and the front row of the Variety Theater, an old movie house. A fine show with plenty of chat, barbs at U2 and Bob Dylan, lengthy bit of jazz noodling pre Pat Metheny ("jazz, it's easy" sez he), and too many "clever" audience requests, which seemed to set him reeling as if hit by hurled darts. Amy Correia opened.
RT's setlist:
Mr. Rebound
I Misunderstood
Crawl Back (he did that thing at the end that someone mentioned before
- shaking his head as if coming out of a trance)
Uninhabited Man
Keep Your Distance
Daddy Is A Mummy
Dry My Tears
1952VBL
Withered and Died
I Feel So Good
Great Valerio
Turning of the Tide
I Agree With Pat Metheny
Persuasion
Beeswing
Read About Love
How Will I Ever Be Simple Again
Walking on A Wire
Cooksferry Queen
encore 1:
Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen
Valerie
encore 2:
hoot Out the Lights
Bathsheba Smiles
King of Bohemia
Highlights for me: high energy "Read About Love" (but unfortunately sans the "reader's advice" line, which I love) and "How Will I Ever...". Mega-highlight was WOAW. My first time to hear "Word Unspoken". Heart-meltingly beautiful, but somehow not in the way I had expected from descriptions of it. The guitar rhythm throughout reminded me of "Put Your Trust In Me" from the Sweet Talker soundtrack.
It was lovely meeting both Beth and Risha from the list. Thanks again, Beth, for bringing your JazzFest photos and congratulations on your first live experience of Beeswing!
Susan
suspurgeon@home.com
in Charlotte Sunday night. As background, I had seen
RT twice before: with the band last year, and with Danny several years ago.
I don't keep setlists, but there were a fair number of differences from the Atlanta set. I was struck most by the quality of his voice and
guitar-playing -- they both seem to be getting better, and actually SOUND better live. Other random comments:
* I enjoyed "My Daddy Is A Mummy" and "Pat Metheny", never having heard them before.
* "Don't Let a Thief..." was outstanding; my first time hearing the song.
* He appeared to encourage requests, but hard to tell if he only acknowledged the ones he planned to do anyway. He did perform "Now Be Thankful" after a fairly lengthy discussion with someone in the front row. Had to experiment with tunings, and mumbled some of the words before taking it on. I don't care for the recorded version, but he made it work for me.
Ken Cotner
kcotner@sterling-capital.com
Just a couple of things to add about this show (hi Susan and Risha--hope you had good weather driving home).
Alan's favorite was Beeswing (of course). I'm unable to pick one favorite, it would be more like six or seven! Rushing to get there left me without a pen or scrap of paper to take notes, and all I remember is that Crawl Back was my first favorite, from there on I won't comment without any notes to back 'em up.
Security was tighter than I've ever seen it at the Variety. Announcements were made five or six times that no cameras or video/taping equipment were allowed. Purses were searched. Then, after the show, a few of us were looking at the setlist that RT left on the stage. Some dude from backstage comes out, snatches it up, and says the instructions are that no one is to get this! Talk about UPTIGHT! Makes me wonder what will be next?
Beth MacLamroc
BMacLamroc@aol.com
I think for many of us, one of the great pleasures of being an RT fan is letting others know about his work. Got a friend interested in RT through a gift of Action Packed, and she liked what she heard. She went to her first show this weekend (Charlotte, NC, May 20 at the Neighbourhood, sorry, "Neighborhood" Theatre, sorry, "Theater"), and here is her email to me about the show...
Set List:
Bathsheba Smiles
Walking On A Wire
Crawl Back
God Loves A Drunk
?? something about don't let a thief steal your heart away
My Daddy Is A Mummy - silly song he wrote for a school appearance
1952 Vincent Black Lightning
King Of Bohemia
I Feel So Good
I Agree With Pat Matheny - song giving Kenny G shit for dubbing his
music with Louis Armstrong's on a recent album or such
Now Be Thankful
Turning Of The Tide
Persuasion
Wall of Death with a bit of a Dylan song mixed in as it was Bob's 60th.
Cokesferry Queen
Words unspoken, sight unseen
Valerie
Uninhabited Man
It really was a fantastic show...one of the best I've seen. He's really funny too and as I said yesterday, quite sexy. I had one of the best seats in the house...I was about 15 feet from Richard and he played towards where I was sitting...great sound and great view of how he plays. Unreal! How does he do it? One gent in the crowd said, "Have you no shame?" and Richard started making up a song to that effect...really funny. I'm glad I saw him in Charlotte as the place in Durham is much bigger and it's one of those grand old auditorium/concert halls that somehow didn't get torn down. It's been restored and is a great place to see a show, but you're back from the stage a good bit.
I was right there in Charlotte and wouldn't have traded that. Oh, and there was recently a change in the smoking ordinance in Charlotte, so the main theatre area prohibited smoking. But they cut a huge hole in the wall, put seats there, and also put in a heck of a ventilation system. Didn't smell any smoke at all. Course it wasn't much of a smoking crowd. So, Richard kept making jokes about the folks in the parallel dimension and waving to them every so often. Very funny.
Take care,
I hadn’t seen RT in about 10 years, and I’m happy to report that last night he probably put on the best show I’ve ever seen. (Did you ever get the feeling during an RT show that, “Wow. This is just too much talent for one man to have?” and then get angry that no one knows about it?) He kicked off with “Bathshheba Smiles,” and did a funny little grimace and slowed down the intro while staring at a woman in the front row who had her back to him. Then it was into “Mr Rebound, ”a powerful “Walking on a Wire” and (not in any particular order):
Crawl Back Under My Stone (rabid; he shook the rafters with the final “Crawl back!”)
How Will I Ever Be Simple Again
My Daddy is a Mummy (he feigned disappointment that the crowd liked this better than his “sensitive” numbers)
[Funny comments about W. Palm Beach being the “epicenter of democracy”]
1952 Vincent (filled with all kinds of fills and, I think, snippets of “Roll Over Vaughan Williams” and other songs)
The Great Valerio (with effects on the guitar; funny intro about Satie and pretentious classical music fans; really, really great rendition the best I’ve heard)
[Somebody yelled out “Dylan is 60 today!” Rt said, “Really, it’s Dylan Thomas’ birthday? Hmmmm ...” followed by snippets of his poetry in a heavy Welsh accent]
I Feel so Good {Comments about Tim Finn and New Zealand]
Persuasion (Gorgeous! How can this not be a huge hit? At this point, I felt like grabbing the guy next to me by the collar and saying, “Isn’t this man amazing?”)
Dry My Tears and Move On
Razor Dance (wicked version! audience request)
I Agree with Pat Metheny (ver, very funny; the crowd was in stitches)
[Somebody yelled out “I Dream too Much” and “MGBT”! RT said something about her being a “statistical anomaly” for liking them. “I like the fast stuff!” she yelled back. RT: “But that’s the stuff that doesn’t sell!”] Wall of Death/Dylan medley (in honor of BD’s b-day he did snippets of about 7 Dylan songs then returned to WOD)
[Comments about how he knows that there are many people in the audience who think he only has two good songs per record; now it’s their chance to buy only the good stuff i.e. “Action Packed,” his new “product”]
Turning of the Tide
Cooksferry Queen (amazing guitar work! People were staring goggle-eyed)
Beeswing (beautiful and touching and wonderful)
Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen (reminded me of “Woods of Darney”)
Valerie (ripping; people were on the verge of headbanging)
Down Where the Drunkards Roll (a nice gem from the past!; a surprising singalong)
Uninhabited Man (effects on guitar and voice; stunning; great end showing that his most recent work is just as powerful if not more than his early stuff)
In short, this was an evening filled with the richness and variety of life humor, sadness, anger, fun, resentment, love ... every emotion in the spectrum. This was also the only concert in which the audience said, “No, thank YOU!” after the performer thanked them for coming and they meant it sincerely. I was genuinely awed by the talent, creativity, virtuosity, wit, modesty (he seemed genuinely surprised at the repeated standing ovations) and good-naturedness (he plugged the opening act more than once) of this man. I walked out thinking, “God, $30 just doesn’t seem fair for this much enjoyment ...”
P.S. Opening act Amy Correia was very good. Unusual instrumentation (cello, mandolin, guitar), fine vocals, nice stage presence and interesting rootsy-type songs.
Scott J. Miller
Our pal Scott J. Miller wrote <<Last night’s show was amazing. I hadn’t seen RT in about 10 years, and I’m happy to report that last night he probably put on the best show I’ve ever seen.>>
Glad you enjoyed it -- from my vantage point [eighth row on the aisle], it was a typically enjoyable RT show, but not one of the best I've seen -- if only because of its relative brevity and the preponderance of "hits" on this tour. Of course the fact that the theatre was nearly half empty was [pretty depressing too! I find it a bit of a stretch that RT couldn't sell out the Carefree's 1000-odd seats -- course, charging $30 a ticket doesn't help!]
Herewith my comments, interspersed with yours; I'll also re-construct the playing order of the setlist for you.
(Did you ever get the feeling during an RT show that, “Wow. This is just too much talent for one man to have?” and then get angry that no one knows about it?)
Yeah -- but this happens too frequently with artists I like! Take Rufus Wainwright, f'rinstance, or Ani DiFranco!
He kicked off with
(1) “Bathsheba Smiles,”
After taking the stage to a standing, shouting audience. and did a funny little grimace and slowed down the intro while staring at a woman in the front row who had her back to him. Then it was into
(2) “Mr Rebound”
great version of this -- I much prefer it played on acoustic to the released version, I must say.
(3) “Walking on a Wire”
(4) Crawl Back Under My Stone (Somebody yelled out “Dylan is 60 today!” RT said,
“Really, it’s Dylan Thomas’ birthday? Hmmmm ...”)
Then he started reciting "Do not go gently into that dark night . . ."
(5) How Will I Ever Be Simple Again
(6) My Daddy is a Mummy
loved the intro to this -- "For those of you who don't think this sounds Egyptian, remember there were TWO Memphises!"
(7) Dry My Tears and Move On
(8) 1952 VBL (filled with all kinds of fills and, I think, snippets of “Roll Over Vaughan Williams” and
other songs)
Well -- no, actually, just the usual frills he's been adding to this through the years. Not one of his better performances of this, IMNSHO -- he tried to be a little _too_ busy on the guitar -- though I do like how he draws out the payoff line of each verse now.
Then it was
(9) King Of Bohemia
(10) I Feel so Good
Then he referred to those who follow the whole scope of his career and noted he was going back to 1971. Someone called out "Unhalfbricking" and RT said - "No that was '69 - get your facts staright!"
(11) The Great Valerio
I don't remember, but I think this is the first time I've heard RT sing this -- it's a completely different song than when Linda sang it. This was one of the evening's highlights for me! (with effects on the guitar; funny intro about Satie and pretentious classical music fans; )
"You can tell all your snob friends there was classical music at the show"
(12) Turning of the Tide
Then he introduced "Persuasion" as a song he'd written with his friend Tim Finn from New Zealand. "You probably can't name six people from New Zealand". I called out "Tim & Neil and the rest of Crowded House". RT shot back "You're wrong, you know -- two of them are Australian!" Someone else called out "Kiri Te Kanawa" - and RT said "Well there's six there!" [Kiri is not a small woman!]
(13) Persuasion
Lovely -- currently my favorite RT song; missed Teddy's harmony on this., though!
(14) Then a hilarious intro featuring much razzing of Kenny G, to I Agree With Pat Metheny (very, very funny; the crowd was in stitches)
(15) Wall of Death/Dylan medley
He sang nearly all of "She Belongs To Me", as well as the first lines of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", "Like A Rolling Stone", and at least one more that escapes me now..
The smattering of requests had grown into a steady stream by now -- OH didn't seem to mind at all; in fact he was encouraging them a bit. ( Somebody yelled out “I Dream too Much” and “MGBT”! RT said something about her being a “statistical anomaly” for liking them. )
He said she liked all the "hard stuff" - or ones that sound "better with a band" (“I like the fast stuff!” she yelled back. RT: “But that’s the stuff that doesn’t sell!”)
More songs were thrown out, including the obligatory "Free Bird" and "Whipping Post" ["I don't even know how to play "Whipping Post -- a hole in my musical education. How about 'Smoke On The Water?'" So he played the opening chords of that!]
After a couple more requests, he remarked "You only know the older stuff!" So I yelled out "Razor Dance" -- a couple of times, actually! Evidently he heard me!
(16) Razor Dance
(17) Beeswing and
(18) Cooksferry Queen
Again a much better version than the album, I thought. And here he un-slung his guitar, bowed, waved, thanked the audience and left the stage to much applause and general cacophany!
After a couple of moments, he returned to much cheering and played:
(19) Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen
This was nice, if un-remarkable. Then:
(20) Down Where the Drunkards Roll (a nice gem from the past!; a surprising singalong)
Then another bow and off he went;
And came back after a moment for the final encore:
(21)Valerie and
(22)Uninhabited Man
Another highlight of the evening for me! The sound guy is brilliant! Wondedrful effects on this.
Anyway - there you have my take on my fourth RT show - and the fourth time acoustic! One of these years I'll actually get to see him with a band!
--Nick [who apologizes for being so long-winded]
Nick Polak
npolak@rahis.com
NP: Tool - Lateralus. Taking a break from Action-Packed which has been on shuffle for last 24 hours or so!
"Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music.
Music is best."
Frank Zappa
Scott J. Miller (who spotted my "amateur critics" shirt outside after the show, and introduced himself -- good to meet you, Scott) gave an excellent recap of the 5/24 concert at the Carefree in West Palm Beach. RT's full comment about WPB: when he heard about "dangling chads," he thought the reporter was talking about an African industrial or mining disaster. Just a few more things...
It's been eight years since RT set foot in South Florida at the late, lamented Stephen Talkhouse in Miami Beach, and we're usually waaaaayyy off the British folk-rock touring radar (the only exception I know of in recent times: Martin Simpson's appearance at the Strawberry Folk Festival in Homestead last February, a surprise acoustic show when the audio system went awry - - his set included a fine cover of "Waltzing's for Dreamers"). I lost count of the number of standing ovations the audience gave RT - - he had yet to play his first note, and the 250 to 300 in attendance were on our feet, and applauding (he advised us to calm down). Here's hoping that the reaction leads him to come back with the band sometime; his '93 show had Danny Thompson accompanying.
Some additional details:
* In his intro to "My Daddy is a Mummy," RT commented on the musical artifacts from ancient Egypt and asked "Would you receive such edification at a U2 concert? All they want is your money! Would you be able to sit THIS close?" (Indeed, I was 10 rows back and still getting a good view of his chord-changing dexterity.)
* Saying "The Great Valerio" originated in 1971, RT couldn't resist slipping in the ol' patter "... but that was before most of you were born." Unlike Elvis Costello on his "Lonely World" tour a couple years ago, RT just used it once.
* Other requests, along with RT's own stuff: "Stairway to Heaven!" "Whipping Post!" RT's reply: "Smoke on the Water? (played a few notes) What else is there? Freebird?"
* Prerecorded exit music: the theme from "The Avengers" (is that RT's doing or the Carefree's)?
<< In short, this was an evening filled with the richness and variety of life humor, sadness, anger, fun, resentment, love ... every emotion in the spectrum. >>
Ultimately, that's another amazing thing about RT and his fans: the ability to handle often drastic changes in subject matter (such as going from "How Will I be Simple Again" to "My Daddy is a Mummy") and take it in stride. Let's see U2 try to do THAT!
Steve
stevemenke@msn.com
OK, it's been nearly three years since I posted to the list. (Yeah, back when it was still hosted by NJIT...)
Here goes, pardon the cobwebs:
For the first time in the ten years that I have been living in Orlando, Richard Thompson came to town. (No traveling to Tampa or Atlanta! Woohoo!)
Although Orlando crowds are some of the rudest around, the crowd couldn't have been more polite tonight, thankfully.
Here's the set list and then a couple of comments:
Walking The Long Miles Home
I Misunderstood
Crawl Back
Cold Kisses
Turning Of The Tide
Walking On A Wire
My Daddy Is A Mummy
Dry My Tears
Vincent Black Lightning 1952
King Of Bohemia
I Feel So Good
Persuasion
I Agree With Pat Metheny
Mr. Rebound
Uninhabited Man
Wall Of Death
Cooksferry Queen
Encore:
Words Unspoken, Site Unseen
Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart*
Dimming Of The Day
2nd Encore:
Valerie
Shoot Out The Lights
*My request
Richard was in fine form, and the crowd applauded loudly and gave no less than three standing ovations. There were a couple of funny moments. After Misunderstood, Richard commented on the venue. He wondered aloud why there were chairs and tables in the mosh pit in front of the stage.
After Walking On A Wire, someone asked, "Who wrote that?"
Richard replied, "I did. I write all of the great ones. 'She Loves You' -- I wrote that." OH then proceeded to play his version of She Loves You with a different melody. It only lasted a couple of bars...
There was one woman who was mighty clueless. She kept yelling things, and after one such outburst Richard played a small piece of "Who Are You."
During Wall Of Death, Richard played the usual series of Dylan snippets as a way of celebrating Bob's 60th. After playing most of them, he quietly asked, "Is that all of them?" Unable to resist the urge, I yelled "Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts." Richard smiled and added a line from the aforementioned epic song.
Finally during the second encore, Richard flubbed the third verse, and instead started singing the second verse again. After making a series of noises and facial contortions that would have made Lucille Ball proud, he started the verse over -- correctly this time.
It was a great show, and everybody seemed to leave quite happy and satisfied.
Oh yeah, Simon's got one of them new fangled, super duper PowerBook G4s! I was quite impressed by it! (And oh yeah, the sound was great too!)
Over and out--
Tom McKenna
tmckenna@mac.com