Dave Nachmanoff in Baltimore,  31 July 1999

Review by Henry Lefkowitz (hlef@bellatlantic.net)

Earlier this year, I returned from the Folk Alliance Conference in Albuquerque just blown away by the music of Dave Nachmanoff, and really impressed with what a genuinely nice person he is. Luckily, just a few weeks later, he came through the DC area for a couple of weeks and played several gigs which I was lucky enough to catch. He has just returned to the area for a week, and at his first stop, a house concert at Rod Smith's in Baltimore, he certainly didn't disappoint.

Dave has an amazing agility with the guitar, a powerful lyricism to his songs, and a voice that will engage the listener right away. Singing songs from his two CD's, "Candy Shower" and "Snapshots," Dave drew the listeners into his world, and on a very warm night, made it easy (for us, at least) to forget about the heat. Singing great songs like "Descartes in Amsterdam", "RL", "Firewoman's Daughter" and "Postcard to Stan", with some accompaniment from marvelous Baltimore area bassist and songwriter John Seay, Dave invited the audience to
sing along on many songs, and unlike some concert experiences, it really felt like we, the audience, were not simply participating in some tired  folkie ritual of audience participation, but more as if we were a family greeting each other with song.

Thanks to Rod for putting together such a great evening, and if you haven't seen Dave before (or even if you have), be sure to take every opportunity you have to see him perform live.


The Dave Nachmanoff Website