Smith’s long tones? An
nouncements like that one can sure
dent any pure enjoyment of a song. But
she appears unaffected. Smiles.
She says after the song, “I feel like
one big giant smile,” outstretching her
arms. . . It feels good, seeing all of
those smiles.”
KATHY SMITH, KATHY SMITH,
she’s here, she’s Eugene, she’s
beautiful and she’s tonight. But in the
fishbowl. There are advantages to
having her perform at the fishbowl. For
one thing, it’s free. And the atmosphere
is one of open enclosure: her voice
takes in everyone, but everyone is free
to do as they wish. And it makes her
appearance not as formal a split bet
ween “performer” and “audience.”
But the fishbowl hurts, also. Various
announcements from the EMU loud
speakers interrupt the singing to some
extent, and there are always noises
from various parts of the crowd of
people, simply because people aren’t
used to having the fishbowl being a
music arena on weekday nights yet.
People, people walking through,
talking, passing through.
But, on the whole, Kathy Smith’s
presence at the fishbowl is worthwhile
to experience.
She’s here tonight at 8:30 in the fish
bowl at the EMU, and if it was anything
like Tuesday night’s appearance, it will
be exceptionally good.
Surrender yourself to Kathy Smith’s
music. Be enclosed in her “Circles of
Love,” and settle down for an evening
of calming music, and absolutely
beautiful singing and playing.
Clay Eals