TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Anyone know who the special guest(s) might be?
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2019/richard-thompson/

I have a spare ticket if anyone wants. A good seat and one of the expensive tickets, but I'll offer at a discount - please message me.

That'll do me. Thank you very much. Hope somebody presses record.  ;D

https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2019/07/line-up-richard-thompson-70th-birthday-show/

Three amazing things:
Richard and Linda- waited over 30 years to see them together (however distanced on stage) again
Loudon- always amazing and doubly so with RT
Zara Phillips- the horsey one or someone else?

Someone else   :)  :

https://www.montclairlocal.news/2019/03/27/montclair-literary-festival-thompson-zanes-phillips-montclair-nj/

Hear, hear. Literally.

See you dopwn the front!

Does anyone know what she's done at any of those Thompson Family shows?  At any of the gigs I've seen her on the stage - Cropredy and the Barbican etc...she's never been singing any lead.  I didn't think it was a possibility any more?

Someone else. RTs current partner i believe.

Do you still have this ticket by any chance? I have messaged you - thanks in anticipation!

[/quote]
Three amazing things:
Richard and Linda- waited over 30 years to see them together (however distanced on stage) again
Loudon- always amazing and doubly so with RT
Zara Phillips- the horsey one or someone else?
[/quote]

Linda sang "Go Leave" by Kate McGarrigle at the Meltdown Festival on 12 June 2010. Richard accompanied her on guitar. I was there watching from the front row. I believe I didn't breath during the whole song.

She did, I can vouch for that....

Three amazing things:
Richard and Linda- waited over 30 years to see them together (however distanced on stage) again
Loudon- always amazing and doubly so with RT
Zara Phillips- the horsey one or someone else?
[/quote]

Linda sang "Go Leave" by Kate McGarrigle at the Meltdown Festival on 12 June 2010. Richard accompanied her on guitar. I was there watching from the front row. I believe I didn't breath during the whole song.

[/quote]

Thanks for that.  I must check it out.  

Yes and Sorry for late response on this. Laptop failure  :'(   I have replied to your message!
John

Resale tickets are starting to appear on Twickets, for anyone wishing to go. Currently face value + fee. As the day approaches, this is likely to drop slightly.
For those who may be unaware, Twickets is reputable and, in my experience, reliable.
Update...
there are four available in a grand tier box near the royal box for £75 + fee each (FV = £95). Note that you'd have to buy all four.

Lots of images from the rehearsals appearing on FB.  Looks fab, in a depressing I won't be there kind of stylie.

Here's the man himself (and Linda et al) in a Denselow piece in the Grauniad.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/30/richard-thompson-at-70-on-love-loss-and-being-a-muslim-in-trump-us

Even more depressingly, I have a ticket but I won't be there, having put my back out on Friday. I just wouldn't be able to manage the combination of trains, buses, stairs and uncomfortable seating involved. I will no doubt get a full report from my concert buddy. here's hoping it is being filmed or recorded. :(

RT in the Grauniad -

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/30/richard-thompson-at-70-on-love-loss-and-being-a-muslim-in-trump-us

Apparently Simon Nicol is stuck in Greece (according to FB), a victim of the Thomas Cook collapse by the sound of it, and will be missing both the RT birthday bash, and the start of recording for Fairport's new album.  He is not a happy man...

I'll also be missing the birthday bash - couldn't afford the tickets, and a Monday night is not a good day for me to get into and out of London, with work the next day.  But I'll console myself with the Home Service instead, which should also be a great concert.

Enjoy yourselves, all who are going!

Seriously excited!

Poor Simon - that really sucks.  He should be there and will be missed.

Jules

 He is on his way, he says he'll hopefully get there in time for the encore  :D

Excellent!

I understand that Bob Mould made quite the impression!

Yes, Simon was there for ‘Meet on the Ledge’.

Magnificent concert.  Just magnificent.  I now understand why the tickets were so expensive!

Oh cripes...what happened?!

He rocked it up a bit. Great first song, followed up by a second which was so similar I had to check I hadn't been sucked into a wormhole and gone back 5 minutes in time. Good stuff, though.

Amazing concert - what a cavalcade of talent! The proverbial curate's egg, as these things inevitably tend to be, but when it was good it was absolutely fantastic!

I've seen some camera footage of Bob Mould - he was fabulous ! Brilliantly and respectfully duetting with RT on "Turning Of The Tide", hope some more footage surfaces later. Apparently, they also played Sugar's "If I Can't Change Your Mind".

Excellent!

Jules

lots of clips appearing on Youtube today

to make them easy to find just search for richard thompson and use the filter to just show 'today', they all come up then

Excellent night, glad Simon made it for the encore.

No cameras unfortunately, so anything will likely appear on youtube etc. mobile footage aplenty being taken. Pretty much a 3 hour gig, with a 30 minute interval, so it ran 1930-2300.

Audience mikes hanging from the rafters, so I expect a sound recording - 3 disc set if they include everything.

Now looking for a comprehensive set list, including the artists guesting on each track. There was a Carthys segment when RT didn't feature, so that might get excluded.

per setlist.fm

Overwhelming! So many styles, heros, awsome talent on stage and celebration echoing from the rafters.

I'm really glad everyone had a great time but, perversely, having looked at the setlist I also feel slightly less sad that I was forced to miss it. I would have liked to see the Bob Mould, Richard & Linda and Loudon Wainwright sections and I presume that Hug You Like A Mountain was with Eliza Carthy and Teddy Thompson. I love that song but otherwise, whilst I am sure that I would have enjoyed it and the atmosphere would have been special, n terms of song choices and guests there is little there that excites me.

Thanks!

What I'm looking for is *all* the musicians playing on each number, to include (or not) RT, his extended family. his (extended) trio, FC & ex-FC etc etc....

I'm not sure even Richard could tell you that!

oh yes - Jack Thompson had a very detailed number by number setlist....

Who was there from FC/ex FC, apart from the late Simon Nicol?

Ashley Hutchings, Dave Pegg and DM.

Just remember, kids - YouTube’s new algorithm specifically bars any user who has previously posted online complaining about smartphones at gigs.  ;D

God wouldn't it be amazing to have some smartphone footage of some great 70's gigs of our favourite bands at their peak...!!  
Preparing my Steeleye Archive website would have been sooo much easier if social media had been in the 70's-90's!!    (but less fun !)

Gilmour played?  Holy moly.

Jules

Yes, he was on the guest list right from the start. Bizarrely I have read comments elsewhere this morning from people who went specifically to see him and think he "stole the show".

Trash - total codswallop. IMHO. His voice is pretty much shot, although he traded guitar with RT pretty well still.

Meanwhile - Blair with Derek....(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFx2jwrWwAA8Iny.jpg)

Oddly, this is what I posted on my FB page when I saw a rehearsal pic: David Gilmour and Richard Thompson together ? Holy Sh...moley !

Theres a lot that you could say that about from that era though. Stephen Stills , Peter Green, Bob Dylan, Kate Bush to name a few. Its called getting old.

Indeed! But some are blind/deaf to the changes....

Fantastic night! I loved Eliza Carthy singing The Great Valerio unaccompanied, and it was great seeing Loudon and Richard together again (both still have fantastic singing voices).  I never thought I’d hear peaches live, and nearly fell off my chair when Bob Mould launched into If I can’t change your mind (one of my all time faves).

Peaches did it for me too, sheer exuberance!

Careful
It’s not allowed to express opinions on people’s voices deteriating on this forum without others getting all shirty and defensive  ::)

...and it was really good to see Danny Thompson playing on numerous numbers...

oh, wasn't it - a highlight when he initially snuck on unnannounced. Finds it hard to manoevre his Victoria, unfortunately.

Hoping he's on the Transatlantic Sessions tour in January.

It all sounds fantastic. I’d have loved it

(Wandering Steve.....the comment about voice quality was prefaced with IMHO, not presented as ‘fact’, and it was polite which is why people didn’t react, I suspect)

IMHO Richard Thompson’s voice has survived much better than other members of FC and long may it do so. :o

where's the 'like' button when you need one? completely agree. So has Simon Nicol's survived (and Ralph McT's for that matter)

Totally agree.  My favourite highlights (among many) were the Stranglers’ segment at the beginning and a gorgeous version of ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ sung by Maddy, Teddy, and Richard.  That’s a vocal combination I would like to hear more of.

There may be quite a bit more footage to come online.  At times there were so many lit-up phones that it was almost like getting a preview of Xmas fairy lights.  An interesting contrast to RT’s normal gigs, where he is very strict about banning all forms of filming/recording.

If they're not already out there, audience recordings are definitely coming.  But I really do hope it gets a full release (highly unlikely, I'd have thought, but what do I know) and I can contribute to the pension fund in absentia.

Nobody 'stole the show'. Everyone, doubtlessly, had their favourites. However, the nature of the show was generally that a leading guest would sing/play an RT tune, then RT would support them on one of theirs. It worked very well and the mix of styles meant there was something for everyone.

David Gilmour's voice is not 'pretty much shot', although he did initially appear to struggle with a high note in Dimming of the Day. There is enough on YouTube for an objective assessment.

It was a credit to all concerned that there were no egos on display, just a lot of respect all round and immense enjoyment.

A wonderful concert and very special occasion.

I am sure that is true. The point was not than anybody actually did steal the show but that there seems, from the evidence of other forums, to have been a very small coterie of Floyd/Gilmour fans who attended only because of his presence and who were unable to see beyond him. It seems very peculiar to me that anyone would spend that kind of money to attend a show celebrating a particular artist purely to witness the two songs performed by one of the guests.

If that’s the case FC should be pulling out all the stops to get DG to play at cropredy
That would put a few on the gate so to speak

Just listened to DG's Dimming of the Day...I think it's great.  His voice is ok - I mean it's not exactly 1971 Dave, but we're not talking Ian Anderson here.  Ageing well, and using it to suit the material, I'd say.  And anyway, listen to that geeeetar...  ;) :)

There is one out there already. Sounds pretty good from what I've hear. PM me if interested.

Having had a little look around YouTube, I've got to say that I love Olivia Chaney's WKWTTG. But then I think she's great anyway (if you haven't heard the Offa Rex album that she sings on, give it a go).

You beat me to it, she sang magnificently, should be booked for the Sandy slot at Cropredy!

What a fabulous evening. So many highlights, and feel so lucky have been able to go. And the one bit that everyone around me agreed was a bit special was Peggy singing Down Where the Drunkards Roll, with RT as sideman. Such a lovely, warm, reflective performance.

The few bits I've seen on YouTube look fabulous - and RT's jacket is a sight to behold!

Another review here (http://tarkablowpigmusic.com/2019/10/gig-review-richard-thompsons-70th-birthday-at-the-royal-albert-hall-monday-30th-september-2019/)

and another here (https://www.jambase.com/article/david-gilmour-richard-thompson-70th-birthday)

I wonder if he spent his time in Greece re-recording some old Fairport tracks. He could release it as "What I Did On My Extended Holiday".  ;D

But great that he made it for the end of the concert. I thought I spotted him on the YouTube video plugging in his acoustic at the start of MOTL.

Look at dime 😎

Another blog, another review. https://theafterword.co.uk/richard-thompsons-70th-birthday-bash/

I'm still confused.  Are we talking about musically, or something else?  I love the musical contribution anyhow...sounds like Richard enjoyed it very much as well.

Just watched the Peggy version of Down where the Drunkards Roll.  So fragile, and teetering on the edge of total collapse at times.  But hugely effective and very emotive.  A triumph.

I just watched it too... Lovely. Bravo Peggy!

Have just listened to a full (albeit not especially great quality) recording of the show.

It occurs to me that RT participated in Joan Baez's 75th birthday show in New York a couple of years ago (available on CD & DVD) and this seems to have been designed along very similar lines. I'm guessing he was inspired by that event.

I am still sad I missed it but, having heard it, there is quite a lot that would not have especially thrilled me (essentially everything from Kate Rusby until RT played Persuasion with Teddy, with the exception of Hug You Like A Mountain and then the Maddy Prior section too, basically all the trad folk stuff). Nevertheless, I hope it gets an official release of some sort, like Joan's did.

Same thoughts. I have to think not being known as a vocalist by any means that Peggy must have been absolutely thrilled to have been asked to sing, not to mention playing mandolin as well.

Go to the Fairport website and you will see how nervous he was.

Love it even more now. Bless ya Peggy for making it through that!

That's brilliant!  ;D

Just watched it, and it was much more affecting than I had imagined. Well done Peggy!

Also watched the David Gilmour section - fantastic!