Decades later, trio can still wow a crowd
When the Chad Mitchell Trio strolled onstage for their first show in Spokane since 1964, I was prepared for the worst.
What I heard instead was the best. I would go so far as to call it a triumph, and if that sounds over-the-top, I’m confident that most of the people in the nearly full INB would agree.
Before I explain why, I should clarify why I was apprehensive. Before the Chad Mitchell Trio even took the stage, a ‘60s film clip from an appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” played above the stage.
This clip (and two others later) established convincingly that this Gonzaga University-spawned group possessed world-class vocal talent and stage presence, equal to the Kingston Trio or Peter, Paul & Mary.
Yet showing those clips was risky. Anybody who has watched a PBS pop-rock-folk reunion special knows that the contrast between then and now can be downright depressing. Those old acts almost never sound as good as they once did, especially vocally.
The Chad Mitchell Trio turned out to be a shining exception to that rule. Nearly five decades after they began, their voices on Saturday sounded exceptionally clear and powerful, with perfectly rehearsed three-part harmonies blending gorgeously.
I’m tempted to say they sounded better than the old days, but that would be going too far. They had some serious lung power in those days, as proved by a “Dinah Shore” clip. Suffice to say that their current sound is absolutely pleasing to the ear and they haven’t lost a step when it comes to stage presence, emotional intensity and comic timing.
Sorry if I gush, but I was won over completely from the very first song, a raucous and well-timed version of “I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago,” when Mitchell scurried frantically behind Mike Kobluk and Joe Frazier in a mostly vain attempt to get a verse in edgewise. How many putative band leaders would open a show with a joke, essentially, on themselves?
Yet it was this spirit of irreverence and fun that made the ‘60s folk movement such a great chapter in pop, and it was especially the spirit that animated the Chad Mitchell Trio.
And still does.
Mitchell introduced one song with this pithy, out-of-nowhere phrase: “Speaking of dirty Scottish folk songs …”
He also thanked the organizers of the concert for their persistence “in convincing the people at the home to let us out.”
Not all was fun and games. Their version of “Four Strong Winds” was exceptionally beautiful, squeezing all of the pensive longing out of this Ian Tyson classic. Their version of Woody Guthrie’s “Reuben James” showed off their prodigious individual talents to breathtaking effect, with Frazier generally handling the lower registers, Kobluk the middle and Mitchell still perfectly capable of hitting the thrilling highs.
And they haven’t lost their taste for cutting political satire either. They unveiled a new version of “The John Birch Society,” with new words written by Rep. Dave Obey, a Democratic congressman from Wisconsin, titled, “The George Bush Society.” It was a scathing indictment of the current administration, which even managed a sly reference to Sen. Larry Craig.
However, their mixing of the triumphal “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” with the heartbreaking Irish tune “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye,” on which it’s based, was an even more devastating, and more subtle, anti-war song.
Speaking of triumphs, Tom Paxton’s opening set helped set the bar high for the evening. His enormous songwriting talent was on display in such familiar songs as “The Last Thing On My Mind” and in intensely personal songs written to his two daughters and his wife. He, too, retains a fiery idealistic political edge.
By the way, the last time the Chad Mitchell Trio performed in Spokane, the reviewer for The Spokesman-Review criticized them for being too political. Almost 44 years later, this reviewer is happy to say: That guy was dead wrong.