Richard Thompson, Bob Mould, and Mr. Chi Pig (and Grace Petrie)

Gay punk rockers came up more than I expected at tonight's Richard Thompson show, but there's nothing to be made of it, really -- it was just unexpected. First off, Thompson explicitly referenced Bob Mould's punk cover of "Turning of the Tide" and said that his band was going to do a punk-informed recreation of Mould's cover of Thompson's original acoustic song, which, he told us, is about young British men running around Hamburg (I'm assuming he meant the Beatles? I didn't know the song so I can't do justice to the lyrics). It was very much like what you see on Youtube from Colorado, a few days ago... except it was live. Seeing Richard Thompson live really is kind of essential; clips (and recordings) don't really do him justice, I've found (I still bought his Austin, Texas DVD off the merch table -- it's really a peak live set, by me).

Then later in the evening, even if this was surely just me thinking this, I was surprised to find my mind going straight to Mr. Chi Pig during "Beeswing," specifically the verse:

And they say her flower is faded now
Hard weather and hard booze
But maybe that's just the price you pay
For the chains you refuse

Fans of the song "Beeswing" should note that Grace Petrie, who performs in Vancouver on November 7th, has a cover of it; perhaps she'll do it? Petrie was by far my favourite "discovery" at the last folk festival (more on her to come; see also here), and she does have a debt to punk, but she's about 20 years younger than I am (and I guess maybe 40 years younger than Thompson), so our reference points are a bit different! (Billy Bragg is a common one, though, and Tom Robinson, and Thompson himself...). 

 (Photo by Dave Bowes)

Anyhow,  not much to say about the show, but I'm grateful to have seen Thompson again (this was my third time). The setlist is the same for all songs I'm seeing on the tour, (though I am not 100% of the last song because I couldn't make out the chorus and I don't know "Jealous Words," but I'm guessing with everything else being the same, so was that). In fact, as sometimes happens, there are songs on the new album, Ship to Shore -- Thompson, ever witty, took pains to emphasize that the last letter of the first word was P -- that I haven't yet connected with. Thompson has always been like that: some songs, some albums grab you powerfully (like "The Storm Won't Come," off the last album, on the merch table but not otherwise represented in the set), and some elude you, maybe waiting for you to take the time to read the lyric sheet or think about it in the right way. In that regard, Thompson is very helpful in his introductions, live; as tonight, for instance, in giving the audience a bit of a stage setting for "Al Bowlly's in Heaven," which really helped enrich what he was doing -- it's a song I had allowed to slide by me before. I'd simply never taken enough time with it, thinking on short exposure that it's about some past pop star (Thompson explained that Al Bowlly was a British equivalent to Bing Crosby); no, it's about an old soldier, crippled by war, who feels abandoned by his country, looking back on his life and feeling somewhat miserable; Bowlly is just a symbol of happier times). 

 That may be the problem with Ship to Shore, too, for me, I mean -- I don't know that I've heard the whole thing in its entirety more than once...Though one song he did from that album gripped both Erika and I, mind you: "The Old Pack Mule." He didn't much explain the lyrics to that -- if there was a specific person he was thinking of (we presume the mule is not actually a mule); it actually seems a compliment to "Al Bowlly's in Heaven," but from a very different point of view, like the old soldier in that song has died and his relatives are feuding over his meager estate ("how shall we carve him up?"). It's clear where Thompson's compassion lies but it's in no way versed by its narrator, you know? It's made vividly present by its sheer absence.  

There were also obvious crowd pleasers I remembered from the last show, like "Tear Stained Letter," with plenty of audience participation. The Mould "cover" -- kinda like the time Ray Davies introduced "You Really Got Me" as a Van Halen song, but really not too far off Thompson's original -- was one of those, catchy and easy to engage with, and the ever-present "52 Vincent Black Lightning," which I'd taken pains to introduce Erika to this morning, one of those songs that I am guessing is in every show he does, and for good reason... There were definitely songs that stood out more than others tonight, as in the case of Thompson's entire catalogue: showers and growers, you know? 

Doesn't matter, though: even if we didn't appreciate every song equally... all of them had guitar solos! And any Richard Thompson guitar solo is an adventure, especially when you're in the same room, watching his fingers fly around. It seems a bit unfair, in fact, given his skill, that he's playing a venue as mid-range as the Vogue -- but every seat seemed to be filled, and mostly the audience was respectful and attentive and cooperative about the edicts against photography and recording, as far as I could see (I saw one cell phone come out to take a picture near the end of the night; it wasn't mine). It's a bit surprising that the median age appeared to be about 60, since kids today usually have pretty good tastes, but... their loss, I guess, is our gain, seeing such an amazing musician in such a relatively intimate/ affordable context. It took me until my 40s for Thompson really to "click." Maybe he's just not for kids?

That's it, that's all I got. More to come this week -- but not hear. Check out Grace Petrie, you Richard Thompson people. I think the average age there is going to be more like 30, there -- and the audience will and should be 70% female, and maybe 60% queer, and maybe even a little bit punk (because she sure is, even if her music isn't) -- but don't worry, even if it's not your demographic, you'll dig her, too, I promise. If you like Richard Thompson (or Billy Bragg)... just be there... trust me...