Before Willy Porter goes to bed at night, he probably brushes his teeth and puts on pajamas–most likely one leg at a time. Right before he tucks himself in, though, Porter takes his guitar out of tune, dropping a half-step here or an octave there. When he wakes up, he plays until he finds something. Normally, what he finds is magic. Porter (pictured left) is a modern day guitar wizard who seamlessly melds the rhythmic musings of Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges to the righteous melodies of Genesis and Joni Mitchell within perfectly formulated four-minute pop songs, stamping out transcendent bits of honest songwriting that are as unafraid of self-deprecation and doubt as self-confidence and comfort. “If I were an actor, I couldn’t make it/’Cause I couldn’t fake it,” Porter, who writes with an emotional candor that is–to say the least–revealing, sings in a husky tenor. This is the blue-collar cat Top 40 would love to snare. For more information, call 969-1400. $8.
