TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Richard Thompson tour dates accompanying his new album 'Electric', out in February 2013, have been announced. On sale at 10am this morning:

Wed 20 Feb CARDIFF St David’s Hall
Thu 21 Feb BIRMINGHAM Symphony Hall
Fri 22 Feb BRIGHTON Dome
Sat 23 Feb BRISTOL Colston Hall
Sun 24 Feb CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
Mon 25 Feb LONDON 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Thu 28 Feb EDINBURGH Usher Hall
Fri 1 Mar LIVERPOOL Philharmonic Hall
Sat 2 Mar SHEFFIELD City Hall
Sun 3 Mar GATESHEAD The Sage Gateshead
Wed 6 Mar NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall
Thu 7 Mar BEXHILL De La Warr Pavilion
Fri 8 Mar BASINGSTOKE Anvil
Sun 10 March SALFORD The Lowry

Brill, a concert in Cardiff.  I may just buy a ticket! :)

The Proper Records press release for RT's new album :

http://proper-records.co.uk/2012/11/richard-thompson-announces-new-album-electric-and-tour/

My first thought was "that's a bit soon for a new album", but then remembered Dream Attic did come out in 2010 ! WKWTTG indeed  :)

A 'guitar driven' Richard Thompson album, eh?  It'll never work  ;D

(ps Sorry, but I'll be honest and admit I think that song is a bit 'electric Thomo by numbers', even down to the solo.... )

Playing live in a RT, bassist and drummer trio format - this will be glorious !

He did a pretty good solo acoustic version at Cropredy.

I like his description of the album being folk-funk, somewhere between Bootsy Collins and Judy Collins..

There is a video interview with RT about the new album here:

http://proper-records.co.uk/2013/01/video-richard-thompson-electric-promo/

I haven't had a chance to watch it but assume that it will be worth a look.

Thanks. Less than 3 minutes long. Quite interesting. Some impressive still shots.

Album now available in standard and 2 disc set from Beesweb..

Sounds marvellous. I just hope the trio will make it to Scandinavia too. I have longed for RT:s more elctric side and "Good Things..." sounds really great to me!

Thank you, duly ordered.

Just the two quid for the extra disc made the choice easy.... 8)

US dates announced, touring with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell!!!!
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/01/emmylou-harris-rodney-crowell-to-tour-with-richard-thompson/

He's also playing at St Alban's Arena on Saturday 9th March.

'Salford Sunday' is  a track from Electric, and coincidentally (or not??) he's playing in Salford on a Sunday.

Well that's a bit rubbish - we're seeing Fairport that night in London, you would have thought they could have compared fixture lists!  ;)

And indeed, I will be there!

Electric is now available to stream for approx the next week on NPR's First listen series: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/27/170103841/first-listen-richard-thompson-electric

Cheers for that Mike. Despite having an incredibly unoriginal title, and an appalling cover, the music's fab!

I seem to remember The Cult titled one of their albums Electric back in the 80s which was when they ditched their goth image and admitted that they really wanted to be like AC/DC.

You'd have thought RT could have gone for something more along the lines of "Voltage Enhanced" which I thought was a great title for the amplified disc on You? Me? Us?

Friends of mine have recently returned from a cruise (in the the USA) on which RT performed material from this and past albums. Their copy of Electric, purchased on the cruise, is described as "brilliant".

I look forward to my copy, on order from Amazon.

I quite like the cover actually, and don't think its apalling. With you on the title though....Voltage Enhanced would have been better....oh wait, he used that one already!

It just looks a bit naff, that's all. Maybe appalling was a bit strong.  :P

If it's not a naff cover, it's not an RT album  ;)
I give you Front Parlour Ballads, m'lud.

Thanks for the streaming link.  It's another good sounding late period electric Thomo album.  Strong songwriting, great (and at times blistering) guitar.  There's some slightly atypical singing from the man on this one.  And that's a good thing, I think.

Nothing there to really make me fall deeply in love with it, sadly....like most of his more recent efforts I imagine it will be be played a few times and then shelved.  I think I probably prefer his later acoustic work to his later electric work.  Sort of surprises me saying that, but I think it's true.  For now, anyway...

Better than most people will ever manage in their careers of course, but that's the problem with legends....If I was reviewing it (after one listen only) it would be a 6/10.  

After that rather short burst of RT which I posted about on the Listen Now thread, hopefully there's a bit more of him to listen to here -

http://www.wfuv.org/audio/archives/words-and-music-studio/richard-thompson-words-and-music-2013

My signed 2 disc copy arrived from Proper Records over the wekend and I must say I'm loving it so far. There are some excellent songs that I can't wait to hear live and even the weaker songs have something to recommend them, be it some clever lyrics or nice guitar breaks.
 It's too early to say how many will become regulars in a live set, but it's a really strong album.

RT is on the BBC breakfast show tomorrow

One of the presenters got a bit confused and called him Robert Thompson before he came on.  ::)

He was on at the very end of the programme which will doubtless be on the iPlayer shortly.

I caught this too... he was very smiley this morning, they didn't give him long enough though.

"Tell us about Billy Connolly".

Did the album get a mention as such?

Pah and pish.

What a shambles. A brief snippet of video that was cut before it got going, an 'interview' that spent more time talking about Billy Connolly than the new album/tour and when they finally gave him chance to play something at the end of the programme the two presenters talked all over it. You got the impression that nobody, including RT, had a clue what they were supposed to be doing.

good thing they weren't interviewing terry venables then!

To be honest I think most people get this treatment, if they are going to get any musician on they should do some research, give them enough time or possibly not bother, although I suppose some exposure is better than no exposure.

They do it with virtually every musical guest they have on - no preparation, no research, banal questions and invariably (although not on this occassion) an irrelevant TOTP clip from 1978. Compare this with the Andrew Marr show who always has at least a couple of well thought out questions and then lets his guest play a song. It absolutely does my head in!  >:( >:(

I got mine too - but I have a quandry.I want to play it,but as it's signed,sealed (and delivered - it's mine!),I'm not inclined to open it.I guess I'll buy another copy.

Well that's breakfast tv for you.
I remember ages ago when Ian Anderson was on Breakfast Time, at the time Under Wraps came out.
Mike Smith went on and on about 'you're so succesful, why do you continue as you're so rich' and the fact that his salmon was available in Harrods.

His appearance on BBC Breakfast left a lot to be desired, however, it's a good thing that an artist of RT's calibre gets exposure on terrestrial tv at all. After all, Melvyn Bragg made a South Bank show about The Darkness, for goodness' sake, but never one about RT. (BBC 4's A Solitary Life more than made up for this, though)

Just giving Electric it's first spin now, sounds like another good RT album to me. I've long since concluded that RT doesn't make bad albums, there are just some that bother my cd player more often than others  :)

Anyway, it'll be nice to hear the songs ahead of seeing the trio in Basingstoke on March 8th. I'm also off to BBC Maida Vale studios tomorrow afternoon to be in the audience for the recording of Mastertapes for Radio 4, in which various artists discuss one of their classic albums (last series had Ray Davies, Paul Weller, Billy Bragg, Suzanne Vega, The Zombies). RT will be discussing Rumor (sic) & Sigh.

I didn't have that problem when my 2 disc copy arrived at the weekend. Off with the wrapping and on the cd player! The only problem I have is that our living room is out of use due to there being workmen in repairing the damage after a leaking pipe incident so my hi-fi is up in the attic. But it still sounds great even just on my portable cd player (are they still called ghetto blasters?). After a couple of listens I'd say it's grabbed my attention more so than Dream Attic and Sweet Warrior did.

I now just have to decide which 2 tracks to play on my show next Monday - a loud one and a quiet one. :)

I'm turning green with envy Dan. Lucky you! I'm seeing him in Liverpool on the 1st. Never been to a gig in Liverpool before and fortunately a friend is driving us there so I don't have to worry about finding the venue.

I think Robin Denselow starts every review of an RT album with "Another brilliant Richard Thompson album...". My only quibble would be that occasionally Buddy Miller overdoes his trademark swampy guitar sound so that it sounds like the equipment's set up in the bathroom but he's put the microphones in the kitchen. Mind you, if that's the worst you can say about an album...  ::)  

I've seen a few concerts at the Liverpool Phil - John Martyn, Joan Armatrading, Pentangle, Sandy Denny Tribute, and always enjoyed the experience. There are a couple of pubs nearby that I'd recommend if you have time - The Philharmonic, diagonally opposite the venue,  and the Fly On The Loaf on Hardman Street.

I have just got Electric and only listened to just over half of it so far, but even based on that I'd say its better than Dream Attic and Sweet Warrior (which I don't listen to all that much), and on a par with OKB and Mock Tudor (IMO, both better, or at least more consistent, than his 90s stuff).

Roll on March 10th in Salford (on a Sunday).

Have to agree about the slightly dodgy ovrall production. But, in particular, for me it's the drum sound. The performance is terrific, but the recording just awful.

I'm seeing him at the Phil too - I've been there loads of times - it's a nice venue and is pretty easy to get to (at least I think so) and street parking isn't too bad.

Yes go to the Phil pub and go to the gents. Seriously, they are a Victorian masterpiece (even Mrs Stick had a look!)

It is what it is, that is to say very much a live sounding analog album. Remember the great Buddy Miller uses a tape recorder - remember them?? ::)

My mate who is driving us there has mentioned something about a pub near the venue which he wants me to see so it might well be that one. He didn't mention the gents. But he maybe didn't want to give me the wrong idea...

 :o

Just got in from RT's Radio 4 Mastertapes session at Maida Vale. Great fun, good to run into Chris Bates of this parish. Richard was on great form, lots of anecdotes, and some fine solo renditions of numbers from Rumor & Sigh and MOTL. The show will be broadcast on Radio 4 some time later this year, probably in the summer (taped now as Richard's in the country), I'll keep an eye on the schedules...can't wait now for the Electric Tour !

Gent's toilets at the Phil

http://www.heritagepubs.org.uk/images/pubphotos/Liverpool-Philharmonic-Gents.JPG

Just bog standard fittings in those days.  (Groan).

I have fond memories of the Philharmonic Hall - sat on the front row of the orchestra seats (i.e. behind the band) for ISB back in about 1970-71.  Saw Grimms there as well, but missed the Floyd (with their Azymuth Co-ordinator surround sound system).

Mind you, I did spend a number of bottom-numbingly afternoons in there - school speech days.  ::)

Me too - you didn't go to St Marys did you?

Merchant Taylors'...

That nice Mr T was on Radio London this afternoon

If you want to listen again it's 2'30" in...
[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0144zbd][/url]

He seems very busy doing interviews in the run-up to his tour. Seems just about every day there's something on Facebook about what he's up to.

His daughter Kami, on the other hand, likes ranting about things on Twitter. She had a good swear about Mumford and Sons and Kate Nash yesterday.

 ;D

He's everywhere at the moment, isn't he? Here he is in The Telegraph, including a link to a photo gallery with a couple of things I'd certainly never seen before.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/9870234/Richard-Thompson-interview-Cheerful-man-with-an-inner-Bronte.html

Great collection of photos...thanks for that link.  Don't think I've ever seen the kitchen shot (and maybe the early solo shots either) before...that's fab  :)

That would be from The Angel, wouldn't it? I'm not so familiar with the toing and froing of Simon's fringe that I could date it accurately beyond that.  :)
Any idea whose the family in the foreground is?

The Peggs most likely  :D

Related: Todays LA Times readers letters about the  Grammys'.

Replace LLCoolJ with the funny and multi-talented Neil Patrick Harris.
Oh, and instead of Mumford and Lumineers, give us Richard Thompson, that's real talent.

Joe Gates

Culver City.

@That is the Angel kitchen, to the left or behind Richard is a draw where the underpants gnome deposited 'goodies' weekly...

 :o The MightyGlydd.....crikey!

Top 20 for Mr T I see. Electric is a new entry in the album chart at number 16. I have to confess though that on the first couple of listens it has not really registered with me. Even a bad RT album is a good album by anyone else's standards but this one seems a bit RT by numbers and there are only a couple of really memorable tunes. My view may change over time of course.

Looking forward to Friday's show though.

Sorry to hear you say that Al, though as you say, it may change over time. Looking back I wasn't entirely sold on Sweet Warrior when it came out, and it remains the same for me (though as you say, the worst RT album is still better than anyone else...). By contrast the first time I ran through Electric I was hooked.

I'm off to St David's Hall in Cardiff for the first date on the tour tonight and I'm looking forward to this immensely.  Any other TAW folks going to be there?

My copy of Electric has now arrived (a week late - somehow Beesweb managed to send it to the wrong address, although the postcode was correct, & it took the Post Office a week to sort that out!).  As Al was saying after the first couple of listens the songs haven't hooked me yet - I think part of the problem is down to Buddy Miller's production which, it seems to me, doesn't have RT's voice & guitar as prominent in the mix as they should be.

Really, really looking forward to seeing RT live next week at the Usher Hall when the tour reached Edinburgh.  The thing I've found with recent albums is that maybe only a few songs grab you on the first few listens but once he gets out & starts playing them live the songs seem to grow & develop - for that reason I prefer the live versions on Ducknapped to the studio versions on Old Kit Bag & the same with Live Warrior.  I guess for me - much as I love RT's magnificent canon of albums - I believe that you get the best of RT in a live setting.

Interesting. I think the opposite is true - the production brings out the guitar and vocal as well as any RT album I've heard. The drums and bass are held quite far back in the mix, in a good way.

There's some good fiddle work on the CD s well, which presumably we won't be getting live?

Agreed about the fiddle - Stuart Duncan ace Nashville session man.


Maybe it's me but I have to turn the bass way down when I'm playing this CD - otherwise I find Taras is way too prominent.

Theres also some great backing vocals. Snow Goose with Alison Krauss is nice, but that other vocalist (don't have the cd in front of me, but its Siobhan something) sounds great. Stuart Duncan is ace as you say, also a recent Grammy winner for being part of The Goat Rodeo Sessions.

My copy also took the long route to the Great White North..but having listened a few times to disc one, it struck me that the sequencing of the album is strange - a bit of intermingling of the acoustic and the electric stuff would have made for a better album (imho).  Some of the songs are treading old ground - Stony Ground is the cousin of Needle and Thread which was in turn related to Back Street Slide; the song "Good Things Happen to Bad People" is the sort of title and song a RT parody album would surely contain.  

I will give it some further listens and will rearrange the running order and see if that it improves the overall feel..

Hope he and the trio head this way as we missed out on the DA tour

Just back from the Cardiff gig. Oo, that was a bit good! :) The trio were on top form.

Lots of stuff from the new album, but enough 'classics' to keep everyone happy, including a rocking version of 'For the Shame of Doing Wrong'.  As this was the start of the tour, I can only imagine they'll get even better as it progresses.

Just the trio, Mick? No guests?

No, they did it all as a 3 piece. Very good too!

Looking forward to Birmingham tomorrow.

Getting excited, roll on Friday! Love the Dome, lovely accoustic and some great memories...
Apart from Gub, any other faces I can smile vaguely at?  ;D

Me and Dennis will be there.

Only went there once to see Blackmore's Night about 6 years ago. It seemed like there was one security guy for every 10 in the audience! I think the Dome has a deal with the North Street car park for folks attending a concert, otherwise it's a disgusting £20 for over 4 hours!

Brighton doesn't like cars...
Evening parking in the Church Road (theatre) car park is affordable though.
I've always found the security staff inside the Dome very pleasant, but sadly you do get a lot of 'weekenders' in that area and they are needed...

Last night's gig at Birmingham was excellent. Very tight, jazzy band, clearly enjoying themselves (despite the very dark content of so many of the songs), a lovely acoustic mini-set in the middle, and a (for me at least) a number I'd only ever heard Bellowhead do before.

- ooh, unbearable curiosity... mentally runs through BH back catalogue... may have to spend lunchtime running guessing games on Wikipedia!

Brighton have changed their car parking prices, it was, as you say, disgusting.

Fingers in ears-spent the evening in A & E-and hospital car parking fees aren't far short of Brighton...

Brighton was outstanding despite RT's senior moment during Sidney Wells.

Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed was an unexpected and wonderful choice.

Can't Win was tight, fast, furious and almost funky.

The new songs sounded great, better than the record imho.

And for the avoidance of doubt, that's how to play Sally Racket!  ;D

Great show last night in Cambridge. Included lovely acoustic version of 'Al Bowlly' with solo spots for bass and drums, and a suitably heavy 'I Wish I Was A Fool For You' (which I'd never heard him do live before). For the encore he has a running gag about 'power trios'. In Bristol, apparently, it was 'Hey Joe'. In Cambridge, after a couple of bars of 'Puff The Magic Dragon', we got 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. (Correct me if I'm wrong there - Nirvana to me still means 'Rainbow Chaser' not Kurt Cobain!) Support wasn't bad either - an all-American boy called Robert Ellis.

I was also at the Cambridge Corn Exchange last evening. It was superb. 'My Enemy' is quite haunting at concert volumes.

Michael Jerome is a very 'busy' drummer but is just right for RT. From the balcony he looked as though the kit was only just up to his knees and, at one stage, was battering hell out of the drums cross-handed, in a manner faintly reminiscent of the way Steven Seagal shoots four baddies at once.

As for the album, yes, that is excellent too and I felt he played all the strong tracks from it. I'm not qualified to comment on the quality of production but, as RT is, and he entrusted it to a big name, I'd say he's probably happy with the result.

Rs
Fegg

I was also at Cambridge - fantastic gig! Can't really add much more, other than we didn't get Smells Like Teen Spirit, it was White Room by Cream (and bloody awesome it was too  ;D).

I love watching MJ drum. It is as extraordinary in its way as what RT is doing on the guitar. I always think he looks as though he is dancing.

We didn't get a power trio "joke" song in Brighton, probably because some idiot rather insistently begged for Beeswing and RT felt he had to oblige so that was one encore. I can't help but wonder what sort of individual goes to a gig by a power trio, promoting an album called Electric and then begs for an acoustic ballad. Did they fail somehow to get the hint?

Well, they paid their money to get in.

RT asks for requests.

They made a request, he played it. He didn't have to.

What's your issue?

My issues are:

a) He didn't ask for requests.
b) The manner of it was not so much a request as a haranguing demand.
c) It did not fit with the show that RT was giving.
d) It obviously denied the Brighton audience a pleasure that other audiences on the tour have enjoyed.
e) I don't much like the song.  ;D

Was that the "Thompson’s quick retort ‘haven’t you thought of buying a record’" gig?  ;D

Oh, now I understand.  ;D ;)

It was indeed.

Hi folks,

A great gig at Shepherds Bush Emopire last night.

Can anyone help me with the names of Richards guesst on the current tour ?

Kami obviously, Zak (his grandson), but what is the daughter in laws name ?

Thx all

Richard also recognised that the same bloke more than likely had all of his records and apologised for his cheap jibe. I don't think "cheap jibe" were his exact words but that was the sense of it. In fact there were a few exchanges between the Beeswing-requesting guy and Richard and it was definitely good humoured. Richard got a favourable response from the audience when he asked for feedback on Beeswing so I assume that is why he went with it. It is one of my favourite RT songs so I was happy ...

There was someone at the 1000 Years gig at The Lowry who kept shouting for Vincent obviously not realising that he wasn't playing any of his own stuff on that tour. But RT did point this out to the punter who then shut up.

I suppose he could have played Don McLean's Vincent.  :)

I suspect that Kami and co just turned up for the London gig. I haven't seen any guests mentioned in reviews for any other dates.

I also suspect that this thread will be moved to the Fairport section and you'll get a slap on the wrist from the mods for posting in the wrong place!  ;)

Nice little vid of the second encore last night (not mine, although I was there)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BL4yYepwNQ&feature=youtu.be

More videos of a great night at Shepherds Bush Empire here :-

http://youtu.be/RTmcUiE-_Js

http://youtu.be/xelOD9DLW6M

http://youtu.be/hStU7YMq4bo

Please excuse the odd audio overload - the bass was rather strong !

Did anyone catch the name of Richards daughter-in-law ?

When she appeared in the London leg of the Dream Attic tour, a well-informed source identified her as Pauline, wife of RT's eldest son Jesse:
http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=35250.msg544994;topicseen#msg544994

Well done Colin, the results are just great.  ;D

Thx Phillip and Henry.

I thought the name sounded like Pauline.

Paulina Lis according to this review:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/02/live-review-richard-thompson-at-o2-shepherds-bush-empire-in-london-225/

The audio and video aren't quite in sync on this but the sound quality is ok and the intro is quite amusing

"Little Sally Racket" Richard Thompson @ Joe's Pub,NYC 2-5-2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT6qhaBO5do

I've just got back from the Liverpool Phil show and all I can say is 'Wow!' - that's up there with the best gigs I've seen.

We had a 'Beeswing'er too. Richard pointed out that he had the wrong guitar on (his electric), but offered to do a punk version, which he played about 10 seconds of. When he came on for the first encore, he played the whole thing (on an acoustic, I hasten to add), but we also got 'White room' and 'Little Sally Rackett', so everyone was happy.

Has anyone come across a video of "White Room"?  I've looked on YT without success..

Agreed. It could be named the Epic Guitar Workouts Tour. I thought the songs from the new album all sounded great and we got "Saving The Good Stuff For You" at the start of the 2nd encore. "Can't Win" was a highlight for me and Taras Prodaniuk's fretless bass playing was excellent, especially on "Al Bowlly". Michael Jerome was, as ever, a joy to watch and I'd certainly go back to the Phil - I had a clear view of the stage from my seat in row K of the stalls.

I enjoyed the support as well. Some fine guitar playing and his final song about growing up in the Bible Belt was a cracker. Worth getting there early to catch his set though I've forgotten his name.

Near the end of the gig RT told us that Siobhan Maher Kennedy (who sang harmony vocals on Electric) is a native of Liverpool though not many people in the audience seemed to have heard of her. He said he was doing his bit to ingratiate himself with the audience but by then that really wasn't necessary! Standing ovations at the end of the main set and both encores said it all.

I did wonder at the end whether they played The Beatles "Goodnight" over the PA just for the Liverpool crowd or does every show end with that?  

No, we got Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered in Brighton. Not sure who was singing it. There's plenty in Brighton who like a good show tune mind.  ;)

You must have been quite close to me - I was in Row J.

I'm not into show tunes but this version by Ella Fitzgerald sounds great. I don't know if this was it ...  I wasn't really listening at the time  :-[

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Y7TpNi3x0

Are my ears deceiving me or can I hear a wah wah pedal in White Room played at at Liverpool?

I must dig out my Cream stuff to compare!

Yes he used a wah wah in White room - seemed to have a bit of a problem at first and a roadie had to run on and switch it on and off again at the appropriate point.

A review of the Edinburgh gig, if anyone here was there.

"The warmest reception came for older songs. 'For Shame Of Doing Wrong', originally a moody and reflective mid-tempo country song, became something which pounded with the anguish of a man repeatedly banging his head against a brick wall."

 ;D

http://www.list.co.uk/article/49456-richard-thompson-usher-hall-edinburgh-thu-28-feb-2013/

Basingstoke tonight - a superlative performance. Surprises included Poor Ditching Boy, Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed ? and For Shame Of Doing Wrong ; RT's acoustic interlude included Persuasion and Turning Of The Tide, our power trio song was Hey Joe, and it was only the 2nd gig I remember seeing where he didn't play Vincent Black Lightning...The mighty RT, the dapper Taras Prodaniuk and the octopus-limbed Michael Jerome played one of the gigs of the year and it's only March !

Anyone else at the Lowery on Sunday?

Me!

How long has RT been playing that (fiesta?) red Strat?

Me too.

Excellent - half time beers perhaps???

I'm up for a beer at half time

I love the fact he's playing Salford on a Sunday.  ;D I really hope he planned his entire tour around that...

Yup, salford tomorrow!

No red strats mentioned at all on beesweb. Sunburst and blue only, plus the usual Ferringtons.

Paul

I'll be there, really looking forward to the gig!

It's here

http://www.richardthompson-music.com/catch_of_the_day.asp?id=1659

i thought he'd ditched the ferringtons since he went back to the strats

Interesting pedal board for touring - Electroharmonix POG no less! What is the pedal with LTD on it I wonder?

Right, not sure how we will recognise each other, but I will be wearing a green linen jacket and my hair is a bit longer then in my avatar- flag mr down and demand beer!

fez

Sorry, I went in mufti and spent the break queuing.

My, what an excellent gig.

In the end there wasn't too much beer quaffed at £4.50 for a crappy plastic bottle of Carlsberg!

Excellent gig though and fantastic to hear 'Vincent' live at last.

Yes, an excellent gig, the band are really tight. Anyone else notice Maart Alcock in the bar?

Yes I also notice Maart.

Good gig. One thing my mate pointed out is that most other acts whose professional career stretches back to the late 60s would be playing material predominantly from early in their careers, whereas I think last night he only played one song that was pre-80s (For Shame of Doing Wrong, Hey Joe excepted) and the biggest cheer of the night was for Vincent from 1992 (ish). Testament to RTs continued relevance and consistently high quality songwriting. I think Wall of Death was the best version I've ever heard. And Michael Jerome is such a good drummer, a joy to watch.

Lowry review - http://louderthanwar.com/richard-thompson-the-lowry-live-review/
Seems fair enough.  :)

It sounds fair enough too  :)

I've also put this in the Radio Times thread - but the latest issue of said esteemed organ has details of the RT programme on BBC4 on Friday 22nd March - RT trio, with contributions from Kami T, Pete Zorn and Dave Swarbrick!  ;D

Hey all,

This is a longshot as I know there aren't too many members in this neck of the woods, but is anyone catching the RT Trio on May 7th in Solana Beach, California?

None of my friends have heard of him so I couldn't get anyone to tag along  :-\ It would be great to meet up with someone from this community though.

Sorry, Gene,  I'm 1,000 miles away. However, I think there are multiple Festival Tours veterans in your area. You might ask to join the Festival Tours International Facebook group and then ask around there.

Thanks for the tip!  Do you mind pointing me in the right direction as far as the Festival Tours group goes?  I can't seem to find it on Facebook.  What do I search for?

that'll be 'Nancy Covey's Festival Tours' page. It's an open group..
Think this might work...  :)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/177108916651/?fref=ts

Thanks much, Judy  :)

On that note, I'm seeing RT and company, with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, this Friday (March 29th) in Bethesda, MD.  Anyone else going?

sorry but come to Portland and I can help.

Neil

We are hoping to get to the Portland gig unless by some miracle a Vancouver show is announced..

Get there early the Aladdin is general admission although there are no bad seats really, maybe we can say hi if you make it.

Neil

Will let you know if we are going to make the trip..

Phew - newsletter from Beesweb says date in Vancouver to come!  We love Portland, but if we can avoid a trip to see RT so much the better, especially as we will be in Portland for the Rose Festival in June..

Thinking about attending two shows from this tour.  I looked at setlists from recent tours...the set doesn't seem to vary much, night to night, aside from the encores (improvisation aside.)  Would you guys recommend going to two shows or would I be all right with one?

I'd take in two shows if it made sense geographically.  Even when the setlist is the same, he never does anything the same way twice.

RT Trio in fine form on Saturday evening.  The setlist was much the same as the UK tour, but with no Sidney Wells: SoTL and Wall of Death instead.  Acoustic encore was Beat the Retreat and Beeswing.  Much of the new material worked much better live, although I am not too sure about Salford Sunday.  RT was in stellar form with several epic solos, especially in Can't Win.  The band are really excellent too, with some monster bass and drum work.  

Higlights for me were Can't Win, Easy There, SoTL and a truly epic If Love Whispers..

Nice to see a sold out show with minimal advertising, band on at 7.30 and we were out by 9.40!

Saw the band on 5/17 - what a fantastic show!  This was my first time (properly) seeing RT live. Everyone was in top form; I found myself smiling throughout the show from sheer joy over Richard's playing.  The rhythm section was incredible, I particularly loved Taras' playing and backup harmonies. I hope Richard sticks with these guys for a while, if possible.

About half of the set was new material, but they put on such a great show that I didn't mind not hearing all of the "classics."  Highlights were Can't Win, If Love Whispers Your Name, Wall of Death, Stuck on the Treadmill, I Misunderstood and Tear Stained Letter.