The word rehab in music usually refers to a stint escaping the ravages of excess. In the case of Sam Baker the word in its longer form is more akin to a lifetime in music coming to terms with a traumatic event of unimaginable proportion. For close on twenty years this highly respected Texan singer songwriter has trod the boards of a rehab vocation and it would not be remiss to state that the underpinning framework of his art are the events of a distant day in Peru back in 1986. There is unlikely to be a Sam Baker show where he doesn't recall the bus bomb that somehow decided to spare his life and take many of those around him. The Sam Baker we see in 2020 is a product of rehabilitation and living proof of how greatness can spawn from utmost adversity. What makes Baker tick as an artist is the sheer aura and commandment that comes from his rhythmic story telling. This is beat poetry set to a simple soundtrack recounting stories that spin in many directions, though we are rarely more than a couple of steps away from Peru 1986. There is a certain charm to his onstage personality that straddles the boundary of warmth and eccentricity, maybe even cashing in on alteration adjustments that likely have formed the Sam Baker coming out the other side of 1986.
Listening to him live is an intoxicating experience and it is easy to slip into a transfixed zone. This evening we enjoyed the added bonus of the most beautiful piano accompaniment from his travelling partner and the guest appearance of a local cellist providing some complementary bliss. Baker thrived in the confined surroundings of a sold out Kitchen Garden, on an evening where every crevice of this quirky performing space was full of inquisitive ears.
Sam Baker live is a phenomena. His shows seen over the last few years rarely stray from the core point and it is the effect that seeps into the memory rather than the detail. To counter this assertion we were left with a couple of gems from the evening in the phrase "the narrow blade of life" and showing disdain for inner rage. Yes, Sam Baker can get deep and philosophical, yet always in an alluring way.
When Sam Baker pops into your town, open your heart to the most emphatic rehab you can come across. Fulfilment is a likely departing gift along with a special experience of being in the exalted company of an extraordinary artist forever grateful to music acting as the best rehab available. A union one suspects that will be around for a long time yet. A South American rehabilitation stretching a lifetime.
