Michelle Shocked

Review and photographs by Tim Livingston

Singer/songwriter/storyteller/DIY-artist/activist Michelle Shocked brought the “Roccupy!!” leg of her five-year “Roadworks” tour to Club Helsinki in Hudson last Saturday night in what proved to be part concert, part rally. The extensive “Roadworks” tour is an ongoing traveling show which finds the troubadour not only exploring her past catalog, but also working out new songs, playing many of them for the first time on any given night.

Dressed in skinny black jeans, military cap, an Occupy scarf around her neck and her trademark black Converse sneakers, the genuine, friendly and folksy Michelle is a master at involving the audience in her show, and she wasted no time in bringing them onboard. Even during the sound check, she serenaded one of two birthday parties in the crowd with a song.

When she returned to the stage for her actual show, she spelled out how the evening was about to go… some old songs, some never-before-heard songs, a short, five-minute break, followed by an informative talk on the Occupy movement (in which she is deeply involved) and then some more old songs, perhaps taking a few requests. “In case you have never seen me before, I talk a lot…” she warned the crowd, although most seemed familiar with her casual approach.

(more…)