J.P. Cormier ~ 2019 April 4 ~ Spire Center for the Performing Arts ~ Plymouth, MA
J.P. Cormier, vocals and guitar; Matt Borrello, vocals and guitar, opening act.
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I have seen Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist/funny man J.P. Cormier at the New Bedford Folk Festival, and was eager to attend a complete show of his. He is a performer with a real range of talents. Tonight he said that he had hurt his left hand by doing something wrong closing a car door, and that it hurt a lot, but one couldn't tell by watching him. He's an expert finger picker and it didn't seem as if there was any impairment.
J.P. told many entertaining stories of his life on the road. He has a very deadpan delivery even when telling a very funny story, so don't let the kind of serious look in the photos fool you. He has been a working musician for a very long time, and in the last few years has made the decision to perform as a solo act instead of as part of a band. As scary as this decision was, he says, it has worked out for him, and he enjoys the freedom of booking many gigs every year and covering thousands of miles in the U.S. and Canada. He is proud to be a Canadian, and included in one of his songs a reference to Charlottetown, the capital of Canadian province Prince Edward Island.
He talked about the difficulty of traveling all those long distances. He said that driving across the endless Canadian prairie can have a hypnotic effect, and that one time he was so mesmerized by the road going by under his wheels that he heard the sound of the lane markers in the road swishing by.
He played an instrumental that he called "the happiest song in the world" and warned the audience not to sway back and forth in their seats too vigorously, in case they accidentally clobbered the person next to them. J.P. performed a song or two by Chet Atkins, giving that legendary musician credit for much of his ongoing enthusiasm for music. J.P. learned guitar at a very young age. He has several albums out, but he said he doesn't make records to sell, just because he enjoys recording them.
The show was opened by an entertaining local singer/songwriter, Matt Borrello. I enjoyed his short set and after the show complimented him on his unusually good diction; it's such a bonus when you can hear every lyric of a new song.
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