I just couldn’t figure it out. The whole way home, after sitting for two-plus hours listening to Dar Williams perform at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, near Philadelphia, I pondered what it is that keeps great art a secret. Everyone knows Britney Spears (if you can call "Oops! I Did it Again" art), but ask nine out of ten people who Dar Williams is and they will look at you and say, "WHO?" What a shame.

Six months ago, I would have been included with the ignorant. But with the help of WXPN 88.1 — a non-commercial radio station out of The University of Pennsylvania who have promoted Williams’ new album The Green World ceaselessly, including making it a recent featured CD — I started hearing about this woman named Dar. I liked her songs. I paid attention when they mentioned her name. I started remembering lyrics from her songs. I even started sitting in my parked truck to hear the end of "What Do You Love More than Love" before getting out. Later I heard a World Café interview with her, and her comments intrigued me. I knew that I needed to see her live, just to see what kind of show this woman would put on. Well, the opportunity came sooner than I had expected. You can imagine my surprise and delight when my editor called me last Friday afternoon to tell me that she had two tickets to see Dar Williams at the Keswick and, if I wanted to go, the tickets were mine. After some arm twisting and a few schedule tweaks, I was on my way to Glenside.

The Keswick Theatre is a beautiful old theatre. Located just off the Ft. Washington exit of the PA Turnpike, it was an easy drive and not hard to find. Parking wasn’t bad at all, and the atmosphere surrounding the building was reminiscent of something that you might find in State College: lots of unique stores, plenty of coffeeshops, and a variety of restaurants from Rizzo’s Pizza to Yu Hsaing Gardens. All of this coupled with an old ’20s style intimate theatre, seating about 1,300 people, and you have the perfect setting for the night’s performance.

Williams’ introduction was simple, and with few words she launched right into her music. She began the show softly and then jumped into two songs from The Green World — the high energy "I Won’t Be Your Yoko Ono," and the introspective "Spring Street." Her musical presentation was comfortable, touching, at times poignant, political without being heavy handed, and fun. The band, anchored by Stuert Smith on lead and steel sliding guitar and Steve Holley on drums, never took a moment of attention away from Williams, but instead helped to create music and atmosphere, complementing her vocal style and accenting the individual atmosphere for each song.

In addition to the beautiful musical landscape, Williams’ performance was accented by her ability to interact with the audience. If you take time and listen to any of the lyrics in any of her songs, you will see that she is smart, intelligent, and a great writer, steering clear of conventional ideas and clichés. She enjoys communicating her heart. But the lyrics were only the beginning. She shared her inspiration and she shared her life, telling stories about her life at Weslyan University — where she got the inspiration for "I Won’t Be Your Yoko Ono"— her family, and her time on and off the road. The song "What Do You Love More than Love" was inspired by a trip she made to Bhutan, a Buddhist village east of Nepal. One of her more "pop" tunes, "Love," is an exploration of her values and her feelings about the need to love and be loved. Williams’ show was more than just a concert, it played as a spiritual biography. Concert as biography — what a great concept. I laughed, I danced — though not in the aisles, like some of the groupies — but most of all I listened and learned. I learned about Williams, and as is the case with most great art, I learned about me. I saw in Dar Williams a kindred spirit. I saw in her and her music, my passion for life, and all of its oddities. I, too, enjoy telling the story of life, watching and sharing my particular take on things. Though my ideas are not hers, we do share a common foundation and that is the desire to learn and to grow.