Live Review: William Fitzsimmons and Slow Runner at Johnny D's

William Fitzsimmons is the Zach Galifianakis of folk: bearded, funny, fierce.

As the Jets and Pats duked it out on the field Thursday night, William Fitzsimmons, his guitar, and his beard wrestled with various foes on stage at Johnny D’s in Somerville. Fitzsimmons battled bandmate Jonny in a facial hair contest (the beard won out over Johnny's handlebar mustache), resisted the urge to make more bad jokes (though he did make plenty), and conquered the ubiquitous urge to lump in Somervillians with Bostonians. However, Fitzsimmons was ultimately taken down by a request to cover “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” He and his band gamely played with the chorus for a while, but could not recall enough of the verses—and particularly the lyrics—to prevail in the end.

The battle metaphor is just one way to that Fitzsimmons’ show was much more fun than anyone would expect folk music to be; he tended toward Zach Galifianakis rather than Samuel Beam. However, his clever stage banter might have been the best part of his solo performance; Fitzsimmons was actually much more enjoyable when backed up by Slow Runner than when playing alone. His songs are sparse and simple, but rather than searing your soul like Bon Iver, they sometimes make you wish for a little more substance.

That feeling of wanting was not helped by how much Fitzsimmons’ voice recalls Sufjan Stevens (interesting note: Fitzsimmons actually lives in Jacksonville); we spent half the night just waiting for the lush choruses of strings, horns, and singers that back up Stevens’ infectious tunes. When all we got were more simple notes and chords, we started to yawn a little. The great part of Stevens’ music is its growth and progression; in comparison, Fitzsimmons’ work felt a little too static, and the sense of stillness it cultivated was not used to full effect. It was slightly more precious than powerful. There’s certainly a place for gentle, sleepy tunes, but it’s when we’re lying in bed on a lazy Sunday morning (okay, afternoon). We like to rock a little more at night.

Fortunately, Fitzsimmons was frequently joined on stage by Slow Runner. The band's keyboards, bass, and drums (as well as occasional banjo) added depth that made the simple songs more interesting. The group also helped out with the fun banter, discussing how it took them six hours to get from Northampton to Boston “despite two iPhones and a GPS.” We’re not sure how the band could have gotten so lost, but we trust they had fun along the way.

In joking around, Fitzsimmons also revealed that he had discovered, while tuning, the introductory chord to a Lifetime movie starring John Stamos. We can’t wait for the film to come out with a soundtrack by Fitzsimmons. In the meantime, we’ll be listening to Fitzsimmons’ latest, The Sparrow and the Crow, but probably not at party time.