Tim Barry leading a rousing sing-a-long on the floor of Local 662, St. Pete, FL on April 25, 2012

Authentic. That’s the word that comes to mind when watching or listening to Tim Barry. And, Tim’s show on Wednesday night at Local 662 was just that, authentic. Tim started off his set by advising the sound guy to let Wild Horse by the Rolling Stones play through. Then he launched full steam ahead playing a range of songs old and new while frequently jumping down from the stage to play on the floor. He made a concerted effort to move around so that everyone in the crowd who wanted to had the opportunity to connect with him directly. Giving that type of personal energy night after night is exhausting, but like Frank Turner, Tim is committed to connecting with the people who come out to see him night after night around the globe. He’s also committed to not taking himself too seriously with remarks about how liberating it is to be able to make fun of yourself.

Tim Barry singing his heart out on April 25, 2012 at Local 662, St. Pete, FL

Tim makes a point of reminding listeners to live simply and focus on what is important in life – loyalty certainly – but not without question. Celebrating the contradictions of life by acknowledging them. Fighting for what is right – like protection of a Gabriel Prosser’s gravesite in Richmond, VA. At first, Tim wasn’t going to tell the full story about Gabriel since he was in a bar with people talking and instead polled the crowd about their knowledge about the history of a brave leader in the slave stuggle for freedom, Gabriel Prosser and implored people to tell their neighbor about the story if they know it. Then he changed his mind and went ahead and told the story of how a group of people succesfully managed to get Virgina Commonwealth University to remove the parking lot they built over the historic gravesite. Read more about the protests that led to VCU’s reversal here. It’s a timely reminder of how in order to change things you have to do more than just click like on a Facebook post (Kony, anyone?). I always leave a Tim Barry show introspective and ready to make a change for a world that needs some.

Tim finished out the night by getting the sound guy to start a dance party off with Jackson 5. Just like Tim to want to keep the party going… Not to be forgotten from this awesome evening, Billy + Joe had a fantastic set opening up for Tim Barry – check out photos and more here. Kicking off the night, sadly before my arrival, was Lonly Monster featuring Dave of Only Monster.

A few words to live by from Tim Barry’s excerpted lyrics from 40 Miler, the title track off of his new record by the same name – get it here:

Move with heart, sing from your soul
If you can’t play, then dance instead
Music should sound like escape, not rent

Tim will be on tour all summer – check out dates here.