Show:  "May We Live in Interesting Times"
Performer: Andrew Woody (singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar) http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=244641171
Date saw the show:  July 23, 2008
Place saw the show:  Kansas City, Missouri, Fringe Festival

Reviewed by:  Deborah Ground Buckner (Kansas City Correspondent - USA)

Every Fringe Festival has at least one songwriter with a message and an acoustic guitar.  Admit it, sometimes these performances can be unbearable.  But this year's Kansas City Fringe-goers are in for a treat with the music of Andrew Woody in "May We Live in Interesting Times."  Woody is a songwriter who truly does have a message and the musical ability and voice to present it.  Add to this mix he is a handsome young man with a pleasant stage presence, and it is easy to understand an audience's desire to tune in and hear what he has to say.

Woody has been playing guitar for ten years and writing songs "since before I could sing them."  This is his first Fringe Festival, and his first time to perform as a lead act.  "Man, this is fun!" he reacted.  "I feel like I got my badge of awesomeness!" 

Woody entitled his program "May We Live in Interesting Times," observing that "we do" and "we have something we need to talk about." 

His first song, "One Day at a Time," carries a message very different from the inspirational tune of the same title.  The refrain is haunting:  With each sunrise I'm losin' my life, one day at a time.  

He observed many of his ideas are inspired by "the Italian mob.  Authority figures were corrupt, so it was righteous to be a criminal."  This led nicely into his second song of the night, "Look Alive," with a refrain that every citizen wary of its government should bear in mind:  I said I'd keep you safe from all the bullies in the yard/But turn your back on me and you had better look alive.  A menacing rhythm drives home the point.

The loneliness of an artist comes through in "Hands Up":  I hide myself in my work . . . You almost caught me there, My guard was down . . . You almost got it, I'm just dyin' to be found." 

Woody found inspiration for the song "Off Guard" by watching Zeitgeist: The Movie, a global conspiracy documentary.  Again, the message of being wary, watching our rulers comes out in the lines:  They know us better than we know ourselves . . . We must wake up early and catch them off guard.  This work shows off both exciting rhythms and a great vocal range.

Challenged to write a "whiskey-drinkin' song," Woody recalls sitting in the basement of a house where he was "oppressed and depressed," and putting together "Anymore."   I shoulder my bottle like a soldier his rifle/And take this shot to the grave.  The whines of the whiskey lead to the conclusion I just can't stay here anymore. 

Woody is one of the great finds in a fringe festival, the chance to catch the beginning of an artist who is definitely up and coming.