Todd Snider

There are some singer-songwriters who are more comfortable sitting alone in their rooms composing tunes than they are performing on stage. Not Todd Snider. The stage just gives Snider the platform to embellish his shaggy, hair-of-the-dog story-songs with anecdotes, jokes and musical asides. It isn't that Snider needs to embellish his tunes. While he achieved his biggest popular success ten years ago with "Alright Guy" and "Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues," he's spent the last decade creating a colorful crazy-quilt of funny, poignant tales that makes him a kindred spirit to Robert Earl Keen, Arlo Guthrie and John Prine. His most recent album, last year's live Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (on Prine's Oh Boy label), is an excellent way to get a Todd Snider fix; however, an even better way is to experience the quick-witted, nimble-tongued troubadour live on stage.