Singer/songwriter/guitarist/harmonica-ist and Greater Cincinnati Roots music hero Dave Gilligan celebrates the release of Watching the World Go to Hell, the latest album by his band Grey Dogs, Saturday (Aug. 4) at Mansion Hill Tavern. Showtime is 9 p.m. and cover charge is $5.
Gilligan has played a variety of music over the past couple of decades with groups like The Flock, MC Blue and The Hiders, and Watching the World Go to Hell combines those ranging sounds — Blues, Folk, Rock, Celtic and more — into a strong package of songs marked by his endearing humor and observational insight. The musical performances are superb; besides Gilligan’s expressive harmonica work, he surrounds himself with some excellent players, including stellar local guitarist Mike Fair and keyboardist Jim Lindenschmidt
Like many artists these days, Gilligan can’t help but respond to the weirdness of society in the Trump era, tempering seething outrage with sly witticisms. (The back cover of the CD features a photo of a pickup truck that has “‘Just grab ’em by the pussy’ — Your President” emblazoned on the side.)
He sets the tone bluntly with opening track “I Don’t Like the President,” delivering the titular declaration in the chorus with an amusingly dry matter-of-factness, while his conversational critiques are made all the more biting by Gilligan’s sing/speak "talking blues" vocal style.
Not everything is as on-the-nose, as Gilligan switches up lyrical motifs often. On the title track, he uses a relatable scenario — being stuck in a traffic jam that appears to have no real cause — as a jumping off point for musings on everything from war and environmental catastrophes to the nature and ancestors that controlled the land around the highways before “progress” claimed it (with a chorus on which Gilligan sings, “Here we sit engines idling/How long no one can tell/Stuck in the gathering darkness/Watching the world go to hell”).
Elsewhere, Gilligan shows off his storytelling acumen on “You Can’t Get Into Heaven (Til Yer Offa Facebook).” Over a clavinet riff that’s a cousin to Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious” groove and lathered in weeping Blues guitar and harmonica riffs, the song’s tale about people dying but retaining a social media presence could be the basis for a particularly comedic episode of Black Mirror. And the album isn’t all political/culturally-focused — songs like “All I Ever Wanted” and “Hate to See You Go” are looks at interpersonal relationships that slightly dial back Gilligan’s poetic quirks, dial up the earnestness and retain the overriding down-to-earth and modest tone.
For more on Grey Dogs, visit daveandthedogs.com. And, yes, you can also find even more info on Facebook here.
