Getting folked up

Last night I saw legendary folk singer Utah Phillips at Club Passim, the legendary folk club in Harvard Square. Phillips is a folk singer in the old-time definition of the term: One who travels around singing the music of plain folks -- workers, activists, tramps -- and intersperses the songs with stories, poems, observations and political commentary.

The songs, which the audience is often invited to sing along on during the chorus, are frequently compositions that have been passed on for decades among folksingers, and Phillips makes a point of telling the crowd who he learned each song from and under what circumstances. All of the songs are simple chords, simple strums and simple melodies -- it's the message that matters.

Phillips, whom I learned about through his two collaborations with Ani DiFranco. is a wonderful storyteller and greatly entertaining. At nearly 72 years old, he looks a bit frail, but he spouts ideas that would be called radical by many Americans. He tells it like he sees it, and he sees the truth.