Watching Robin Trower's Living Out Of Time (Live) concert DVD from 2006 really reignited my passion for the man's music. Along with most of his beloved classics, the DVD also featured four new songs from Trower's 2004 Living Out Of Time album, and they were all winners. Trower turned 60 years old the night of that show, and his guitar playing was still as impressive as ever. What is most impressive, though, is that Trower is still putting out some of the best new material of his career.

As a lifelong guitar fanatic, I have been wanting to catch Robin Trower play live since I was old enough to remember. Bridge Of Sighs was one of the first albums that I could ever call my own, thanks to my older brother bestowing it to me on my 10th birthday. As part of our birthday ritual - he'd buy me one album that I asked for (usually Kiss or Aerosmith at the time), and then he'd pick another one that HE thought I should have.

Let's just say that with a 12-year age difference between us, our tastes in music were quite different at the time. Bridge Of Sighs, however, was that rare album of my brother's choice that I immediately fell in love with, and it has remained one of my all time favorites to this day.

When I saw that Trower had booked a show right up the road from me at Alexandria, Virginia's Birchmere Music Hall this March, my opportunity to see this legendary British guitarist had finally arrived. The Birchmere is a wonderful, all table seating venue, with a seating capacity of about 500. My wife and I were some of the last ones to arrive for this sold out show, but we were still able to find great seats off to the right of the stage. There is not a bad seat in the entire place.

When I was looking over the review I had written for the Living Out Of Time (Live) DVD, I realized that this show also marked Trower's 63rd birthday. Before the show began Trower's manager informed the crowd of this special occasion and asked if we would sing happy birthday to Robin after he finished the second song. There was also a die-hard fan club member walking around asking people to sign a birthday card for Robin that was as tall as I am.

There was no warm up act for this show so Trower and his fantastic band of Pete Thompson (drums), Glenn Letsch (bass), and Davey Pattison (vocals) took the stage right at the 7:30 PM start time. I was hoping to hear a few selections from Trower's most recent albums, 2005's Another Days Blues, or his brand new collaboration with Jack Bruce, Seven Moons, but there would be no such indulgences this night. This tour features many songs that have not been played live for decades, or have never been played live, and that suited me just fine too.