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While many Humboldt County venues may be better known, The Arcata Playhouse is worth checking out. Known as the Old Creamery Building, located at 1251 9th Street, Arcata, CA, it resembles an intimate theater with lantern lights and two balcony areas that rise behind several rows of seats only a few feet from the stage. There is not a bad seat among the 140 that fill the cozy auditorium.
        
How can you not like a place that serves homemade chocolate chip cookies, Hanson’s natural sodas, and fresh popcorn, among other things? It was a little stuffy, and at times you could hear noise from the concession area, but these are minor drawbacks. This was the first concert at the site for People Productions in Redway.
        
“That was totally worth it,” said my friend, an avid music lover, describing the just completed Ben Taylor and Katie Herzig concert. The performance area’s superb acoustics were the ideal setting for two excellent singer/songwriters who wrap their tales of love and heartache in the most exquisite of folk styles. 
        
Who is Ben Taylor? Short answer: son of James Taylor and Carly Simon. But just as a gifting or talent makes room for itself, so Taylor is forging his own identity. 
        
I first heard about Katie Herzig through veteran recording artist Margaret Becker, who raved that Herzig’s Weightless (2006) was one of the best recordings of the year. 
 
Both are casual, relaxed and comfortable in their own skin even if their songs chronicle how hard it is to love.
 
Herzig opened the night with two female accompanying musicians: Claire Indie (Cello & Vocals) and Jordan Hamlin (Guitar, Multi Instrumentalist & Vocals). To borrow a line from Herzig’s Weightless, “If it gets any better than this, I don’t want to know” would be one way to summarize just how good they sounded.  Herzig’s whimsy, vulnerability and honesty are immediately endearing. The music matches with a touch of the unconventional. The background vocals and harmonizing were near perfect.
        
For her final song, “Wish You Well,” Herzig was joined by Taylor and his two bandmates: Ben Thomas on bass and Larry Ciancia (percussion) who sits on a rectangular box and plays the outward face like a set of congas. The Cajon replicates snare and bass drum sounds. This was a great sendoff for Herzig and company, which was followed by an intermission. She moved to the CD table, where she took signups for a cause that provides clean water for people in the Sudan.  
        
Taylor’s wit and humor were on display right from the start. Performing In t-shirt, jeans and sandals, and sporting a wild head of hair, he playfully apologized for it while blaming Claire Indie for not cutting it. She registered a distinct objection from somewhere behind the stage. 
        
He won the audience over on the first song, “Boyfriend.” It starts off sounding like a typical song of longing to be with the woman of one’s dreams. It takes a humorous turn when he interjects that he has met her boyfriend, and he seems like a really nice guy. It gets even funnier at the end, when surprise, he realizes that he likes the boyfriend more than he thought. It was all in fun, and to avoid confusion or rumors, Taylor added that he and the other two guys were heterosexual. 
 
The obvious question: Does Taylor sound like his famous dad? At times you can hear the same warmth of voice that made James Taylor a pop icon. But to his credit, this Taylor is his own man. There were no covers of his father’s material. His songs sparkle with probing and intricacies that show the kind of depth that reward thoughtful listeners.
 
With each artist, there was one song that my friend and I agreed was our personal favorite. With Herzig, it was “I Hurt Too.” Herzig climbed the mount of empathy, and my guess is that most of the audience was right there with her. It was the night’s most poignant moment.
 
Taylor’s masterpiece (“Nothing I Can Do”) came right after he gave a lengthy introduction about his mom wanting a song and all the times that he had put her off. His mom kept thinking that songs about his past loves were about her. When would she get a song? By this time, it was just Taylor and his guitar. This was a complex song for a complex woman, as Taylor described it. He gracefully picked his way through chord changes singing just like his famous father. It was totally worth it just to hear these two songs. 
 
Michael Dalton 
July 16, 2010