Richard Thompson in Kent
rfunk and I saw Richard Thompson in Kent, Ohio last night. It was my third time at a Richard Thompson concert, making Richard Thompson my second most seen musician, although that sill leaves Celtic Rock band Tempest with a sizable lead. It was rfunk's first time seeing Thompson; he said he really enjoyed the concert.
The legendary English folk/rock singer performed solo on an amped acoustic guitar to a really appreciative audience of aging folkies. The Kent Stage is a smaller venue, and the audience had a low-key, informal feel. It took Thompson a few songs to warm up and get comfortable with the audience, but eventually he got it, and graciously played into the almost living-room vibe, interacting with the audience and giving them a chance to sing along.
I loved it when he was obviously really getting into the songs, bopping his head and rocking out. It's nice to know that after a lifetime of performing, the man still loves his job. And man, can that man play guitar! It sounded like there were two or three guitars on stage, not just one. He vamped a lot during the songs, too, really showing off his stuff.
In honor of this being the 40th year anniversary of Fairport Convention getting together, he played an old Fairport song for us. He let the audience choose the song. They chose Matty Groves. Richard informed us that the ballad is from as early as 1500, maybe earlier. I knew every word (though I must admit that I know the song from the singing of Ian Corrigan rather than Fairport). I don't pretend to know anything about guitar playing, but he managed to tune his guitar to give it sort of a dulcimer feel, with a high clear drone to give the instrumentation a medieval feel.
He played two encores, finally ending with "Wall Of Death" and "Beeswing". It was a really good concert. I loved it.
I took the day off from work so I could sleep in before driving back to Columbus. Now I'm off to get to class early so that I can make up some of the work I missed last Wednesday. But I'll leave you with a Euro-joke that Richard told. What's the difference between Heaven and Hell? Heaven is where the English greet you at the door, the French do the cooking, the Italians provide the entertainment, and the Germans organize everything. Hell is where the French greet you at the door, the English do the cooking, the Italians organize everything, and the Germans provide the entertainment.
The legendary English folk/rock singer performed solo on an amped acoustic guitar to a really appreciative audience of aging folkies. The Kent Stage is a smaller venue, and the audience had a low-key, informal feel. It took Thompson a few songs to warm up and get comfortable with the audience, but eventually he got it, and graciously played into the almost living-room vibe, interacting with the audience and giving them a chance to sing along.
I loved it when he was obviously really getting into the songs, bopping his head and rocking out. It's nice to know that after a lifetime of performing, the man still loves his job. And man, can that man play guitar! It sounded like there were two or three guitars on stage, not just one. He vamped a lot during the songs, too, really showing off his stuff.
In honor of this being the 40th year anniversary of Fairport Convention getting together, he played an old Fairport song for us. He let the audience choose the song. They chose Matty Groves. Richard informed us that the ballad is from as early as 1500, maybe earlier. I knew every word (though I must admit that I know the song from the singing of Ian Corrigan rather than Fairport). I don't pretend to know anything about guitar playing, but he managed to tune his guitar to give it sort of a dulcimer feel, with a high clear drone to give the instrumentation a medieval feel.
He played two encores, finally ending with "Wall Of Death" and "Beeswing". It was a really good concert. I loved it.
I took the day off from work so I could sleep in before driving back to Columbus. Now I'm off to get to class early so that I can make up some of the work I missed last Wednesday. But I'll leave you with a Euro-joke that Richard told. What's the difference between Heaven and Hell? Heaven is where the English greet you at the door, the French do the cooking, the Italians provide the entertainment, and the Germans organize everything. Hell is where the French greet you at the door, the English do the cooking, the Italians organize everything, and the Germans provide the entertainment.