It comes as a disappointment to me that I’ll be out of town when Stu (warning: page plays music; adjust volume accordingly) does a show at the Knitting Factory. For one, I’ve never been to that venue, but would love to support it after reading about its possible closure. But the other reason is that I’ve been a long-time Stuart Davis fan.
I was first turned on to the “post-apocalyptic” folk rocker in about 2000. His song “Only Changing Drugs,” a lighthearted lampoon of alchol/drug-abuse treatment, has a special place in my heart, as someone who has grown up around 12-step programs. I’ve heard it said that his songs are all about “God, sex, and death.” His views on things seem to come from some sort of Buddhist mysticism, which can make for interesting and fantastical song lyrics, but is no less hokey than any other religious dogma, imho. His twisted sense of humor and sometimes raunchy sexual themes balance things out nicely (the first time I heard his music, it was a song about hooking up with a woman in a mermaid costume).
Stuart’s been around a while and has put out about a dozen albums which can be purchased at his website. “Already Free,” a single from his latest album “Something Simple,” was featured on the Drillbit Taylor soundtrack.
I have seen Stu play live over a dozen times, usually in a coffee shop in the Quad Cities. For all but one of those shows, Stuart performed solo and put on a rather impressive one-man show. At the most recent show I attended, he had a full band, which was quite a different experience for me. But it’s a good time, and hey, it’s the Knitting Factory.