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NETRHYTHMS (UK) (July 2002) www.netrhythms.co.uk Doug Hoekstra @ The Old Inn, Gairloch, 24th May 2002 Doug's another of those fine contemporary singer-songwriters hovering very much "around the margins" of consumer awareness (to borrow the title of his latest album). He and Peter Mulvey have formed my two most recent discoveries, as it happens, and what both have in common (other than striking individuality and excellence) is that their work is not easy to categorise or describe, and any comparisons are as likely to lead the potential listener astray as to provide a way into the music. In Doug's case, the most obvious audio reference point is Lou Reed, whose dark, whispersome delivery Doug's highly seductive vocal tones very closely approximates, especially on first encounter. Curiously, though, this aspect was if anything less apparent in the live gig environment, possibly owing to its enabling my greater concentration on the actual content of the songs (stripped down to - mostly - just voice, guitar, harmonica, worlds away from the intelligent though undeniably attention-grabbing musical arrangements on his CD releases, which lend the stories a quite different perspective). Doug's defiantly alternative world-view would seem to stem as much from his Chicago/Illinois upbringing as from an empathy with such diverse flavours of quirky yet evocative Americana narratives as could range from Laurie Anderson to Bruce Springsteen to Lucinda Williams to Leonard Cohen even. See what I mean? - you're none the wiser, so you just gotta hear this guy! And that's why I drove nearly 60 miles of bad road (a notoriously difficult stretch of the beautiful north-west-coast road) in near-darkness in storm-soaked rain that was torrential even by Scottish standards. I didn't dare do more than sample one of the wonderful selection of real beers on offer as I dried out to await Doug's appearance. Worth all the effort? - you bet! And not just because the gig was free (one of a series promoted by Rob Allen's enterprising Medicine Music setup), but also because Doug performed no less than three full sets, of which I only managed to stay for two (the combination of the appalling weather, a persistent migraine and the prospect of my enforced 0600 hrs rise the following day meant imposing a 2330 curfew on my visit to Gairloch!). The turnout was increasingly attentive and appreciative as the evening progressed. Material ranged over all of Doug's records (including the frustratingly unavailable Rickety Stairs - anyone out there got a spare copy please?!), which served to highlight the consistency of his writing; he even threw in a couple of new songs near the start of each set! The necessarily sparse instrumental setting proved really effective (perhaps surprisingly so, in view of the superbly distinctive instrumental settings one becomes used to on his records). In a typically bizarre gesture, though, Doug also plugged in a slightly temperamental boom-box to accompany a few of the songs, pointing up their hip-hop influence (this in itself stems from the folk-beat poets of course). Doug's neither a strong melodist nor a flash guitarist, which is just as well since his true skill is in unfolding his low-key dramas vocally; this he achieves almost subconsciously, due to his literate - and yes, acutely literary - aptitude for language, which is at the same time sophisticated and economical, with simple yet telling imagery. Yes, Doug's a considerable talent, and is well worth latching onto! David Kidman
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