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Robbie Fulks with Jenny Scheinman

Arcata Playhouse

Robbie Fulks has the soul of a country singer and the mind of a vaudevillian. Still, for Robbie, it’s about the songs. “There are many good living songwriters,” says the Chicago Reader, “But then you hear a new Robbie Fulks record, and you can’t remember who they are.” His live performances feature improvised rearrangements of his original songs, off-the-cuff musical humor, and covers of songs by Michael Jackson and Cher, among others. His new album, Gone Away Backward, is a sparse, acoustic-only effort that echoes the sounds he heard as a child, growing up in rural Appalachia and features the fiddle playing of Jenny Scheinman who will join Robbie for a performance at the Arcata Playhouse on Thursday, December 19 along with Chris Scruggs on bass and Robbie Gjersoe on national guitar. Robbie said recently about his new release, “It seemed like the songs were veering toward a certain place—acoustic, bluegrass and pre-bluegrass acoustic country with a Southern gothic tinge to it.” For all that, his lyrics keep the whole thing from sounding old-fashioned. “Live it up while you can,” he sings, “but when you get to the bottom, don’t reach for my hand.” You never know exactly what you’ll get with Robbie. It may be something along the lines of swing or rockabilly, or it may be a full album of Michael Jackson covers like his last release Happy. Born in Pennsylvania but a main stay in the Chicago music scene since the mid-80s, Fulks is known as a unique, clever, and heartfelt writer and one of the best guitarists around. The chameleon-like tall guy can whip it out in honky-tonk, country, bluegrass, power pop, or whatever strikes his ample whimsy at the time. If you’re confused already, that is right where Robbie wants you; intrigued, guessing, and on your toes about what’s coming next, but his long-time fans know that whatever it is, it is going to be good.

DATES/TIMES

WHERE

• Arcata Playhouse

PRICE

• $15
• $13 members & students