Concert review: Martin Sexton, Landsdowne St., Boston

Cynthia Courtney (courtney@mpi.com)
Fri, 19 Jun 1998 22:12:07 -0400 (EDT)

Martin Sexton performed his first live show in 3 mos. last night at the
Landsdowne St. Playhouse in Boston, to a packed room of the faithful. It
was a homecoming of sorts, given that Marty really launched his adult career
here in Boston (he started playing music as a teenager in Syracuse), and has
only played in the area a handful of times in the past year; he's been busy
touring around the country, and most recently, has been off the road and in
the recording studio. Early in the evening he commented on having a case of
"the nerves" since he hadn't played in front of an audience for awhile, but
if had the nerves, it didn't show and certainly didn't take anything away
from his performance. Indeed, if it's possible, he just gets better and
better. He's always had and still has that indescribable "voice," but his
guitar-playing (in Marty's hands, a single guitar becomes an entire band)
and song-writing are now on a par with his vocal prowess -- and for those of
you who have heard him sing, you know how good that is.

Marty played at least 5 songs that will be on his new album, and if they're
any indication of the rest, this album is going to be his best, and should
bring him the widespread acclaim and commercial success he so richly
deserves. The new songs (I'm not sure if these are their real titles):
Station Man, The Beast in Me (pure funk and groove), Diggin' You (?), Where
Does It Begin (_gorgeous_), and the title track, The American. On most of
these songs, Marty was joined by the drummer from his studio band (I didn't
catch his last name; first name is Joe, I think his last name may begin with
a B - he was awesome!)

Old favorites were part of the evening as well: opened with Freedom of the
Road, Glory Bound, Can't Stop Thinkin' 'Bout You, 13 Step Boogie, Gypsy
Woman, Diner (a new arrangement - slow, down and dirty :-) ), and Ice Cream
Man. Encores: Hard Times (on electric guitar) and The Way I Am (the
audience was spell bound; I think my heart may actually stop beating while
he's singing this).

Folks, if you haven't seen Martin Sexton perform live yet, you _MUST_ make
it your mission to do so if he comes near your town. At a Martin show, you
are transported to a place of pure joy. He puts so much of his heart and
considerable soul into EVERY performance - he never has an "off" night. As
a musician and music-lover, I am awestruck at the immensity of his talent.
It's enough to make you believe in a higher power, in miracles, in gifts
from the gods.

Cindy Courtney
Framingham, MA
courtney@mpi.com