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Something was different about the House of Blues Chicago upon entering when Edwin McCain stopped by on his recent “Far From Over” solo acoustic tour. The sold out crowd was typical, as was the desperate bunch of fans downstairs from the performance hall hoping to pick up a scalped ticket. The main difference that night was several rows of folding chairs on the main floor of the club, set up to accompany the somber mood of the show.
 
The only problem was those chairs provided a comfortable view for fans, who could have very easily dozed off during the somewhat sleepy interpretations of McCain’s biggest hits and popular album cuts. Normally, McCain’s backing band sizzles with jam-like fire, but on his current trek through town, there were no driving guitars or accompanying percussion, just his gentle guitar twang and Craig Shields’ saxophone playing. Instead, McCain took the crowd down a VHI Storytellers look at his career thus far, including his most memorable hits “Solitude” and “I'll Be.” Both lacked the power of the original studio recordings, although McCain’s performance of “I'll Be” was lifted directly off his re-make found 1999’s “Messenger” project. From that disc, McCain highlighted “I Could Not Ask for More,” stripped of the poignant orchestration, along with his follow-up “Go Be Young,” during which McCain told the story of a wide eyed dreamer who let his goals get in the way of his personal life. He emotionally sung the lines “I say I used to be powerful, but now it’s all gone/ I let my dreams take control of me/ That’s where I went wrong.”  

The one thing McCain has never had a problem with is writing lyrics that tug at one’s heartstrings. His latest project (“Far From Over”) is loaded with examples including “Sun Will Rise,” “Hearts Fall,” and “Radio Star.” Neither have gained the commercial acceptance of his past material, but they uphold this troubadour’s tradition of fine song craftsmanship. At least McCain had that working for him by the time he closed out his two hour set. Despite the interpretations lacking the rousing spark most are used to, McCain communicated to each and every person taking them on an emotional roller coaster ride. I can only imagine how much more he would have connected with them had the band been around for the journey.