Jeffrey Foucault with Erik Koskinen
Stoughton Opera House Stoughton WI December 12th, 2024
Americana laced with country-blues, Jeffrey Foucault draws from rich traditions to mix a moving tribute to life’s small moments and big questions. A poetic songwriter and friendly storyteller, Foucault’s performance at Stoughton’s Opera House was a seeker’s dream of a rambling family sit-down whose smiling faces and wry inside jokes brought genuine warmth to a cold December night. Playing with a full band promoting his recent, “Universal Fire,” the Wisconsin native brought a wonderful homecoming vibe to the second show before the end of their month-long tour.
Foucault’s songs foster strong feelings with wry smiles, singing glimpses expressing tricky pictures, the human heart a slippery canvas where metaphors and symbols weave tall tales and swinging hijinks backing personal concerns and heartfelt connections. Offering a slew of amusing anecdotes to offset the occasionally downbeat songs, Foucault regaled the crowd with tales of celebrating his twentieth wedding anniversary with a bandmate and a bottle of wine, his wife a thousand miles away, before launching into “I Love You (And You Are A Fool)” In his first chat after laying down the new album’s opening tracks, Jeffrey pointed out that you knew you were at a folk show with the two Marchall Amps on stage, further explaining how in a folk show you talk a lot and suck the mystery out of every song before playing, “Monterey Rain,” pausing to explain this was a song he wrote when he was in Monterey and it was raining. In his final aside of the evening, Jeffrey reminisced about his brother and their pyromania growing up in nearby Whitewater, then confessed the story had no connection with the song he was about to play.
Promoting his first record of entirely new material since 2018, Foucault surrounded himself with talented friends whose impressive resumes include Booker T., the Pretenders and Calexico. A coalition of mutual admiration, Foucault’s sweet, understated charm shared the spotlight with Eric Heywood’s lofty steel-guitar and Erik Koskinen’s free-wheeling electric while drummer John Convertino and bassist Jeremy Moses Curtis anchored the evening with subtle muscle. Modest to a fault, the entire band supported guitarist Erik’s rousing opening spot right down to Jeffrey providing rhythm guitar and harmony for a double dose of a powerhouse ensemble.
Giving the band a break, Foucault performed two songs solo, going so far as to unplugging his acoustic and stepping away from the mic to perform before the rapt audience with nothing but the song between them. A testament to a musician whose Midwest values and work ethic has produced thoughtful songs and loyal fans for decades and whose open curiosity promises more of the same in the years to come.
