The Oberlin Review
<< Front page News September 24, 2004

Folk duo revels in sweetness

The Weepies, comprised of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, gave a heartfelt, unassuming concert of good old-fashioned folk at the Cat in the Cream last Friday night. They took turns playing rhythm and lead guitar, and both had easy facility with each, although Steve’s solo work was especially fluent and musical. Both singers are also independent song-writers and have recently collaborated to create the Weepies.

Neither Deb nor Steve had a spectacular voice, but when combined they created a sweet sound reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel. Steve’s voice had more vibrancy than Deb’s and sounded at times like Rufus Wainwright while Deb’s style was more akin to that of Dar Williams.

Their presence onstage was quiet and humble until they spoke directly to the audience with confidence and humor, delivering jokes ranging in subject from their recent cinematic musical debuts to an introduction about a song inspired by online porn. They tested out goofy jokes such as, “Have you seen the latest pirate movie? It’s rated RR.” The small but enthusiastic audience responded well to their onstage bante.

Their close harmonies, sung almost exclusively in rhythmic unison, reflected their lyrics, dealing most often with love and personal growth. Their songs were well-crafted, sweet and vocally enticing, but their repertoire did not vary much and I found myself wishing for one of them to break out with an eclectic improvisation, or to use percussion. While the Weepies were enjoyable to listen to for an hour, they quickly became repetitive, and could have used more variation in lyrics, time signatures, guitar strumming patterns and riffs, keys and tempo. They only played one song in a minor key and one upbeat song. However, the danceable pop song was very much enjoyed by most of the buoyant audience, which busted out a mean Harkness-style boogie.

Although the lyrics to most of their songs were rather urbane and insubstantial, there were occasional lyrics that showed poetic imagination and tastefulness such as, “The moon shoots a dirty look over its shoulder.” “When you’re lost, tell your story” was the chorus of one simply eloquent song about finding your voice. Representative of many of their lyrics was the chorus, “Sun turns the evening to rose/ stars turning high up above/ you turn me into somebody loved.” And though the night seemed long to me, I did appreciate the traditional familiar simplicity of the music, the well-rehearsed and playful dynamic of the classic folk duo and the comforting union of voices that hovered like a cloud of sweet incense over the audience even after the show ended.
 
 

   

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