Show Review: Patrick Coman at The Burren (February 17, 2018)

Patrick Coman has been a staple of the Boston music scene for years and he released his latest album, Tree of Life, at The Burren on Saturday night. A few months ago, Patrick and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, leaving a hole in our local music scene, as Patrick was an integral part of WUMB and organized an incredible run of tribute shows under the banner, “For The Sake of the Song.” It was good to have Patrick back in the area, joining forces with the incredible Peter Parcek, who co-produced the new album, for an evening of blistering blues.

In the liner notes for Tree of Life, Patrick quotes Woody Guthrie: “All you can write is what you see.” That kind of honesty can be hard to come by, but Patrick really lives it in his songwriting: he is entirely without guile and delivers straightforward, heartfelt lyrics in every tune. The highlights of the evening for me were when he really went for it vocally, climbing his register and stepping back from the microphone to shout and scream. He picked his spots for that well, especially on “Rock When I Roll,” and “Keep My Soul.”

Peter Parcek is a tough act to follow and he opened the show with a stunning display of virtuosic guitar playing, capped by some slide guitar magic on Peter Green’s “Show Biz Blues.” But there was no competition, only collaboration, and it is clear how much mutual respect there is between Patrick and Peter. Jeremy Van Cleave joined during both sets on fiddle, adding color and texture to the band; the way he and Peter made space for each other’s solos was fantastic and reflected a high degree of communication between the players. The band ended with the burning “Chelsea Street,” another highlight, and we’ll be looking forward to the next time Patrick’s back in town.