richard thompson...

who other that came from the late 60's/early 70's musical era is still making vital music other than richard thompson - neil young and.... maybe dylan on a good day, likewise lou reed....

i've seen him perform twice.once last year, solo, all acoustic - and a few days ago - with a band...

both shows are on my short list of best concerts...two very different shows.

he has such a deep catalog of great tunes... although i am pretty familiar with his work - i still keep hearing gems of his i've never heard before...

i've never heard a better guitarist and his deep voice really grows on you...

the funny thing is, although many of his songs are described as dark - they don't feel grim - there's always hope - i think the beauty and intensity of his voice and guitar work supply that... and despite his reputation for "dark" songs - he is an engaging and self-effacing performer with a dry sense of humor...

he recently did a series of shows 1000 years of popular music - captured on cd and dvd...

and his soundtrack to grizzly man is a rarity - a soundtrack that is just as good on its own as an accompaniment to the film...

the concert monday was darn near perfect. his regular bass player was out due to a family bereavement - and the amazing pete zorn played bass along with another half dozen instruments - with a crew member filling in on bass on a few tunes - seeing zorn's mastery of all these instruments along with moving bg vocals was amazing...the drummer mike jerome was awesome - the band played such a range of feelings - punk like intensity to the quietest, mellowest folk (during which, i wished the drunk, former frat boys next to me would have shut up...) they played a number of tunes from the new cd - sweet warrior - which is an outstanding record....

i can't say enough about this musician and this show - wow...

thompson's website is awesome and gives great insight into this remarkable man/musician