Bob Dylan’s Shadow Kingdom Review

I’ve seen a few shows of varying quality during the pandemic restrictions of the past year. But none comes close to Bob Dylan’s Shadow Kingdom gig. Granted, it wasn’t a live gig, although you kinda got that impression from the advance publicity.

But the quality of this pre-recorded show, the surprising setting, and Dylan’s performance was such that any initial gripes were quickly forgotten. Shot in black and white, mimicking a smoky down-at-heels club in the 1940s, Dylan was in full cabaret singer mode, all gestures and stances, singing positively tunefully.

Where was the raspy, near-croak we’ve become use to in recent years? Gone completely as he treated us to a romp through his early back catalogue – mainly 1960s and 70s with What Was It You Wanted from 1989’s Oh Mercy the most recent one covered.

When you go to a Dylan gig, you expect the songs you know and love to be completed re-reworked, sometimes so you can barely recognise them. Here with the backing of a young band playing largely acoustically – double bass, acoustic guitars, mandolin, accordion, occasional electric guitar and no percussion – the songs sounded fresh, instantly recognizable and utterly captivating. Especially with the man in such good voice, at times strumming a couple of arch-top acoustic guitars and blowing a tasteful harmonica.

The dim lighting and the black and white shooting lent a considerable amount of atmosphere to the show, with patrons sitting around tables being served drinks and – à la 1940s, smoking. No wonder the band had their masks on – presumably to shield from the cigarette smoke rather than the virus. Though, actually, I kinda suspect the cigarette smoke might have been faked.

It worked rather well, though. The only thing else needed, said one wag on the online comments, was a “bar room brawl off stage.”

Dylan at 80 still managed to look rather cool, with his white jacket or – my favourite and I want one – his black embroidered one. The man still has a decent head of hair, though the low light suitably concealed his creased, craggy features.

He kicked things off with When I Paint My Masterpiece, probably the best version of this song he’s done, followed by Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine, before the exquisite Queen Jane, with Dylan standing at the mike, articulating the lyrics almost sweetly and the band paring things back to put the spotlight on the song and the singer.

I’ll Be Your Only Baby Tonight, musically was very cool, but I have to say, I felt rather uncomfortable about Dylan being flanked by two young women as he sang. Didn’t seem a good look. My feminist daughter, however, reckoned that the scene was supposed to subvert “the male gaze” (Google it!) – the women actors looked right into the camera all the time and not at Dylan. If so, it was clever work by Israeli-American director Alma Har’el, who did a superb job overall. Watch this song yourself for yourself and decide.

A few songs later we got What Was It You Wanted from 1989’s Oh Mercy, a quite beautiful acoustic version, with a little plaintive harmonica from Dylan, which brought out the yearning and pathos of the song. And that’s the thing about these arrangements – it helped you appreciate just how strong Dylan’s songs are, both lyrically and musically. In some concerts I’ve gone to in recent years, the songs were all but obscured by the rockabilly or rock’n’roll treatment.

He followed that with a tenderly sung Forever Young. I’ve always loved this song, but tonight, it seemed particularly poignant. That’s what we want for Dylan, for his songs, the albums, are so much a part of our history and we can’t bear to think of him aging. Because that means we’re aging too. And although we want it to be true, that he and we could stay forever young, we know, at 80, we’ll not have him performing and writing songs for much longer.

It was nice to get a song from John Wesley Harding in the mix, the lyrically opaque Wicked Messenger, whose title is based loosely on a verse from the biblical book of Proverbs. The obscurity of the lyrics was nicely emphasized by Dylan either being hidden entirely by the guitar player or almost completely in shade.

The final song, I hope we can’t read too much into – It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, sung with some deliberation, the band following Dylan’s careful enunciation, and highlighting the lyrics much more than the jaunty version on 1965’s Bringing It All Back Home.

Suddenly it really was all over, just 48 minutes. But 48 utterly absorbing and totally entertaining minutes. The good thing is, having paid my $25, I can watch it again a time or two over the next couple of days.

Setlist

When I Paint My Masterpiece
Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go MIne
Queen Jane Approximately
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Tombstone Blues
To Be Alone With You
What Was It You Wanted
Forever Young
Pledging My Time
Wicked Messenger
Watching The River Flow
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Tommy Emmanuel Live: Eight Things We Learned

Tommy Emmanuel Live at the Ulster Hall

There surely can’t be a guitar fan in the world who doesn’t know of Tommy Emmanuel. The iconic Chet Atkins called him a “fearless” guitarist and designated him (along with just 4 others) as an Atkins CGP (Certified Guitar Player), a title Emmanuel is immensely proud of. He has twice been voted “Best Acoustic Guitarist” by readers of Guitar Player Magazine and honoured with the prestigious “Member of the Order of Australia” award. The State of Kentucky recently made him a “Kentucky Colonel.”

Previously a rock n’ roll lead guitarist, touring successfully in the 1970s, he turned his attention to the acoustic guitar and become a jaw-droppingly good virtuoso finger picker, now widely acknowledged as the international master of the solo acoustic guitar. Emmanuel has mastered just about every guitar style imaginable and his albums and shows have featured virtuosic displays of bluegrass, jazz, blues, folk, country and pop and he’s played with a who’s who of top guitar masters from every genre of modern music.

The 64-year-old Australian is a dynamic, energetic performer, who plays to large audiences in prestigious venues all over the world, dazzling them with his skill and enchanting them with his personal charm.

He played the Ulster Hall in Belfast, an iconic venue with excellent acoustics, and which dates back to 1862 and along the way has hosted Charles Dickens reading his stories, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, Dire Straits, Jackson Browne and a host of top classical orchestras. Here’s what we learned:

1. Tommy Emmanuel might just be the best guitarist you’ll ever see, in any genre. I know it doesn’t make too much sense to compare top players, but you’ll rarely see another guitarist with the technique, musicality and flair that marks a Tommy Emmanuel performance. Last night he was playing with an injured finger on his right hand. He never mentioned it and never let it affect his jaw-droppingly amazing playing.

2. It is possible for one man and a guitar to keep an audience of 2,000 utterly enthralled for nigh on two hours. Assuming he can enchant them with wonderful music and dazzle them with consummate skill (I know I’m gushing a bit here, but still…). English fingerstyle guitarist, Clive Carroll, who was the supporting act (go check him out here) more than held his own, both in his own set and the couple of songs he and Tommy played together. His evocation of a Canadian arctic circle white-out, with its masterful use of dynamics, had us right there in the snowy wilderness, while his arrangement of Charles Mingus’s Goodbye Porkpie Hat was a jazzy wonder.

3. You’ll never hear a more stunning version of Amazing Grace than Emmanuel’s. After reminiscing about his first visit to a small, packed club in Belfast many years ago, he commented on the sense of calm and peace he felt in tonight’s venue – then launched into a wondrous, jazzy, bluesy rendition of Amazing Grace.

4. Yes, it is possible to play an entire song in harmonics (crudely speaking, harmonics are “high pitched tones, like a whistle’s, which are produced when the musician lightly touches certain points on a string”). They’re not easy to do, but to do all over the fretboard, fast and with precision and musicality, is only for premier league guitarists. Quite amazing to witness.

5. Tommy Emmanuel can sing. Just a couple of songs along the way, notably Merle Travis’s Sixteen Tons put the spotlight on his vocal ability, though, of course, some guitar pyrotechnics were thrown in for good measure.

6. A few covers always go down well. I’m not a great Beatles fan, but when the songs get put in a medley with the Tommy Emmanuel treatment, I can warm to them. And then when they morph into Classical Gas, well, it’s pretty special.

7. Irish diddly dee music doesn’t have to be dull and repetitive. When you’ve got top-class artists approaching it with musicality and a high level of skill, suddenly it becomes…well, enjoyable. The Donegal and St. Anne’s reels played by Emmanuel and Carroll.

8. Finally, Tommy Emmanuel is one of the most positive of musicians. His enthusiasm for the music and performing oozes out of every pore. You find yourself smiling again and again. Go to his Facebook page and read some of the remarkable posts there about the effect this man and his music has on people.

Richard Thompson at the Ulster Hall: 7 Things We Learned

“The finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix.” Los Angeles Times.

Richard Thompson, looking fit and healthy, gave a rousing solo acoustic performance in the rather grand surroundings of Belfast’s Ulster Hall, getting a standing ovation from the delighted audience. He’s an iconic figure, featuring on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” winning a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association in Nashville, several Grammy nominations and an OBE.

He was part of the English folk-rock band, Fairport Convention in the late 60s and early 70s before launching a successful period with Linda Thompson and then his solo career, which has seen him release 18 studio albums and play with a who’s who list of major rock artists and his songs covered by artists like Emmylou Harris, David Gilmour and The Blind Boys from Alabama, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, and Don Henley. His 18^th album, 13 Rivers was released in 2018 to great acclaim.

Here’s what we learned:

1. A Richard Thompson concert is far from old minor key English folk songs and sea shanties. Yes, there’s folk, but with a huge variety of styles and tempos, and some full-blooded rock’n roll too, all peppered with self-deprecating banter and humour. It makes for a fine evening’s entertainment.

2. Sometimes you need more than three chords and the truth. And with Richard Thompson, you get a kaleidoscope of chords, runs, fills, arpeggios, harmonics and more, in a virtuoso display of guitar playing that will have your jaw dropping and your foot a-tapping.

3. Who needs a band, when you play bass, chords and lead, all at the same time, with great attack and panache to accompany your impressive vocal performance?

4. Lowden acoustic guitars “are the best out there, if you ask me,” said Thompson, praising the highly acclaimed Northern Irish luthiers. On the evidence of this masterful display of guitar wizardry, there can’t be much argument.

5. It’s great to have a trademark – in Richard Thompson’s case, his black beret, which he hasn’t taken off since 1984 (just joking!). His other trademark, of course, is his terrific song-writing skills, aptly demonstrated in song after song from each decade of his long career. Musically rich and lyrically clever, with wit, sarcasm, and great story-telling, the songs’ music and lyrics interweave powerfully.

6. Forty and fifty-year-old songs can still be magical. Thompson’s Bright Lights which “brushed the lower regions of the Top 40” in 1974, along with Dimming of the Day and Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes, all stirred great memories and were warmly received by the enthusiastic Belfast crowd. Songs that stand the test of time.

7. In your 8^th decade, you can still look fit and robust and give nearly two hours of fabulous entertainment, singing and playing your heart out. It helps, clearly, if you play tennis and cricket regularly.

Oh, and the sweet, sweet voice and song writing talents of Katherine Priddy who was the evening’s support deserves a mention. One to keep an eye on.

 

 

 

Eric Bibb at the Grand Opera House: 7 Things We Learned

Legendary acoustic bluesman Eric Bibb is a two-time Grammy nominee and multiple Blues Foundation award winner in what has been a five-decade career of performing all over the world. His music fuses blues, jazz and world influences to create an exquisite and welcoming style that draws people in and together. He played to a packed audience at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, along with drummer Paul Robinson, bassist Neville Malcolm, and guitarist Stefan Astner. Ulrika Bibb joined the band for a song and local singer-songwriter Ken Haddock played a delightful supporting set. 

1. Playing and listening to the blues can make you feel good. Eric Bibb kicked off his set with a John Cephas number, Going Down that Road Feeling Bad, which he prefaced with the comment, “which I’m not!” And neither were the rest of us in the packed, beautiful, oriental-style, old theatre, the Grand Opera House in Belfast, as we went down the road with Eric and his band for the next couple of hours. An evening with Eric Bibb sends you away with a huge smile on your face, which will last the rest of the week.

2. Always listen to your mother. Eric’s mom told him always to include his Don’t Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down in his concerts. Good advice. He had the whole place rockin’ with this one. And good advice with “don’t let nobody turn you around.”

Stefan Astner

3. You don’t have to play at 120 decibels or make squishy faces to be an awesome guitarist. Stefan Astner, Bibb’s long time guitarist, noodled away effortlessly on his Tele, almost in the background, tastefully adorning the songs, before stepping self-consciously forward on a few occasions for some terrific solos. Actually, truth be told, he could have done with cranking the volume up a bit.

4. You don’t tour with jazz legend Nina Simone for 20 years without becoming one of the most artful drummers I’ve seen. Boy, was he all over those drums, making full use of everything at his disposal, and – not often you’d say it of drummers – he was musical.

5. If you’re playing the blues, the spectre of racism isn’t too far away. Eric played With a Dolla’ in My Pocket from his 2017 Grammy-nominated album, Migration Blues (he should have won that Grammy), the story of someone he knows who escaped lynching in Mississippi, travelling to safety in Chicago. The genesis of the blues is in the Jim Crow South and songs like this are a stark reminder of the horror of those days – and a call-out to the racism that persists.

6. An unaccompanied song can be a powerful thing. Eric Bibb stood up from his normal seating position to sing Refugee Moan, also from Migration Blues. A stark reminder of “all those who are looking for a safe place in the world.” Wayfaring Stranger, sparsely arranged, was superb too and continued the theme. More on this in his newly released album, Global Griot.

7. In his sixties, Eric Bibb has hit a rich vein of creativity. He’s performing with as much energy and verve as I remember from first seeing him twenty years ago, and his song writing continues apace. He only performed one song off Global Griot last night – so the next tour is definitely one to look forward to.