“Days of Decision”The Music of Phil Ochs” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

Four Stars! Highly recommended!!!!  Entertaining, inspiring, timely, and relevant! “Days of Decision: The Music of Phil Ochs” is a one-man concert by Zachary Stevenson, featuring Ochs’s original songs from the 1960s and 1970s that are unabashedly political and based on his ideals of social revolution. With their biting commentary on social and economic conditions, the status of race relations, and the conflict between left and right in the United States, Ochs’s protest songs hold up so well over time that they could have easily been written today. Stevenson’s performance of them could not have been any better! He sings them in a mellifluous yet resonant voice with a sensitivity that makes him seem older than his years.

In addition to singing Ochs’s folk music and playing guitar, Stevenson guides us through the man’s life story. Not wanting to be known as a protest singer, Ochs preferred the term “topical singer”, as he had majored in journalism at Ohio State University and took most of the inspiration for his songs from the newspaper headlines. His lyrics beg for revolutionary change by raising people’s consciousness, sharpening their minds, deepening their souls, and calling them to action.

The title of the show is taken from the song “Days of Decision”, which opens the program. If it wasn’t already evident to the audience, the livestream performances on Sunday afternoon, November 1st, and Monday evening, November 2nd, coincided with the eve of Election Day 2020. Stevenson points out at the beginning of the program and during the aftertalk on Zoom that America has been at this same crossroads before: during the critical Presidential election of 1968 when the country was hopelessly split regarding America’s involvement in the Vietnam War and the protests against it. No matter how much we think that our nation has gotten past the fissures of the 1960s, we see that what is old is new again. It’s eerie to note how well Ochs’s description of Richard Nixon seems to parallel the popular perception of Donald Trump, with each President apparently taking a page from the same playbook and appealing to a similar segment of the population.

“Days of Decision” was produced by American Blues Theater as a part of their current reading series “The Room”, dedicated to concerns about social justice and inequity. That said, the show is an accomplished presentation and not a reading per se. Stevenson is not only the creator and performer of this splendid musical tribute but serves as our educator as well. Behind Stevenson, who was broadcasting live from his home, was a very nicely composited montage of colorful posters from that era which provided a historical backdrop. Among those in the collection are those featuring Bobby Kennedy, Greenpeace, and Phil Ochs in Concert.

Ochs worked with Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and others from the ’60s and ’70s, but he is probably the least well-known. The impeccable way in which Stevenson has showcased the folksinger and his music should help to keep his memory and his message alive. Rife with today’s hot button issues, this commanding performance should resonate with those who may remember Ochs from their younger days plus a new generation of listeners who were yet not born. Perhaps Stevenson will return at a future point in time for another run of “Days of Decision.” You must see it! It is pure enjoyment!

Upcoming readings in the Room Series by American Blues Theater include “Red Bike” by Caridad Svich on December 9, 2020, and “The Lion” by Manny Buckley on January 15 and 17, 2021.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the livestream on Zoom for these and other shows, please go to the American Blues Theater website at https://americanbluestheater.com/.