Outlandish and existential, Todd Snider is a story-telling troubadour. He hails from Portland, Oregon, and now calls East Nashville home — he’ll tell you 95 stories about that. A raucous mix of unintentional stand-up comedy, stream-of-conscious ramblings and folk songs, his shows are an event. He’s a Hunter S. Thompson-esque character: outspoken, lewd, smart enough to know better, and with booze stories for days. And the fact that you never quite know what’s going to happen next with this guy is totally captivating. Snider has more than a dozen albums under his sweaty signature hat, dating back to 1994. His most recent endeavor and third release with Aimless Records, “Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables” (2012), features songs like “New York Banker” and “In Between Jobs.” He’s about as unpretentious as they come.
Todd Snider plays Tuesday, March 17, at Flour City Station, 170 East Avenue. 8 p.m. $20.50-$25. flourcitystation.com; toddsnider.net.
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2015.
Great talent, love his stories, just wish people would understand that many folks come to hear HIM sing and talk. I get it that some people identify with the lyrics and such, but I didn’t spend money to hear the drunk next to me spew every third word to a song as if he was the performer… please, please, please, do a PSA on this subject. I wouldn’t go to a comedy club and finish the joke nor recite the lines at a play… sure, some choruses seem to beg the sing a long, but every verse? every third word? ugh….