Folk Traditions Inspire Veterans Neuwirth, Olney

Good songwriters with a guitar can do many things. They can raise the roof or soothe the soul. In separate and quite different sets Saturday at McCabe’s, veteran troubadours Bob Neuwirth and David Olney sang of hard times, beautiful liars and fringe characters.

Neuwirth offered stripped-down versions of songs from his upcoming “Havana Midnight” album, a collaboration with Cuban composer Jose Maria Vitier that he describes as “Cubilly music.” With an acoustic guitar, Neuwirth made music that was free of politics but obsessed with the human condition, the endless trial and error of relationships.

He was a commanding if restrained presence, singing with a strong, quivering voice of heartaches and other life experiences. Neuwirth was a good-humored host, even sharing one silly tune (co-written with Kris Kristofferson) about Roger McGuinn’s TV surveillance system: “The best show in town is in his driveway . . .”

Olney worked at a higher energy, fueling his music with bits of country and rock. He began as a deadpan host, promising that one of his biblical-themed songs was “from the Old Testament, so it’s got sex and violence.” But Olney also delved into some moody picking at his guitar for his tales of scam preachers and the joys of playing washboard; finding inspiration enough in the timeless folk traditions that are never out of style.