What a difference a concert made ... less than a week ago, Iain
Matthews was someone I liked and respected, but nothing more. Then came last
Friday's concert at McCabe's, when Iain knocked my socks off with a performance
that had all the ingredients that make me melt: a great voice, a soulful
delivery of tuneful songs, skilled guitar playing, captivating lyrics, good
humor and, to top it all off, humility. His show was so good that I just had to
see him again, and that is what brought me Monday night to the Coffee Gallery
in Altadena, an intimate venue with just forty-nine seats.
Much to my disbelief, I counted only twenty-six people in the
attendance, undoubtedly the smallest concert crowd I have ever seen. But the
size of the audience did not stop Iain from delivering yet another great set,
twenty songs in all, and all the elements that had impressed me so much at
McCabe's were there in full force. In terms of the set list, there was some
overlap between the two concerts, something that did not bother me at all. On
the contrary, I enjoyed very much hearing "Alone Again Blues" and "Funk
And Fire" once again. I also enjoyed the eight songs not played at
McCabe's, among which "To Be White", "God's Empty Chair"
and Richard Thompson's "From Galway To Graceland" stood out. The
a-cappella style delivery of the latter was an absolute gem.
 |
| Iain Matthews at the Coffee Gallery |
The set list
Southern Breezes
Something Mighty
The Limburg Girl and The Traveling Man
Rosa's Song (The Back Of a Bus)
Power
To Be White
God's Empty Chair
From Galway To Graceland
Funk And Fire
The Letter (1944)
The Emperor's New Clothes
Time Zone Cowboy
In Paradise
God Looked Down
Alone Again Blues
These Days
Ghost Changes
Evening Sun
Encore
Joy Mining
Can't Buy Me Love
 |
| Iain Matthews enjoying himself at the Coffee Gallery |
One of Iain's past collaborators, Richard Stekol, an
accomplished musician himself, provided able accompaniment on electric guitar
for half an hour or so. His subdued playing was a good addition to the show.
After the concert, I had the pleasure of exchanging a few words with
Iain and got to shake his hand, too. I went home happy, carrying with me his
"Joy Mining" album, purchased from Iain himself.
 |
| Iain Matthews and Richard Stekol |
 |
| Iain Matthews tuning his guitar |
 |
| Set list - sheet 1 |
 |
| Set list - sheet 2 |
 |
| The stage |
No comments:
Post a Comment