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The Daily Tar Heel

Thompson Performs at the Open Eye Cafe

For every Joni Mitchell and Neil Young success story, there are plenty more Jeffrey Hyde Thompsons. While the Asheville musician isn't exactly wallowing in obscurity, "the big time" is quite a ways off. Even though he can croon a tune as well as a hotshot computer programmer can create a killer app, the money to pay the bills is a lot harder to come by.

Thompson didn't let these facts get in the way of a fine performance at the Open Eye Cafe on Friday. He flashed his smile, cracked jokes and lowered his defenses for the small crowd throughout the show. Questions arose about what the weird mermaid sculpture on the wall was all about and whether a cellular phone can be considered a work of art. Thompson had many opportunities to expose his goofy and vulnerable personality.

The second-guessing and slightly insecure nature disappeared as soon as he went to work with his fingers and his singing.

Thompson's voice is his major asset. It contains a little of Sting's jazzy breathiness, a bit of a good scatman's spontaneity and a smooth, soothing quality that was all his own. He could quickly turn the calm into a storm, proving himself capable of leaping octaves and maintaining amazing control over his vocal power. But a great voice isn't nearly as potent if you don't mean what you sing. And luckily, Thompson meant every note.

In his performance, timeless concepts such as "faith in something bigger" and "the one that got away" weren't mere cliches stripped off of other people's stories. It was clear that Thompson has lived his songs, in some cases.

In others, it was apparent that he wanted to avoid living with the regret plaguing the lives of Tony, the priest who wanted to be a clown ("Next Time Around"), and the old man who lived by the sea, left to perpetually recall the day his love drowned ("Praying for Rain").

Many of his songs deal with time and how people would be well off to spend it wisely, especially when the alternately blissful and harsh possibilities of love are involved.

The highlight of the night was perhaps "The Will of the Water," a reflective tune placed amid some louder, fiery numbers. "The will of the water, take me down/I am no longer afraid to drown," he chanted. It was a sign of the singer coming to terms with himself in a emotional and spiritual way. His peaceful vibes spread out to every square inch of the Open Eye Cafe.

For Thompson, the money might come, and then again, it might not. But in his love of writing and performing his songs, perhaps he has found something much more valuable -- and worth sharing.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.

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