The music starts playing and every little bit of you pays attention. This is a musical connection.
The listener-artist connection can go much further than that. Years of record purchases, concert attendance, magazine articles, and television appearances can fill a person's head and ears with all sorts of information. You "know" a lot of facts about the artist but...do you really know him?
One one level, the answer is an obvious "No". I've never met Leo Kottke, much less had a single conversation with him, so of course I don't know him. On the other hand, all of the lyrics and stories told at shows — even those Prairie Home Companion apperances — have me convinced that, were I to bump into Leo in a hotel lobby, we might actually have something to talk about. The re-release of Kottke's concert video Home & Away Revisited has served as a huge reminder of our "friendship".
...that and the fact that Kottke's guitar playing pretty much defines its own genre.
Shot at Bathurst St. Theater in Toronto, Home & Away shows Leo at his most self-deprecating, funny, and virtuosic best. In addition to a selection of tunes from early in his career ("Vaseline Machine Gun," in particular), several "new" songs (new in 1988, that is) are played that have gone on to become Kottke standards: "Jack Fig," "Pamela Brown," "Regards From Chuck Pink."
If you've never heard Leo Kottke's guitar playing (and "folk" is a totally inadequate word here) then this video would be a perfect introduction. You'll hear the Midwestern-ish ballad of "Ojo," the acoustic blues-on-acid that is "Air Proofing Two," the spooky and foreboding "The Ice Fields," a beautiful cover of the Allmans' chiming "Little Martha," and the weird angularity of "I Yell at Traffic."
It's with the inter-song stories where you get to know Leo Kottke the person: a trip to Leo's basement to visit the "bad" guitars, Kottke's boat (which sits on the lawn facing the woods), the story of an old girlfriend (sort of) who used to expose herself to moving freight trains, Leo's failed (sort of) attempts at home auto repair, the recounting of the drool-on-guitar during a live show incident, the Gene Pitney one-handed bassist story, the visit to Lawrence Bros. Records & Souvenirs in Nashville. Kottke may be an elite guitar player, but he remains one down to earth guy.
Article comments
1 - Tim Gebhart
Nice review -- maybe even better than mine. I agree wholeheartedly about feeling that "connection," and I've felt it each time I've seen him perform in person.
2 - Mark Saleski
besides the great stories (some of which can be quite dark)...i love the way he makes faces during songs...as if related ideas are popping into his had while playing.
3 - DJRadiohead
Next time I am in Nashville I must go to some of these places. Two hour drive. Sounds like fun.
Great review, Mark.
4 - Herschell Hershey
I'm interested in the mention of Lawrence Bros shop. What is his story about that? I have fond memories of that place. My picture of Jack Lawrence is attached.