I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: January 14, 2023] Teddy Thompson

This was my eleventh time seeing Richard Thompson.  For a while we had been seeing him pretty regularly and then his habits changed.

I had been seeing him every chance I could, but I took a little time off from his tours, hoping that he would perhaps come back with an electric tour.  Sadly for me, he did in fact come around with an electric trio tour in 2018, but it coincided with a hike that we were scheduled to go on, so I had to miss it.

Back in 2020, he introduced a new component to his show, his new partner Zara Philips has been singing with him on many songs (often Richard & Linda Thompson songs, but sometimes adding backing vocals to Richard’s songs.

For a while it felt like Richard was playing the same basic songs at all of his shows, although as I look at his setlists I see that he always mixes in a few new songs every tour.  Indeed, in 2020, he threw in a whole bunch of songs that I hadn’t heard him play before.

I was super excited that he opened with Gethsemane, an older song (I can’t believe that album is 20 years old!) that I like a lot.  He sounded great and his guitar playing was, of course, outstanding.

During the pandemic, Richard released some online albums.  He played If I could Live My Life again from Bloody Noses (which he had played back in 2020, just before the shutdown).

He jokes about the age of the audience and said he would play a song from a Fairport Convention album.  He described the origins of Genesis Hall, and that it was a protest song, which I didn’t know.  He had played it before but not for more than seven or so years, so it was good to hear it again.

Richard recently played a few nights of all request shows in New York City, which I’d love to attend (al though I suspect people probably just request all the popular songs anyhow).   But I wonder if it makes him want to mix up his setlists at all.  Whatever the case it was great to hear him plat “Turning of the Tide” a song that I love and haven’t heard him play live for a long long time.

Then he played “Beeswing.”  I don’t think there’s been a show where he hasn’t played the song and yet this time it really hit me how beautiful it was.  And I was marveling about how Richard Thompson, creator of the song was merely thirty or forty feet away from us playing this song and how amazing it was to be so close to someone so creative.  I had a real moment.  (I’m going to assume it came from talking about how wild it must have been for my young kids to go to concerts and see their favorite bands up close like that, something I never got to do as a a little kid).

Then he called out Teddy and they sang a gorgeous version of “Persuasion.”  Richard has performed “Persuasion” every time that I’ve seen him for the last half a dozen shows.  The last time t hat Teddy toured with him, Teddy sang it with him and it was so magical that I’d never forgotten it.  And now they did it again, and wow, it sounded even better this time.  The only, slight, problem was that Teddy was 100% blocked by those speakers.  But at least I could hear how great they sounded together.

Then they played a crazy fast skiffle type song called “Cut Across Shorty” that they clearly had a ton of fun playing together.

Teddy left and Richard introduced a sea shanty that we’ve heard before.  he had us singing along with “Johnny’s Far Away” which is good fun.  This prompted him to say that the next show would be all sea shanties.  He began reciting “Little Sally Rackett” expecting us to know the words, I guess.   If you look them up they’re, quite the tale.

Richard sang a song that he promised was almost a hit–the fantastic “Waling on a Wire.”  He followed that with the song about walking all night to the burbs after watching bands in the city.  He told us about seeing The Who on Tuesday nights and The Yardbirds–Jeff Beck had just died.  He dedicated “Walking the Long Miles Home” to Beck.

Then he called out Zara Phillips.  Like Teddy, she was completely blocked by the speakers for me, so I couldn’t see her at all,

But together they sang the awesome “Wall of Death.”

And then he told us that they had a new album coming out in the near future (except for the vinyl shortage–just like in 1974).  They sang “Singapore Sadie” anda  rather dark song called “The Old Pack Mule” which it seemed like maybe Richard didn’t know that well yet.  He said the next song they played would be one he did know–although he couldn;t remember what album it was from.   He was right that it came from 13 Rivers, and it as the ripping “The Rattle Within.”

They played yet another song from The Old Kit Bag, which again, he made it seem like it so much older (his songs really are timeless), when he described that the song was about the Chernobyl meltdown and was about Russian women writing to be mail order brides.  He and Zara performed “Words Unspoken, Sigh Unseen.”

He then jokes that the next song should have been a huge hit during the pandemic–an anthem!  “Keep Your Distance.”  They ended the set with “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight,” which I had seen Spoon and Margaret Glaspy perform together back in May.  Their version was great but it’s always better to hear it from the master himself.

They briefly left the stage and then Richard quickly came back up and started playing “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.”  I love that he just started playing this amazing song with no fanfare.  I also marvel when I realize that he wrote that song in 1991 and not in 1961 or anything like that.

That seemed like the end.  We stood up to applaud.  I couldn’t really see what was going on, but soon after, both Richard and Zara were both back on stage and they started playing a song from the second EP that Richard released during the pandemic, Serpent’s Tears.  The song, “Tinker’s Rhapsody” is a fun song about the itinerant life.   And I realized that I haven’t listen that EP enough.

They ended with one more new song, “She Was Lost in the Crowd.”  It was a slower song about longer.  Possibly not the most memorable song to end with, but he promised us that the new album was a full band record.  And it sounded like he’d be touring with a full band in the not too distant future once the record came out.

I love seeing Richard play his acoustic guitar but I haven’t seen him with a full band in years and I would absolutely love to see him play off of other musicians again.

Don’t wait too long, Richard!

 

January 14, 2023 Outpost in the Burbs	January 18, 2020 McCarter	October 9, 2016 Sellersville
Gethsemane ∴	The Sun Never Shines on the Poor [Richard & Linda song]	When the Spell is Broken
If I Could Live My Life Again ♦	The Ghost of You Walks	Walking on a Wire [Richard & Linda song]
Genesis Hall [Fairport Convention song]	Valerie	Josephine
Turning of the Tide	Crocodile Tears	Valerie
Beeswing	Beeswing	Beatnik Walking
Persuasion [with Teddy Thompson]	Walking on a Wire  [Richard & Linda song]	1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Cut Across Shorty [Eddie Cochran song] [with Teddy Thompson]	Walking the Long Miles Home	Dry My Tears and Move On
Johnny’s Far Away	1952 Vincent Black Lightning	I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight [Richard & Linda song]
Little Sally Rackett [recited a verse of the shanty]	Cooksferry Queen	Who Knows Where the Time Goes? [Fairport Convention song]
Walking on a Wire [Richard & Linda song]	Who Knows Where the Time Goes? [Fairport Convention song]	Good Things Happen to Bad People
Walking the Long Miles Home	Hope You Like the New Me	Hots for the Smarts
Wall of Death [Richard & Linda song]  (with Zara Phillips)	Meet on the Ledge [Fairport Convention song]	Wall of Death [Richard & Linda song]
Singapore Sadie (with Zara Phillips)	If I Could Live My Life Again ♦	Woods of Darney
The Old Pack Mule (with Zara Phillips) (New song)	Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair [Richard & Linda song]*	Fergus Laing
The Rattle Within (with Zara Phillips)	The Storm Won’t Come*	I Misunderstood
Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen (with Zara Phillips)	She Never Could Resist a Winding Road*	encore
Keep Your Distance (with Zara Phillips)	The Rattle Within*	Persuasion
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (with Zara Phillips)	My Enemy*	Read About Love
encore	encore	encore 2
1952 Vincent Black Lightning	Persuasion	Beeswing
Encore 2:	Dimming of the Day  [Richard & Linda song]
Tinker’s Rhapsody (with Zara Phillips)	encore 2
She Was Lost in the Crowd (with Zara Phillips)	I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight [Richard & Linda song]*
	When the Saints Rise Out of Their Graves*

• with Zara Phillips on backing vocals

∴ The Old Kit Bag (2003)
♦ Bloody Noses EP (2020)

June 4, 2016 Mann Center (opening for Wilco)	February 9, 2016 McCarter
When the Spell Is Broken	The Sun Never Shines on the Poor [Richard & Linda song]
The Ghost of You Walks	The Ghost of You Walks
Valerie	Valerie
Dry My Tears and Move On	Josephine
1952 Vincent Black Lightning	Johnny’s Far Away
Walking on a Wire	Beatnik Walking
Persuasion	1952 Vincent Black Lightning
One Door Opens	Dry My Tears and Move On
I Misunderstood	I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight [Richard & Linda song]
	Genesis Hall [Fairport Convention song]
	Good Things Happen to Bad People
	Woods of Darney
	Read About Love
	Persuasion
	Fergus Laing
	Wall of Death [Richard & Linda song]
	I Misunderstood
	encore
	Beeswing
	encore 2
	Down Where the Drunkards Roll [Richard & Linda song]
	One Door Opens
	Shoot Out the Lights [Richard & Linda song]

 

October 4, 2013 McCarter [with Teddy Thompson tour]**	February 17, 2012 McCarter**
One Door Opens	A Man in Need
Hope You Like the New Me	Sally B
Valerie	Haul Me Up
Saving the Good Stuff for You	Hard on Me
Johnny’s Far Away	Good Things Happen to Bad People
Pharaoh	Easy There, Steady Now
1952 Vincent Black Lightning	Al Bowlly’s in Heaven
Sunset Song	I’ll Never Give It Up
Good Things Happen to Bad People	Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?
Walking on a Wire [Richard & Linda song]	Sidney Wells
Hamlet (Dog Eat Dog in Denmark)	Dry My Tears and Move On
Genesis Hall [Fairport Convention song]	She Twists the Knife Again
Beeswing	If Love Whispers Your Name
Crawl Back (Under My Stone)	encore
My Enemy	1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Wall of Death [Richard & Linda song]	Little Sally Rackett
Down Where the Drunkards Roll [Richard & Linda song]	Demons in Her Dancing Shoes
I Feel So Good
encore
Persuasion [with Teddy Thompson]
The Price of Love [with Teddy Thompson]
encore 2
Grey Funnel Love [with Teddy Thompson]

** set list approximated from shows near our show.

November 3, 2004 McCarter [1,000 years of music tour] **	April 20, 2001 Town Hall (NYC)**
Sumer is Icumen In	Crawl Back (Under My Stone)
King Henry Fifth”s Conquest of France	When the Spell Is Broken
So Ben Mi Ch’a Bon Tempo	Don’t Let a Thief Steal Into Your Heart [Richard & Linda song]
Bonnie St. Johnstone	King of Bohemia
O Sleep, Fond Fancy	Turning of the Tide
Dido’s Lament	Walking on a Wire [Richard & Linda song]
Remember O Thou Man	I Misunderstood
Shenandoah	My Daddy Is a Mummy
Blackleg Miner	Dry My Tears and Move On
Trafalgar Square	1952 Vincent Black Lightning
There Is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast	Why Must I Plead
The Sally Gardens	I Feel So Good
Java Jive	The Ghost of You Walks
Night and Day	I Agree with Pat Metheny
London Pride	Persuasion
Orange Colored Sky	Beeswing
Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee	Uninhabited Man
A-11	Valerie
See My Friends	encore
Friday on My Mind (The Kinks cover)	Bathsheba Smiles
Tempted (Squeeze cover)	Al Bowlly’s in Heaven
Kiss (Prince cover)	Cooksferry Queen
Oops!… I Did It Again / Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt	encore 2
encore	Word Unspoken Sight Unseen
I Am a Man in Prison	Dimming of the Day  [Richard & Linda song]
Money, Money, Money (Abba cover)
It Won’t Be Long (The Beatles cover)
encore 2
Sam Hall
Cry Me A River
1985

** set list approximated from shows near our show.

April 17, 1998 Harborlights (Boston) Thompson/Bruce Cockburn/Dar Williams **	June 15, 1997 (Guinness Fleadh)
Turning of the Tide ◊ [2]	Turning of the Tide ◊
Bathsheba Smiles ∏	The Ghost of You Walks ⇔
How Will I Ever Be Simple Again ð	I Feel So Good ®
I Feel So Good ® [2]	From Galway to Graceland €
The Ghost of You Walks ⇔ [2]	1952 Vincent Black Lightning ®
Hamlet (Dog Eat Dog in Denmark) [Frank Loesser cover] [2]	Lotteryland [Richard & Danny Thompson song] √
1952 Vincent Black Lightning ® [2]	Razor Dance ⇔
Dry My Tears and Move On	Beeswing Ø
Walking on a Wire [Richard & Linda song] £♦	Hamlet (Dog Eat Dog in Denmark) [Frank Loesser cover]
Don’t Sit on My Jimmy Shands ®	Wall of Death [Richard & Linda song] £♦
Razor Dance ⇔ [2]	Dimming of the Day [Richard & Linda song] £∇
encore	encore
Wall of Death [Richard & Linda song] £♦ [2]	Keep That Wheel A-Turnin’ [folk song]
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) [Pete Seeger cover] with Dar Williams and Bruce Cockburn]

** set list approximated from shows near our show.