Marshall Chapman played at Greener Groundz on 4/16/2010. Photo by Pennman.

The tables were full, both inside and outside on the patio, and the pizzas were flying by all night long at Greener Groundz as Bowling Green favorite http://www.bgdailynews.com/the_amplifier_artists/ads/7728615/“>Tommy Womack played tonight. Womack was ably accompanied by Marshall Chapman, and the two switched off playing each other’s material. And just when the moment called for some additional harmony, Lisa Oliver Gray was there to add that extra special touch to the vocals. The result was an entertaining, sometimes humorous, sometimes reflective, and sometimes touching acoustic performance from these accomplished musicians. And the audience loved it.

Womack played both old and new tunes. For example, he went back to the Government Cheese days with “Come on Back to Bowling Green and Marry Me”. He also delved a bit into his more recent material, chronicling the more difficult aspects of his musical career in “Alpha Male and the Canine Mystery Blood” (both humorous and thoughtful) and “Cockroach after the Bomb” (which deals with struggling with a day job, which he has). But he also played the more optimistic “Everything’s Coming up Roses Again”, so his music pretty much covered many of the ups and downs experienced by so many working musicians.

The last three tunes were from his 2007 release “There, I Said It”. Another fine album you might want to obtain is the even more recent (2009) “Daddy For a Second Time”. There’s plenty of info on Tommy and his discography at www.tommywomack.com.

Chapman played plenty of her tunes too. As the baton kept passing between Chapman & Womack a recurring thought kept reverberating in my head; “This is so real!” Both are great songwriters with great voices, great stories to tell that come from the soul, and great deliveries that reflect their love of the craft.

Two standouts from Chapman were (I think this is the title) “Goodbye Little Rock and Roller” (she also has a book out by the same name), and “Call the Lamas”. Chapman has worked and written with and for many stars (too many to list here, but have you heard of Jimmy Buffet or Emmylou Harris?) and that experience is certainly reflected in her songs. For more info on Chapman you can check out www.tallgirl.com.

Ms. Gray was in a supporting role tonight but is widely recognized as a great singer in her own right. She has worked with and in many other bands and definitely added the “pinch of this and pinch of that” that made the recipe so special.

Both Womack and Chapman are authors as well. They were also in town for the SOKY Book Fest this weekend. You might also want to check out their sites to learn more about their written work. As tonight’s performance demonstrated, they have plenty of stories to tell, and it all comes from a very honest place. And truth is the basis for all good art.

Tommy Womack & Marshall Chapman played at Greener Groundz on 4/16/2010.

About the author: Pennman bought his first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. He has spent much of his disposable income on music, especially live performances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps a keen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has a BA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbled in music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more of Pennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.html or visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bg or www.facebook.com/pennman