Richard Thompson at York Opera House
First time Richard has toured with a band for a few years .. He kicked off with a song from an early 70's album of his and had the house spellbound all night ....... Took my 18 yr old son who writes and has his own band .. he got the message loud and clear :-) and what is more .. absolutely loved the concert .. .. :cool:
"2010 has proved to be an extraordinary year for Richard Thompson culminating in the announcement that he has been awarded an OBE in the 2010 Honours List. Commented Richard: "What a fantastic honour. I'm absolutely thrilled."
“The OBE will further restore Richard Thompson’s status at the top table of British musical heroes as a folk revolutionary, one of the world’s greatest guitarists, a must-see performer and one of the finest songwriters this country has ever produced.” (The Spectator)
Tina Dico - Norwich Arts Centre - Sunday 27th February
Well, the day finally came, and after a lovely meal in one of my favourite restaurants (which hasn't changed in the 20 odd years since I've been going there, though not very often in recent years since moving away from Norwich) my wife and I sat down to watch Tina Dico live.
I doubt many if any of you will have ever been to Norwich Arts Centre - a small converted medieval church in the city centre. It is the smallest of the 3 University run venues, and to be honest I was astonished that Tina couldn't fill at least the next one up (the Waterfront.) Both these venues have an emotional attachment for me, but that's for another day - Norwich Arts Centre is a fantastic venue, but holds only around 100 people - around 70 seated in the old naive of the church, and standing room at the back and sides. We arrived early enough to get prime seats, right at the back of the seating area, directly in front of the mixing desk, slap bang in the middle. We were about 40 feet from Tina on stage - which gives you an idea of how small and intimate this venue is.
Enough of the venue - what about the gig itself? Well, I'm sure regular readers won't be surprised to hear that I absolutely loved it - not just one of the best gigs I've ever been to, but one of the best nights of my life. If you've ever seen Tina before, or have her In The Red live DVD, then this is a very different tour. Paired down to just Tina, Helgi Jónsson an Icelandic keyboard/trombone player (who also does backing vocals and duet duties, and was the support act) and a drummer - (I'll call him "Thor" as I can't remember exactly his name, but he is best mates with Helgi and reminded me of Harry Hill!) - this is very much an acoustic show, no doubt promoting the current album Welcome Back Colour which is a 2 CD affair, the 2nd disc being re-workings of some of her well known songs paired down to the bone.
Tina didn't miss a note on her guitar - looked gorgeous, was witty and entertaining - but above all, just sang beautifully. I shan't run through the set list (mainly because I can't remember it reliably!) but highlights for me included Stains, Sacre Coeur, and the Zero7 song Home (my wife's favourite, who incidentally, only came begrudgingly, (mainly for a dinner out!) but was completely bowled over too, and is now Tina's #2 fan! ;)) Some brave acapella, and very low level mic work was interesting, and only added to the intimacy.
My only criticism would be that Helgi's trombone playing was a bit too improvised for my tastes, (i.e. I thought it was out of time and out of tune, which is basically my problem with a lot of jazz! :eyebrows:) and he had computer problems, which meant that his keyboard kept distorting, but overall it didn't impact on the evening. Oh, and Tina pulls some very strange faces sometimes! I know a lot of singers do, but for some reason I wasn't expecting it of her!
All in all, a fantastic evening, and one that I can't wait to repeat. Unfortunately last night was the last leg of the UK tour (otherwise I would desperately trying to arrange a further evening I can assure you!) - so come back to the UK soon please Tina!
