Take That, Lou Dobbs!
by Jack Silverman
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Mix Bob Dylan's folk roots and Hebrew countenance with Randy Newman's dark wit (and, come to think of it, Hebrew countenance), and you get singer-songwriter Brett Rosenberg, who migrated from Boston to Nashville last year. An in-demand sideman for his spirited guitar work, Rosenberg's no slouch as a lyricist or frontman either, as evidenced by his new release Born Twice. Case in point: the politically topical ode to low self-esteem “Illegal Alien Girlfriend,” which begins with the lines “I saw her face / At the check-cashing place” and builds to the self-deprecating chorus punch line, “She's my illegal alien girlfriend / Doing the job American girls won't do.” His inner Zimmerman bursts to the forefront on “Keep in Touch,” which sounds like an outtake from Before the Flood, complete with tasty Robbie Robertson-esque chicken-pickin'. Throw in a few between-song political rants, Borscht Belt jokes and yarns chronicling the adventures of a downtrodden song-man in Music City, and you've got yourself some Friday-worthy entertainment on a Monday night.
Mon., Oct. 13, 9:30 p.m., 2008
Mon., Oct. 13, 9:30 p.m., 2008
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