Strangefolk Alum Genauer Plays Grille to Audience Delight

Author: Kate DeForest

On Friday night singer/songwriter Reid Genauer played to a large and attentive crowd at The Grille. Backed by his touring band, Reid entertained those lucky enough to be in attendance with his distinctive brand of folk-based songs.

The night was particularly special because the band decided to play a stripped down, semi-acoustic set instead of the usual rocked- and jammed-out show.

What resulted was a wonderfully intimate evening that worked perfectly well with Genauer's songs and the distinctive nature of The Grille as a performance venue.

Genauer is probably most well known for his melodious vocals on many Strangefolk songs.

After co-founding the Vermont band in 1991, Genauer toured with them for 10 years, developing a national audience and helping to establish Strangefolk as one of the premiere improvisational rock bands of the last decade.

His distinctive songwriting ability and powerful voice were an integral part of Strangefolk's folk rock sound and helped distinguish them from the scores of other bands that fit into the growing "jam band" genre.

Despite his incredible success with Strangefolk, Genauer made the difficult decision to pursue his academic aspirations and return to graduate school to earn a master's degree in business.

He officially left the band in August of 2001 and enrolled at Cornell University.

Luckily for those in attendance on Friday, Genauer's love of writing and performing songs has spurred him to continue playing in front of captivated audiences, albeit on a much more limited and regional basis to accommodate his studies at Cornell.

Friday marked the fourth time Genauer has played at Middlebury College, most recently selling out the McCullough Social Space with Strangefolk in 1999.

However, this most recent visit was vastly different than the last time he performed.

Playing in front of a crowd of roughly 250 people on Friday, Genauer entertained for two hours, playing a wide selection of songs from his extensive repertoire.

Joining Genauer was his band comprised of members of other regional bands who have played and developed a strong relationship with Genauer over the years.

The band was made up of Percy Hill members John Leccese on bass and Nate Wilson on keyboard, both of whom have played at the College before, along with Moon Boot Lover members Andy Herrick on drums and Adam Terrell on guitar.

Though they have not played together for an extended period of time, their talent was evident from the opening song, Genauer's own composition and Strangefolk staple, "Rachel."

Though playing in an acoustic format for the first time before a live audience, the players quickly adapted to the evening's circumstances and demonstrated their ability to play in any setting.

The stripped down nature of the evening complemented Genauer's talent as a lyricist and his ability to tell a story with each song.

Genauer's intelligent and moving lyrics were delivered by his extremely intense voice, which seemed to grow stronger as the song progressed, only to reach a climax as each song came to an end. This was especially evident in "Etta James," the story of the power of an individual's song, which comes to a conclusion with Genauer calling out to, "sing outloud, sing proud" and "I've been accused."

Like the character in this particular song, Genauer demonstrated he, too, is not ashamed or timid about belting out a tune in front of a packed audience.

Genauer's set was packed with Strangefolk favorites such as "Speculator" and "Roads," and a few covers spread throughout the performance. The most moving of these was "Same Ole River" by Sam Bush, and "Angel From Montgomery" by John Prine.

This was the first in what will probably become a series of appearances of better known performers in The Grille.

In addition to the talented student and regional performers who grace The Grille stage on an almost nightly basis, The Grille committee will try to bring in more well-known and established acts to play in what is a truly great room to hear live music.

If following acts are as entertaining as Genauer, we can look forward to many more enjoyable performances in the months to come.