Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live 05/08/14

I've seen him several times before. After all, his videos were what inspired me to pursue this whole percussive fingerstyle craziness. And every time it’s a great show.

And the songs will always be great; that’s what we’re there for. Secondarily, we go for the stories; Trace is an excellent story teller. His personality lends well to entertaining, yet very emotive story telling. He makes you feel like you’re there, sharing in his life’s highs and lows.

But, for seeing him over the course of several years, the stories hadn't changed much. Actually, it seemed like, with the exception of a few songs from his latest album, Elephant King, there wasn't much changing in his sets either. And that’s after several years.

So I was hesitant to go. I mean, hadn't I already seen it all?

My week had already been a lot of traveling, late nights, and early mornings. Did I really want another late night? Philly, with traffic, is about an hour and a half away, so it was a bit of a trek to get there. The physically exhausted part of me wanted to stay at home.

But then Trace sent out this email. He had flown in with one guitar, but wanted to borrow a second to play his song, Joy and Sorrow. So I didn't reply to it. Because I was tired... In addition to having a long week, I was also preparing to drive up to VT, snowboard, and drive back all on Saturday, so I didn't want to be too tired for that.

After a day of not replying, I got to thinking. Trace is one of my biggest inspirations, and he only comes through the area once a year. Was I about to miss that opportunity to see him because I was too tired?! That’s definitely not me. So I decided to go.

But I was also not going to throw away a chance at having Trace play my guitar. So I shot off the email. I figured it had already been a day since his first email and he had probably gotten inundated with replies, but maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t. I sent the email with a brief description and a link to the Live From the Yellow Room video that the kids at Messiah put up …you know, so he could hear what the guitar sounded like. I’m not gonna lie; honestly, it’s been a dream of mine to one day share the stage with Trace, so the video plug was intentional to maybe get a little toe in the door to maybe someday make that a reality.

To my surprise, I got a response later that day! Trace was going to use my guitar. And the marathon week continued.

Next thing I know, I’m at World Café Live, and Trace Bundy is sound checking with my guitar.

So I geared up for seeing yet another great show, wondering what Trace would be playing. I had heard it all, right? Even from last year’sshow, I had written:

Trace is engaging and a great performer. However, I desperately want to hear more of his songs that I haven’t seen him perform. It seems like he’s stuck playing “Trace Bundy’s Greatest Hits.” The hits are hits because they are justifiably the most interesting, exciting, and innovative, but I want to see the whole story. And I want to hear the whole story; I want to hear the stories to all of songs I haven't seen him play...

And I’m thinking he probably never read that, but he may as well have. Because he did exactly what I’ve wanted to see from him; he played a much less “flashy” show with fewer of the regular “hits.” So we got some new stories and insight into his writing process.

Yes, there were still some of the “hits,” and a few that I’ve seen him play before; I think I’ve seen him play Pachelbel’s Cannon at every show. But that’s okay, because there were new pieces and there were stories behind them. He played a lot off of Adapt and Elephant King, but he also threw in a few unique covers, like Michael Jackson’s, Beat It, on Iphone (which seems to be getting more intense as the years go on), GNR’s, Sweet Child O’ Mine (New? I hadn’t seen him play it before), and U2’s, Where the Streets Have No Name.

We got to hear about his recent stint with an EPSN contest, more about his growing family, and about who he wants to be as not only a guitarist, but also as a person. It wasn’t like you were with that guy who has the same set of stories that he tells at every party. Trace is a growing, dynamic human being, and he showed that through his performance.

And we got to hear about the more technical stuff. This is something that I’m always taking notes on when I see Trace. He makes this music incredibly accessible, in spite of him being, as they say, an Acoustic Ninja. He explains delay, and the purpose of delay as it relates to songs like Overtime. Then he explains looping and reverse loops, saying and playing familiar pieces in reverse. And, of course, the capos come out, but not without sufficient explanation.

The man is a brilliant guitarist and proves, time and time again, that he is just as brilliant a performer.

After the show, he came out to do an encore.

That’s when he played Joy and Sorrow. Unfortunately, my guitar was Sorrow; it represented “utter despair.” It’s a conversational piece that uses the two guitars in two different keys, D major and D minor, to illustrate the dichotomy of life’s more delicate moments. (I got a video of it, but I’m going to try to get Trace’s permission before posting it).

After the show, I got to hang out with Trace a bit while he packed things up. And, like most other solo musicians I’ve met, he’s incredibly approachable and a genuinely nice guy. It shows through his performance, but then really stands out in person. I got to find out about how he ended up going from being an Engineering professor to a professional guitarist (apparently I have to get my Masters for this to work), about some of his experiences playing things like LIFE, and a little bit about how he writes.

It’s inspirational; seeing guys like Trace definitely raises the bar. I’ve accomplished a lot in the past year, releasing my second album and playing B-Sides, so I think my new guitar goal will be to get to the level where I can share the stage with Trace. It’s ambitious, but isn’t ambition what gets us places?