Richard T., Dar W., & Bruce C. -- Concord, NH
ABSConc@grolen.com
Sat, 20 Jun 1998 12:54:42 -0400 (EDT)
Yeah, we were lucky enough to catch one of the Richard Thompson, Dar
Williams, and Bruce Cockburn shows last night as they rode into my
little hometown of Concord, NH. I was amazed to find an opening act,
and it would dictate the inflated length of the overall show. Maya
Sharpe (sp?) opened up with about 5 songs, and it was my first time
hearing her. Very nice -- I will have to seek out her recordings.
Anybody know of her label?
It was reported earlier on this list that the first show of the run
(which from what I could fathom, is only 6 shows in length) opened up
with Bruce performing his set first, then Dar, then Richard. That order
was reversed last night much to my suprise, expecting exactly what had
been reported previously. I think everyone was rather surprised to see
Mr. Thompson first. He was in superb form, and seemed incredibly happy.
The disembodied voice that introduced Richard, said "please make
welcome -- RICHARD THOMAS!" Boo-hissss! from the crowd, but Richard
knew it was not meant for him. He came out grinning ear to ear and
blushing somewhat to say "wasn't he the guy on the Walton's?" I didn't
realize he was that immersed in American culture. Guess so. He put on
an absolutely fabulous and lengthy set. This weekend is also, for us
the 50th anniversary of the Laconia Motorcycle rally and races, so I
expected him to play the song I have an unnatural liking for -- "1952
Vincent Black Lightning." Plenty of red hair and black leather rumbling
through town all week, and quite a few accidents as is always the case.
I'm sure he plays that at every show anyhow, but I sure would have been
disappointed if he didn't drag it out. There was no way around noticing
the 'packs' of bikers on the way to Concord. The whole gang was
travelling together in a bus, and would venture another 700 miles for
the next show wherever that may be.
Dar would be second as expected, to perform her set. I've become
equally as impressed with Stephanie Winters lately ever since I was to
meet her while performing with Walter Parks during the Falcon Ridge
Preview tour recently. She has such a commanding presence that I found
myself paying more attention to her than Dar for a lot of the time. Dar
should really find herself a more benign cello-player, but why should
she settle? Stephanie is the best. I've seen Dar too many times
recently to rate this performance as one of her best, but the
between-song banter was endearing and comical as always. Bruce Cockburn
finished up the evening, playing many songs from his most recent CD.
The entire evening was so long, that we were having a hard time staying
attentive toward the end, and so many of his compositions have a
meditative quality to them. He began acoustic, then went electric and
then back again during his set. He told of how he liked to bring his
bicycle on tour with him and explore the towns he visits before his
shows. He spoke of the motorcycles and how they "were not impressed" by
him and his ride that afternoon, and also spoke of the joys of bicycle
helmets and how he came to worship them recently when he was riding with
an 8-year old friend in Vermont and had an accident on a path. When the
kid turned back to find him, he proclaimed, "Why did you stop?" Only
from the mind of a boy... Luckily Bruce's helmet saved the day, more
than can be said for many of our annual visitors who every year "Run out
of road, and run out of breath" as NH has no motorcycle helmet laws.
Bruce finished up, and they all came out to finish up with a few songs.
They all played a Dylan song together, and then round-robin'd for one
round finishing up once again with Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn,"in which
Dar brought Stephanie back out to "balance out the hormonal level" on
the stage. It was pushing midnight at the end, but the crowd still
beckoned for more. The lights came back up anyway. If this run is
coming nearby, it's worth the drive -- get there!
-Jon
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Jonathan Colcord ~ The Song Swap ~and~ Music For The Mountain ~ 91.7
WNEC FM
every Sunday: Bluegrass 2-4:30 / Folk & Acoustic Music 4:30-7:00
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review team.
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