Life is filled with difficult choices. Among the more pleasurable ones are which concerts to attend. Having seen Paula Cole perform at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, on October 26, 1997 I had another opportunity to see her in concert again just three days later at Canes in San Diego. However, Eliza Gilkyson was appearing that same night at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, and I opted to see her instead.

What would you make of someone whose songs are about angels, prophets, seeking salvation and redemption, and whose lyrics are filled with biblical allegories that any churchgoer knows by heart? Maybe you would think she is a gospel singer or evangelist. But Ms. Gilkyson is none of these. In fact, her music is about secular concerns, the pleasures of love, the disillusionment of betrayal, yearnings, longings, musings, awakenings. In short, she sings about healing, personal growth, and transcendence. In fact, she sings about her life.

The daughter of folksinger/songwriter Terry Gilkyson, who wrote the Academy Award nominated Bare Necessities for Disney's The Jungle Book and the pop hit All Day, All Night, Maryanne, and brother of Tony Gilkyson, formerly of the Los Angeles based punk rocker band "X" whose hit Greenfields made the national charts, and who accompanies Eliza on guitar, her musical lineage is impressive. Her other sidemen on this tour include her son on drums, and a base player whose name escapes me, except that according to Eliza, he was added to "broaden the gene pool."

Ms. Gilkyson is a strikingly attractive woman in her mid-40's. Her voice is strong, clear-toned, and a joy to hear. It commands one's attention, and combined with perfect phrasing is the vehicle with which her lyrics come forth like honey on a warm summer afternoon. While a consummate artist and musician, playing both guitar and keyboards, she is not adverse to goofing around, being silly, cracking jokes, slipping into profanities when she misses a chord, and having a blast both performing and being human. The theme of the evening was the so-called name of her group, "The Dummies", where each member of her band responded with a "What?...", combined with a brain-dead look, and a hit on the microphone with his forehead from brother Tony. Carnegie Hall demeanor this was not.

The setlist was heavy on cuts from her new album Redemption Road, including River of Gold, Rose of Sharon, Pools of Eden, and the title song itself. But she also included music from all of her past albums, among which were my favorite CD "Through The Looking Glass", "Pilgrims" and "Undressed". When she asked for requests, Dionysian Love came immediately from my lips. It was the song which first introduced me to her music, when I heard it on a compilation CD from an Austin, Texas radio station, KGSR-FM that a friend had mailed to me. She smiled at the request, asked the band if they remembered it, started hesitantly missing a chord, then began again in full stride. It was wonderful! At one point she traded in her guitar and took the keyboard for a version of Emmanuel that was hauntingly beautiful, sending shivers down my back. During this set, a group at the bar in the back of the large room erupted in conversation and shouts, totally oblivious that a stellar performer was in their midst on stage. She looked up, distracted for a second, then continued without missing a note. When she finished, there was a deafening round of applause for her efforts. She smiled, and took it all in stride. For another song, Calling All Angels, she had to be coaxed, maybe nagged would be a better word, by repeated requests, before finally agreeing to do it. The "angels" were really the many facets of Eliza herself, some of whom she didn't seem too pleased to deal with again.

When her performance ended after almost two hours on stage, and most of the small audience of some 75 or so had drifted away, I had a chance to spend a few minutes chatting with Eliza as she signed albums and schmoozed with her fans. "Where does all the spiritual imagery come from," I asked. "Do you feel you are a very spiritual person?" She threw her head back, looked at me patiently with a steady gaze, and responded, "I've always been working on personal issue, all my life. That's all it is," she said smiling. Then she added, "Oh, you're the one who asked for Dionysian Love, good choice." I thanked her, then walked away, bathed by her light.

The Belly Up is located on a street filled with antique shops in Solana Beach, right next to the Amtrak main line between LA and San Diego, and about a block from the Pacific Ocean. While it hosts many premier artists, it is first a watering hole and bar, and many of its customers are sadly ignorant of the fact that they are seated in a concert venue. In fact, there was far more smoke at this performance, than the one up the coast at the Coach House just three days earlier, where the audience was five times larger and totally attentive.

Opening for Ms. Gilkyson was the Joel Rafael Band, a folk group that played with Eliza at the Kerrville Music Festival, and often appears locally. They include Joel's daughter Jamaica on violin, Carl Johnson on bass, and the dynamic drummer Jeff Berkley, who always reminds me of a cross between one of Santa's elves and a troll one meets under a mossy bridge after eating too much pizza, and whose rhythms never fails to bring a smile to my heart.

Eliza Gilkison's albums are available directly from her online store, and may also be ordered from CD Baby or Red House Records, as well as your local music source.