12 June 2010 - A Celebration of Kate McGarrigle, Royal Festival Hall

McGarrigle/Wainwright/Thompson gang and friends

Good start to the day when I bumped into 'Bright Light Bright Light' in Covent Garden on my way to the Festival Hall - yay for village London!

Opening Richard Thompson's Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, this was definitely a very special and moving occasion - fan-folk had come to see their favourites and of course to remember Kate McGarrigle, who died of cancer in January.  Some had seen the McGarrigle sisters perform BITD, and even Richard and Linda Thompson on their 'Bright Lights' tour - and of course many were there to see Rufus, Martha and Teddy.  The third McGarrigle sister, Jane, was there too.  Richard and Linda Thompson made history being on stage alone together for the first time in about 35 years for 'Go Leave'.  The Thompson/Wainwright/McGarrigle bedrock was interspersed with guest slots from Nick Cave, Neil Tenant, and the surprising Krystle Warren - among many others: Teddy Thompson shone for 'Saratoga Summer Song'.  However, the real treat was to hear Rufus sing his mother's songs such as 'I Eat Dinner' (with Emmylou Harris) and 'The Walking Song'. Sister Martha was absolutely amazing throughout and she and Rufus really teared up during 'Proserpina', one of the last songs Kate wrote.

Anna McGarrigle nailed it when she said "The really great thing about children is that they're there to sing with you when your sister's not.  It's different, but it's also wonderful".  Quite.

18 July 2009 - Fairport Convention Reunion, Barbican Hall

English folk-to-rock pioneers Fairport Convention re-convened at the Barbican Hall to celebrate 40 years of music making. The early numbers were a bit ho-hum as the evening didn't really kick off until they reached the 1970s 'Liege and Lief' era, where the virtuoso fiddle playing of Dave Swarbrick gave the folk music the punch it needed. Trouble was, Mr S didn't show up ("artistic differences" - come on, grow up!) so it was left to Chris Leslie to do the honours. Not to diss the guy - and he was brilliant - but the whole point of a Fairport reunion was to see the original players (family illnesses excused). The glory 'Liege and Lief' tracks were brilliant - silver-haired folkies doing their own headbanging/nodding like mad.

It being a while since the 70s, there were a fair number of "children of the band" taking part, such as Chris While's daughter and of course 'Father of the House' Richard Thompson managing to field a daughter Kami, son Teddy and ex-wife Linda. (No sign of grandson Zac Hobbs, though.) Kami and Teddy duetted delightfully for 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes' and Teddy's 'Genesis Hall' can be seen here on good old Youtube.

It must have been hard to keep a bunch of talented individuals together back in the day, and easy to see why RT and others decided to branch out on their own.

2 February 2009 - Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music, Barbican Hall

Another Thompson gig, I know, but what the heck - just glad that January's gig-drought is over. This show was a light-hearted - but expertly delivered - "steamroller ride" over 1000 years of popular music: as the man pointed out, the nobs' music was written down, but the peasants' songs were passed down by word of mouth and had to be darned good to survive. So RT began in the 800s, playing a hurdy-gurdy if you please, going by way of protest songs, such as 'Blackleg Miner', via Cole Porter and Abba, finishing up with those 20th Century favourites The Beatles; not a psychedelic medley a la Neil Young, but some kicking early stuff such as 'I wanna hold your hand' to remind us what a breath of fresh air they were in 1960-something.

Mind you, you have to pay close attention to the chat at a Thompson gig, those witty/caustic asides coming thick and fast, and he whisked us through Latin, French, Middle English and Renaissance Italian "colloquial Renaissance Italian", mind you. Bet you didn't know that Richard I was the John Denver of his day. And yay for James Warren's hit with the Korgis, 'Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime', even if RT doubted that Bath was too nice a place for such creativity - "all those teashops".

Am I fixated on Thompsons? Well, you'd think so if you scrolled down this blog, they're a very talented clan. I think Linda's next on my wish list.

17 December 2008 - Thompson Family Christmas, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Loads of Thompsons - Teddy, Richard, Zak, Linda, Kamila

Rejoice, people, for I bring you tidings of great joy - for this night another (Thompson) star was born - grandson Zak Hobbs. Teddy Thompson mc'd a Thompson Family Christmas get-together at the QEH in aid of Amnesty International, and a very special occasion it was - not least because Richard and Linda Thompson were reunited on stage after, oh, far too long. Joining the family were an eclectic set of friends, from the likes of Bert Jansch and Bob Davenport to Justin Bond and Shlomo. The full set list below is courtesy of the nice people at the Southbank Centre.

Teddy and Kathryn Williams opened the show with a beautiful duet of 'Silent Night', setting the very high standard of the evening to follow. It was a treat to see such respected folk artists as Bert Jansch and Bob Davenport, whose voice got stronger and stronger as he sang, on the same bill as the fab-u-lous Justin Bond and Jenni Muldaur. Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, the Northumbrian lassies, charmed us with 'Tar Barrel in Dale' about the New Year's Eve Baal burning ceremony in Allendale, while Shlomo beat-boxed his way through a couple of Christmas numbers.

On to the Thompsons. Kami gave a very sassy 'Purple Christmas' and oh wow! see Zak go on 'Run, Run Rudolph' - keep an eye out for this one - good on guitar and vocals. Richard's party piece was the specially composed 'Wrong Presents' - a wickedly funny song about a boy who has to hide from his friends at Christmas because his doting mother has bought him girls' presents. Teddy reggaed-up the show with his Christmas single - 'Christmas' - (of course) - out on download to raise funds for Amnesty. The really special moment for me was when Linda sang 'Shay Fanyan' offstage; a choked-up Teddy dragged her to the front of the stage to take a well-deserved bow.

Verdict - warm cosy glows all round. More, please, next year and do bring all your folks again.

Set List

• SILENT NIGHT - Kathryn Williams & Teddy Thompson
• PURPLE SNOWFLAKES - Kami Thompson with BAND, backing vocals - Kami Thompson, Linda Thompson and Zak Thompson
• FAT AS A FIDDLE - Chris Difford with BAND
• BLEAK MID WINTER/ ANGIE - Bert Jansch
• CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE - Ed Harcourt with BAND
• FAREWELL REGALITY - Rahcel Unthank and The Winterset
• WHITE CHRISTMAS - Jenni Muldaur & Teddy with BAND
• CHRISTMAS MEDLEY - Shlomo
• THE WRONG PRESENTS - Richard Thompson solo
• NEW DEPRESSION - Justin Bond with BAND
• ALBERT’S ASHES - Brendan Campbell solo
• RUN RUN RUDOLPH - Zak Hobbs with BAND
• THE HOLY AND THE IVY - Teddy Thompson, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson and Bob Davenport
• CHRISTMAS - Teddy Thompson with BAND with backing vocals - Kami Thompson, Linda Thompson and Zak Thompson
• SHAY FANYAN - Linda Thompson
• GOOD KING WENCESLAS - Brendan Campbell solo
• BRIGHT MORNING STARS - Kathryn Williams, Neil MacColl and Kate St John/Roger Eno
• LAST CHRISTMAS - Kamila Thompson with BAND
• WHEN THE BALIFFS CAME - Bob Davenport solo
• THE LITTLE BOY THAT SANTA CLAUS FORGOT - Bob Davenport
• HOLY THURSDAY / JERUSLUM - Bob Davenport
• BOYCOTTING CHRISTMAS - Teddy Thompson with BAND
• LET’S NOT FIGHT THIS XMAS - Chris Difford with BAND
• CUTTY WREN - Richard Thompson with BAND
• TAR BARREL IN DALE - Unthanks with BVs
• HAVE YOURSELFA VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS - Justin Bond with BAND
• MOONSHINE - Bert Jansch
• CHRISTMAS WILL BE JUST… - Jenni Muldaur with BAND, backing vocals Kami Thompson, Linda Thompson and Zak Thompson
• BACK DOOR SANTA - Ed Harcourt & Shlomo
• BLUE CHRISTMAS – Thompsons with BANDWINTER WONDERLAND – BAND with all

2 October 2008 - Teddy Thompson, Scala - King's Cross

"What's This?!! .. Oh Shit! .. I'm feeling happy .."

First of all, hats off to the venue - the re-vamped Scala in Kings Cross is a very decent 1000-person auditorium set on several terraces, so good views all round. The VIP room up in the balcony makes it a good choice for showcase gigs too, I guess.

Second, titfers doffed to Jeff Hill and his fellow Grey Race, who played their own set and went on to play as backing for the rest of the bill. Rufus Wainwright fans will recognise Jeff from the Release The Stars tour (among others).

Bravo to the main man, Teddy Thompson, and you really shouldn't need me to tell you that his most famous parents are Richard and Linda Thompson. Thompson/Wainwright gigs often have some family connection - tonight Teddy mentioned that his mother was in the audience, which prompted shout-outs for Linda from the gentlemen who had come along to see "son of Richard". Teddy has also inherited/absorbed his father's dry wit into his act - his mother had brought him "loads of clean underwear" he joked (well, it's what mothers do).

Relaxed and confident, Teddy played an accomplished, rocking set, drawn mostly from his latest album A Piece of What You Need. He used the Motown trick of playing the same song, the brillian 'In My Arms', first and last - and no-one was complaining. Singing with Grey Race as backing, or solo, each song was fantastic - those fans of James Blunt (the first and last time he appears in this blog - ever) are in for a real treat. There's another tour in early 2009 - why not catch him at Shepherd's Bush Empire in February?

24 May 2008 - Richard Thompson with Mary Gauthier, Royal Festival Hall

Double Treat - no, make that Triple Treat

It was good to see Mary Gauthier in London again - this time in her classiest UK venue yet, in support of Richard Thompson at the South Bank concert hall. Mary was in fine form as she gave the Thompson audience a "sampler" set from 'I Drink' and 'Camelot Motel' to the most recent 'Last of the Hobo Kings'. After battling courteously with the lack of feedback in the opening number, Mary wrapped us up in her spell of tales from life on the road and the hurt of post-Katrina New Orleans. Her wry tales between songs are a feature of her performances; tonight there was only time for the back-story to 'Hobo Kings' - which raised much laughter. I think Mary won quite a few converts - if the brisk trade around the cd table was anything to go by - and hopefully she'll be back soon.

Richard Thompson put on a masterful solo performance - as ever making light work of sounding like a full band, rather than a lone guitarist. Only a few songs in, he gallantly abandoned his set-list to play requests - 'Cold Kisses', 'Valerie' etc - although he drew the line at 'My Daddy'. 'Dad's Gonna Kill Me' thrilled again, as did 'Vincent' - but 'Bright Lights' is better sung as a duet. And on it went - preaching to the converted. There were no real surprises until the second encore when he introduced his daughter Kamila for a couple of numbers - her voice very reminiscent of her mother's. Rather like the Wainwright/McGarrigles, the talented Thompson clan is clearly another folk/rock dynasty - look them up at a festival near you this summer.

20 October 2007 – Richard Thompson, The Roundhouse

A circular tale

One of the grand old men of folk-rock, Richard Thompson drew the audience into a neat circular tale at the superb Roundhouse. He would have us believe that he train-spotted there back in 1959, returning for some hi-jinks in the 60s/70s – pointing out the spot where someone set their hair on fire, right up to the present day where he was playing to a mixed bunch of former train-spotting hippie types and showing the young ’uns a thing or two. (Industrial) circle of life in the old turntable shed, or what – I could go on with the metaphors, but I’ll spare you …

Thompson and his three-piece band played a selection from his excellent new album ‘Soldier of Fortune’ and included a few oldies too. There were nods to Maddy Prior and Linda Thompson – ‘Bright Lights’ sounding odd when sung by two male voices. Ever a protest singer, his latest lambast at the Iraq war (Bag) ‘Dad’s Gonna Kill Me’ is a fierce denunciation of the situation the ordinary grunts find themselves in. But folk is not his only strength – this guy can really punish an electric guitar too – as in rock guitar, not thrash rock guitar.

So an excellent night in an excellent venue (Mary Gauthier could fill this house with a proper bit of promotion – see below). Lots of Dad dancing, Dad air guitar and Dad rock – the young ‘uns seemed to like it too.