Richard Thompson - Perth Concert Hall, 27th Oct 2021
Oct 28, 2021 20:33:18 GMT
Martin, ocarolan, and 7 more like this
Post by Andy P on Oct 28, 2021 20:33:18 GMT
I haven’t seen RT live for a few years: in fact the last time was the Dream Attic tour and I was horrified when I checked that it was 10 years ago. That was with his band. The last time I saw him solo was the Sweet Warrior tour in 2007/8. Who knows where the time goes?
Mrs Breedlover isn’t a great fan (can't stand his voice) so I went up with my pal George, for my first live music experience for 18 months. I was lucky that we were only a couple of miles up the road when I realised I’d forgotten to put a mask in my pocket!
Arriving at the beautiful Perth Concert Hall (“amongst the best acoustics in the country” – RT) we were pleased to find that Katherine Priddy was opening the show. Most of the seats were taken when it started. KP came out and after introducing herself played a shortish set of about seven of her own songs. She has a very sweet, pure voice and accompanies herself with skilful and accurate fingerpicking. The guitar was a P-16 by Sam McLaren, which she told us she’d only acquired the week before. It sounded lovely. She’s a very accomplished, confident performer with lots to be confident about.
Following a break, during which many of the audience, being of a certain age demographic, took the opportunity to have another pee, the lights were dimmed and there came that delicious pregnant pause before the great man, to much cheering, came striding out from left stage. I had to admit to being a little apprehensive. After all, it had been a long time, apart from the occasional TV or live internet performance when I’d been rather disappointed! He went straight into Stony Ground – not bad - then a recent song whose title he couldn’t remember! It’s the one where the first line of each verse goes up the scale to a semi-falsetto note that he might be better not attempting!
So a steady start, but then came some of that special banter he always enjoys with his audience, embroidered with his typical deadpan humour, and he clearly started to relax. It showed in both his playing and his voice and he went from strength to strength. I was so happy to see that his powers remain undiminished. I recall Aly Bain once remarking that RT has more “stage presence” than any other performer he’d ever seen and it’s easy to see what he meant.
I didn’t take notes so I don’t have a complete set-list but we had Persuasion, Down Where The Drunkards Roll, Sunset Song, She Never Could Resist a Winding Road and Don’t Sit On My Jimmy Shands, which of course went down a storm with a Scottish audience and during which he launched into a couple of storming polkas.
One of the things I’ve always loved about RT’s playing is his boldness. He never takes the easy option, constantly pushing the boundaries: robotic he is not. Consequently he’s able to pull off the most amazing, and at times breathtaking, feats of ornamentation with great regularity. He makes the occasional slip, but no-one cares (and many probably don’t even notice). If I’d started learning hybrid picking fifty years ago (oh I wish!) I’m sure I still wouldn’t be as good as he is.
There were no bum notes on 1952 Vincent Black Lightning: it was technically perfect and absolutely stunning. His accompaniment to this utterly fabulous song has developed so much since it first appeared on Rumor and Sigh (can you believe that was 30 years ago???) – it’s just sublime. Obviously it went down a storm.
This tour was ostensibly to promote his book and he periodically read out a few extracts as introductions to songs which his experiences spawned. An evening spent in the company of the painted ladies of Hamburg’s Reeperbahn back in Fairport’s very early days led to Turning of the Tide (which only RT could totally rock on solo acoustic guitar); as a 15 year-old making his way home to north London after a night seeing The Who at the Marquee Club inspired Walking The Long Miles Home, one of my favourite songs of the night.
Later on, he introduced his partner Zara Phillips, who provided some very pleasant backing vocals on Wall of Death, Keep Your Distance, Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman and I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, which ended the night.
Except of course it didn’t. Two double encores, the first being Meet On The Ledge and Beeswing (the second biggest cheer of the night and again a masterful performance of a song which imho is just perfection). Two more encores (neither of which were songs I know) and he left the stage for the final time after 90 minutes of bliss! I must confess that as he slipped into the shadows I wondered if I would ever get to see him again…
Mrs Breedlover isn’t a great fan (can't stand his voice) so I went up with my pal George, for my first live music experience for 18 months. I was lucky that we were only a couple of miles up the road when I realised I’d forgotten to put a mask in my pocket!
Arriving at the beautiful Perth Concert Hall (“amongst the best acoustics in the country” – RT) we were pleased to find that Katherine Priddy was opening the show. Most of the seats were taken when it started. KP came out and after introducing herself played a shortish set of about seven of her own songs. She has a very sweet, pure voice and accompanies herself with skilful and accurate fingerpicking. The guitar was a P-16 by Sam McLaren, which she told us she’d only acquired the week before. It sounded lovely. She’s a very accomplished, confident performer with lots to be confident about.
Following a break, during which many of the audience, being of a certain age demographic, took the opportunity to have another pee, the lights were dimmed and there came that delicious pregnant pause before the great man, to much cheering, came striding out from left stage. I had to admit to being a little apprehensive. After all, it had been a long time, apart from the occasional TV or live internet performance when I’d been rather disappointed! He went straight into Stony Ground – not bad - then a recent song whose title he couldn’t remember! It’s the one where the first line of each verse goes up the scale to a semi-falsetto note that he might be better not attempting!
So a steady start, but then came some of that special banter he always enjoys with his audience, embroidered with his typical deadpan humour, and he clearly started to relax. It showed in both his playing and his voice and he went from strength to strength. I was so happy to see that his powers remain undiminished. I recall Aly Bain once remarking that RT has more “stage presence” than any other performer he’d ever seen and it’s easy to see what he meant.
I didn’t take notes so I don’t have a complete set-list but we had Persuasion, Down Where The Drunkards Roll, Sunset Song, She Never Could Resist a Winding Road and Don’t Sit On My Jimmy Shands, which of course went down a storm with a Scottish audience and during which he launched into a couple of storming polkas.
One of the things I’ve always loved about RT’s playing is his boldness. He never takes the easy option, constantly pushing the boundaries: robotic he is not. Consequently he’s able to pull off the most amazing, and at times breathtaking, feats of ornamentation with great regularity. He makes the occasional slip, but no-one cares (and many probably don’t even notice). If I’d started learning hybrid picking fifty years ago (oh I wish!) I’m sure I still wouldn’t be as good as he is.
There were no bum notes on 1952 Vincent Black Lightning: it was technically perfect and absolutely stunning. His accompaniment to this utterly fabulous song has developed so much since it first appeared on Rumor and Sigh (can you believe that was 30 years ago???) – it’s just sublime. Obviously it went down a storm.
This tour was ostensibly to promote his book and he periodically read out a few extracts as introductions to songs which his experiences spawned. An evening spent in the company of the painted ladies of Hamburg’s Reeperbahn back in Fairport’s very early days led to Turning of the Tide (which only RT could totally rock on solo acoustic guitar); as a 15 year-old making his way home to north London after a night seeing The Who at the Marquee Club inspired Walking The Long Miles Home, one of my favourite songs of the night.
Later on, he introduced his partner Zara Phillips, who provided some very pleasant backing vocals on Wall of Death, Keep Your Distance, Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman and I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, which ended the night.
Except of course it didn’t. Two double encores, the first being Meet On The Ledge and Beeswing (the second biggest cheer of the night and again a masterful performance of a song which imho is just perfection). Two more encores (neither of which were songs I know) and he left the stage for the final time after 90 minutes of bliss! I must confess that as he slipped into the shadows I wondered if I would ever get to see him again…