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Last night I went to my first real concert. A Tommy Emmanuel concert. And what a concert it was...
For those who don't know who Tommy Emmanuel is, he is one of the greatest guitarists of all time, compared with the likes of Chet Atkins (they actually did an album together). He's won many awards eg. Thumb Picker of the Year, Thumb Picker's Album of the Year, as well as being inducted into the Thumb Picker's Hall of Fame. And all in one year! For more info, check out Tommy Emmanuel's Website
There really is no way of really describing how amazing it was...but I'll try.
He was absolutely incredible! Not only is he a great guitar player, he's a great showman. He did songs off his latest album 'Endless Road', two songs off his next album, which hasn't been named yet, as well as some of his older, more 'trademark' stuff, eg. His 'DayTripper/Lady Madonna medley, 'Mombasa', etc. The support act was a young guy from South Australia named Jake Nicholai who was a very good singer and picker, for his age. He was joined in a few songs, like Chet Atkins and Dolly Parton's 'Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,' by a young woman from the US, but I can't remember her name. He did left-hand picks as well as switching from regular left-hand playing to playing with his hand over the top of the guitar neck.
He really is a one-man band, his rendition of 'Blue Moon' was proof of that. He started each bit seperately, running bass, percussive muting, rhythm, then the melody. This was much like how he played 'DayTripper'
'Mombasa' was absolutely brilliant. At the start of it he did this massive percussive solo on his guitar using a drum brush (for snares and stuff) as well as a (i think) sanded down part of his guitar to make 'scraping' sounds. He then got into the song and put in another percussion solo in the middle. He also played a bit on the strings between the tuning pegs and the nut, something I've never seen done before. This was all accompanied by a brilliant light show which made it seem as if he were in the middle of an African tribal ceremony or something of the like.
He also played a song called 'Initiation', which he wrote when he was living out in the middle of the Northern Territory with the Aboriginal communities and stuff, with a famous Australian didjeridoo player named David Hudson. He put some echoe effects which made his guitar hum like a didjeridoo. It was awesome!
His encore consisted of about 4 different songs including 'Heartbreak Hotel' and his arrangement of 'Classical Gas'.
Everything he played was guitar at it's best. Pure, technically astounding stuff. I urge anyone who ever gets even the slightest chance to see him, to do it. Try as hard as you can. It truly was an inspiring experience.
Just thought I'd share...
This post has been edited by rayvon87: 11 November 2005 - 01:23 AM
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