Who’s he when he’s up and dressed?
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@SCAdian , if that was meant as some sort of reference, it went over not only my head, but Google’s. If it was meant as a threadshit, please don’t.
It was a question about who he is.
He’s a singer/songwriter/guitarist. No, I wasn’t familiar with him, either, but that’s in the OP.
For those asking who Thompson is, here’s an article and some quotes about him. It’s too bad that he’s not better known, considering how talented he is.
Richard Thompson – Vancouver Folk Music Festival Richard Thompson – Vancouver Folk Music Festival
“The finest rock songwriter after Dylan, and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix” – LA Times
“Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Richard Thompson is also one of the world’s most critically acclaimed and prolific songwriters.”
Here’s a fun song (about Margaret Thatcher), very different from the more gentle ones in the OP. He doesn’t play this one live very often, understandable given the dynamics.
Someone once asked Thompson how good of a guitarist he considered himself to be. His reply was “Not as good as Django Reinhardt, but better than Neil Young.”
I’m sure Neil would be ok with that statement.
Among music nerds and aficionados he is very well known and respected.
We saw him last night and it was great. It was entirely amplified acoustic, with harmonizing by his wife, and as a special treat local resident and erstwhile Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks came out for an extended encore.
My wife and I have seen him many times, and we agreed that it was a great show, but not near his best. Part of that is that his electric shows are so powerful, part that his later shows are half hits but also half new songs, which are just okay. (that said, I did buy a t-shirt and an autographed vinyl album). Groton is also the best musical venue that I have ever been to.
We aren’t seeing him at the Cabot location listed above, it turned out we had an unavoidable conflict.
You must have seen a similar show like me, that also was him for the first half solo acoustic and the second half accompanied by his wife on vocals. No Dave Mattacks though, sadly, the only instrument in the whole concert was his acoustic guitar. And yeah, I hope he will play some gigs with a full band and electric guitar in the future near me.
You’re right, she was half the show. I’m amazed at the diligence of people going out and posting these setlists.
Looks like your show was similar. Neither of us got Beeswing!
Richard Thompson Concert Setlist at The Anchor, Leipzig on May 16, 2025 | setlist.fm
I was at this show, in Dortmund. Yeah, sadly no “Beeswing”, but I was happy with “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” and “I Want To See The Brights Lights Tonight”.
Yes, similar set.