Perhaps it takes the heartland to produce truly genuine perspectives on America—Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan are two examples (musically), and others in other disciplines, such as Mark Twain and Georgia O'Keefe, seem to maintain a flavor of legitimacy that is hard to deny. In the same corn-fed spirit, Iowa-born singer/songwriter (also novelist and painter) Dan Bern has been able to distill our cultural phenomena into obliquely-viewed commentary that hovers between comedy and panic. With songs like "Talking Al Kida Blues" and "Bush Must Be Defeated," he's managed to stay current and relevant in political as well as artistic ways, though his older material may be some of the most entertaining.
Ten or 11 years ago, outside a private show in Santa Monica, a celebration of his recent signing to the Sony's WORK Group record label, he was no less charming in person than in performance, though he was more humble in the parking lot than onstage. I still recall his performance of "No Missing Link" ("Aliens came and they fucked the monkey") and [The Day They Found a] "Cure for AIDS": "For six months/ no one went to work/ they all had orgies/ morning after pills/ were sold in grocery stores/ and gas stations."
Violinist/vocalist Jenny Scheinman opens the show.
June 6, $17.50/advance, $20/door, 7 p.m., Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton, (413) 586-8686, www.iheg.com
