Dar Williams Brings Heart, Humor, and Humanity to Seattle’s Neptune Theatre (SHOW REVIEW)

Having recorded her first album in 1990, Dar Williams is a folk legend. Her appeal lies in a combination of brilliant, approachable storytelling conveyed via an airy voice with a disarming sense of honesty. Her self-effacing, humble style was on full display at her April 3rd show at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre, the beautiful venue full of clearly adoring fans as Dar and her accompanying duo ran through a great set list of old and new songs. 

She kicked off with “Emerald,” an homage to touring through the Pacific Northwest. Endearingly, she lost track of the lyrics early on; in a reflective pause, with a gentle laugh, she shared with the crowd that the song had been a request and that, of course, she could play it since she had written it. Following the audience’s laugh, she returned to the song and proved she could, indeed, complete it, and beautifully. From there, she jumped right into “The Way I Go,” from her new album, Hummingbird Highway. A neatly packaged piece of pop-folk, the upbeat tune had people bouncing in their seats a bit before slowing down into a beautiful rendition of her classic, “If I Wrote You,” from the 1997 album End of the Summer. Listening to the melancholy beauty of the tune, it was hard not to reflect on the time we’re now in as Dar sang, “I thought the world needed love and a steady hand, so I’m steady now.” 

Returning to her new album, Williams next played the eponymous “Hummingbird Highway,” followed by “Put the Coins on His Eyes” and “Sacred Mountain” from the same album. She dipped into the heart-wrenching “Berkeley” – a reflection on what had been and what now is in that California city – before returning to Hummingbird Highway with “Tu Sais Le Printemps.” The audience has clearly spent some time with the new album, nodding along appreciatively with the mix of new songs. Each of the new songs added a different feel to the evening, with “Hummingbird Highway” and “Sacred Mountain” touching deeper themes (the former examines a child realizing things are not well with their parents while the latter explores a monk’s journey toward his purpose); by contrast, “Put Coins On His Eyes” is more of a bluegrass number about supporting union workers whilst “Tu Sais Le Printemps” is a jaunty bossa nova number. 

Opener Ruth Theodore did a great set, at one point walking out into the audience to sing. She called to mind a younger Ani DiFranco, with an endearing, rough yet approachable folk style. She joined Dar on a rendition of “I Am the One Who Will Remember Everything” from her 2012 album, In the Time of Gods. The four-piece rocked out, with Theodore’s voice adding a nice depth to the lyrically intense tune that addresses the need for empathy in times of war and for basic humanity and decency. Again, this song rang out as a clarion call to the times we live in.

Williams ran through two more new songs, “What Bird Did You See” and “Olive Tree,” before closing her set with crowd favorite “Iowa (Traveling III).” There had been repeated requests for that song shouted throughout the show, and Ruth Theodore rejoined the stage as Dar jovially noted that she was playing “by popular request.” The band closed with a playful, rollicking encore, “As Cool As I Am,” and the audience left with a bounce in their steps, grateful to have once again spent the evening with someone who feels like a close friend.