Richard
Thompson's 97 Australian
tour is a triumph, with Aussies seeing him in the context in which his songs
perhaps work best, stripped down to the bare bones, with only bassist
Danny Thompson
as accompanist. In this setting Thompson's greatest
assets- his haunting , amusing and ascerbic songs and his astounding guitar
work - are allowed the greatest freedom, uncluttered by other instruments
and studio arrangements which sometimes obscure the true worth of the songs.
At their second Womadelaide
show, on stage two on a windy, but otherwise fine
day, the Thompson twins proved that their collaboration has now matured
to a state where their musical interplay is effortless. The Thompsons complement
each other to such an extent that they are able to take off into the musical
stratosphere at will, with no strain on either player. The only failing
is that they are restricted by the short set format of the Womad festival
which only allows 40 minutes for each artist and no time for encores.
One of the
nicest aspects of live Richard Thompson shows is his tendency to indulge
in all manner of on-stage banter, no doubt a hangover from his Fairport
Convention days (-or perhaps he started them off- who knows). Whatever,
the Thompson wit is in fine fettle today , with him refusing to resort
to the usual stereotypical "Hello
Adelaide" line of most visiting performers,
because, as he so rightly points out, the whole of Adelaide isn't present
, just " selected,
choice cuts". The duo then launch into a
magnificent rendering of " Easy
There, Steady Now" which is so intense
that it hurts. As an opener its perfect. Although the crowd is more partisan
than the previous days bunch at stage one, there is still a large portion
to whom Thompsons work is unknown . They are rapidly converted by this
stunning piece, which sets the correct tone for this short, sharp set
of some of his best songs.
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After
Richard thanks the "small
portion of Adelaide " for their applause
,"Hide It Away" drops down
the frantic pace somewhat. Danny T 's bass is huge, counter pointing
Richard's guitar lines , never intrusive , but underpinning the
virtuoso guitar player perfectly. Danny is a stalwart of the UK
folk and jazz scene. he's played with just about everyone who
matters, John Martyn, Pentangle, and now RT. (Sadly , since this
tour Danny suffered a stroke as a complication of heart surgery
and was out of action for some time. He is now playing again,
with the RT Band and has fully recovered his phenomenal chops)
"Waltzing's
for Dreamers" is next. This just has to be one of
RT's most poignant songs ,with the lines "waltzing's
for dreamers and losers in love " being typical Thompson
sentiments. This dwelling on the dark side of life has led to
RT gaining something of a Leonard Cohen like reputation , but
his on-stage demeanour is at odds with this. In fact both Thompsons
have reputations as jesters and the stage banter today confirms
this.
"Its
the whole world ! I've always wanted to play to that kind of audience
! "RT remarks as one of huge plastic inflatable
of the Globe is trundled through the audience by the usual bunch
of kids. He also reassures us that today's show will be completely
different from the day before, which is comforting.
Photo
courtesy Phil and Jenny
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| Richard
informs us that as this is a festival they asked him to do something
cultural, so they will do Hamlet. However
, they have trimmed it down a bit "cut
out the padding " as he puts it. So now its only 2 minutes
and 17 seconds and that this would be a hipper version. He then reels
in mock astonishment "God you're ugly"
he quips" its the first time
we've seen of an Australian audience in the daylight and its a bit
of a shock- still some of you are alright"
There's
a very jazzy interlude in "Dog eat
Dog", where Richard gets Django'ish and that alone should
convince anyone that this guy can play almost any guitar style with
ease .The banter ceases for the moment as the duo then ease into
a magnificent version of one of RT's best songs -"Shoot
Out The Lights " inspired by the Afghanistan war , its a
dark, brooding piece, with wonderful instrumental passages, which
can lead to extended jamming in the RT band version.
The
next song " Bright Lights Tonight"
is, according to Richard, "From
the paisley corridors of time . A jolly happy song , its as happy
as it gets around here ".Of
course, he's kidding, as this song is a lot blacker than "Jimmy
Shands "or Dog eat Dog".
It seems happy, but in a desperate sort of way, as
if the participants are forcing themselves to have a good time .It
goes down very well with the crowd and then its into "Al
Bowlley's in Heaven" , RT's paean to disabled war veteran's
because " the government shafts
people like that" .Cheers from the audience prompt "
thank you ,pathetically small complement of fans
",which initiates more whoops from the crowd and this rejoinder
"yes! ,
you have all the traits there. Perfect , we love you, in fact ,you
can all come to Danny's room after the show. -number 414. "
then doubtfully
- "Which hotel ?. "Danny
then joins in -"they can all come, no kidding,
I'm desperate" , which causes
everyone to crack up.
The
succinct solo's by both players in " Al
Bowlley" are once again little marvels of restraint and good
taste and gain warm applause from the audience. A quick bit of tuning
and then straight into the crowd pleasers, "Wall
of Death" -with its line- "let me take my chances on a wall
of death" , sometimes misheard as "let me take my chances on a waterbed",
(which obviously has severe Freudian implications) and then "last
one coming up from us, its been a great festival, hope you have
a great time " and its "Valerie
", a real up tempo version that cooks.
Then
its over. The Thompson combo have conquered a "small
portion of Adelaide", but they have to leave us wanting more
. The Thompsons depart to rapturous applause and a standing ovation
- but no encore - due to WOMAD policy.
Everyone
I know who sees either show is knocked out by the songs and the
standard of playing.
RT
definitely has an audience here
if he returns again......
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Good quality audience tapes exist of this show, no soundboards that
I know of.
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