(This is a couple of weeks old, as I've been very busy, but I may as well post it here all the same...)
I missed the tail end of yesterday's big basketball story (UAB's upset of Kentucky) because Kate and I went to see singer, songwriter, and all-around cheery guy Richard Thompson in concert last night. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision, as Kate stumbled across a mention of the show (at the Egg) a couple of days ago, and I said "Sure, let's go."
As appropriate for an impulse buy, the show ended up being surprising on several levels.
Even before Thompson took the stage, it was an interesting scene. As we milled around in the lobby area between the opening act and the main show, I was struck by how oddly familiar the crowd looked. It was a weird mix of people who looked like they belonged in SF fandom, and people who looked like they belonged in academia. (Plus one guy in black jeans, a black shirt, and a beret, because it's a law of nature that there's always at least one dink who comes to a concert dressed just like the main act...)
I'm not sure why this surprised me, given that Thompson isn't really noted for his popularity among the teenage skateboarder set, but of all the concerts I've been to, it's the one where I felt least out of place, being a slightly fannish academic. This, of course, made me profoundly uneasy.
The show itself was also fairly novel, in that I only knew about one song in four. A lot of the others sounded sort of familiar, as he has a knack for writing that sort of song, but there would aways come a point where I realized "Nope. Don't actually know this song." (Annoyingly, several of them fail to turn up on the lyrics search page. I'm not sure if that means they were covers, or if it's just not as good a search engine as it could be...)
Article comments
1 - chongqing
good .
2 - Al Barger
Note that Mr Thompson is generously offering a FREE DOWNLOAD of "Dear Janet" from his site.
3 - Mark Saleski
ya know, i thought my respect for Richard Thompson had more or less hit its upper limit.
then a coupla years ago he put out that song "I Agree With Pat Metheny".
nothin' better than a funny & topical anti Kenny G rant.
4 - Chad Orzel
nothin' better than a funny & topical anti Kenny G rant.
The Janet Jackson song really was priceless. Sample lyrics:
"When you get tired of dancin' around/ I hope you'll be a mother/ 'Cause kids they are a pleasure/ Just ask your brother."
He had to stop for a little while after that verse, and wait for the audience to calm own before continuing.
5 - Mark Saleski
nice!
6 - hotlin
well.