Graham Parker with Mike Gent ~ 2008 July 18 ~ WAMC Linda Auditorium, Albany, NY
Graham Parker (lead vocals, Gibson acoustic guitar, Fender electric guitar, harmonica); Mike Gent (backing vocals, guitar, and opening set)
Setlist (with guitars noted)
[Gibson acoustic]: I Discovered America - Hard Side of the Rain - Chopsticks - Guillotine of Guadaloupe - Pollinate - Next Phase - Back in Time - [Fender electric]: Can't Take Love for Granted - Vanity Press - Release Me - Signed Sealed Delivered (Stevie Wonder cover) - Stick To Me - Get Started. Start a Fire - FreeCreditReport.com - Strong Winds - Nation of Shopkeepers ... encore with Mike ... [Gibson acoustic}: High Horse - Something You're Going Through - [Fender electric]: White Honey - Back to School Days - Don't Let It Break You Down - [Gibson acoustic]: Local Girls - The Raid
Review
Concert Going Partner and I arrived at the Linda Auditorium in Albany (or All-Bunny as we decided to call the town) for the 5:00 "songwriter workshop" featuring Graham Parker and Mike Gent. It was so hot we stood around the side of the building in the shade instead of in front of the door while we waited for the doors to open.
At 4:30 we were admitted to the auditorium and took our seats. At 5:00 sharp onto the stage ambled Graham and Mike with their acoustic guitars. There weren't too many people in attendance, maybe 25 or so. Someone began with the classic songwriting question "which comes first, the music or the lyrics." Graham talked about his songs being based on "three and a half chords" but that he likes to toss in an unusual chord somewhere in a song. Both Graham and Mike said there's no real definite answer as to where they get their ideas. Mike asked Graham if he ever starts with a title and writes a song to match the title. Graham said he hardly ever does ("Bad Chardonnay" may be the one time he did). Graham says he gets a lot of ideas, lines and melodies will pop into his head, and that the real work of writing is the process of sorting out what is good from the "rubbish." He said he occasionally has a vivid dream that leads to a song, citing "Waiting for the UFOs" as an example, where he had had a dream of UFOs landing on his shoulder (!) and wrote a song afterwards. Graham says he borrows musical elements from many songs.
Mixed in with the chatter were bits of songs that casually illustrated various points - bits of "Local Girls" (showing that it is closely related to "Beast of Burden"), of "Socks 'n' Sandals" (someone in the audience made an extremely inaccurate statement, claiming that GP never writes funny songs, and this one was to show that, actually, he does), even a Figgs song, "Bristol Sisters." Mike was asked who his main songwriting influences are, and in addition to GP he named Lennon/McCartney and Ray Davies. GP was asked if he ever writes "character sketch" songs like "Eleanor Rigby" and he suggested that "Suspension Bridge" was a character sketch in the first person. Someone asked the two to name their favorite songs. Mike said "And Your Bird Can Sing," Graham rattled off a number of soul classics from the '60s and '70s. At the end of the hour Mike suggested they perform a full song and the choice was "Hold Back the Night." A funny little joke that was, performing a song GP hadn't written to end a songwriter workshop.
It was a truly fascinating hour, in which both Graham and Mike made a number of comments that shed light on their creative processes.
My traveling companion and I had made two friends, and the four of us scurried across the street to the Chinese restaurant recommended by Infamous Capgirl. It was a good recommendation, and just as we were walking out to go back to the venue, Graham and Mike were walking in. I told them the szechuan chicken was good and we headed back to the Linda.
The Linda Auditorium is a former bank building, complete with a vault in one wall. The stage is big, and high enough to afford good visibility. There were about 130 red padded folding chairs put out for the show. I don't think the place was quite filled. Behind the stage, floor-to-ceiling window drapes made the ceiling seem even higher than it was. It was good acoustically, and the staff were helpful and friendly, allowing us to keep the seats we had had for the workshop on reserve for the show as well.
A few minutes after 8:00 Mike Gent came back on stage with his acoustic guitar and played a set of nine songs. I had mentioned the Figgs song "Follow Jean Through the Sea" during the songwriter workshop and Mike played it, dedicating it to me, which made me smile. One or two other songs were from an upcoming Mike Gent solo album to be titled Paper Knives. He played "Bungalow Bill" complete with audience singalong, and whistling. He played a song he had written for an album by Peter Gammons (the sportswriter) called "Bad Teeth" which had me rolling in the aisles, it was so funny. (Mike ... you and Ray Mason need to get together; he has a song called "I've Got a Good Dentist.")
A few minutes later on came Graham, who then played a set of 16 songs. He was wearing an unusually colorful 1980s-vintage buttoned long-sleeve shirt, featuring a pattern consisting of squares and multi-colored circles. This was the best stage clothing I've ever seen Geep wear. He also wore a wristband with a busy pattern. He had also worn a very cool short-sleeved shirt at the songwriter workshop with lobsters and shells floating on a blue background (he called it his Jimmy Buffet shirt, pronouncing it Jimmy Buffay). His clothes were so cool that he felt obliged to comment on them. He said he'd been wearing the lobster shirt with some awkwardly un-matching clothes one day and two teenage girls (one with "face furniture") had asked if they could take his picture, saying he looked "splendard." It was funny to hear Graham tell this story ... but he hasn't written a song about it, at least not yet.
Graham told a story he originated at a gig in Maine a couple of months ago, about being mistaken for the floor show at a seafood restaurant and going into the restaurant and singing the FreeCreditReport.com jingle. This didn't quite get the roar of laughter it did up in Maine, where people not only know the jingle but they know the restaurant where the incident took place (actually, where it didn't take place).
When introducing "Guillotine of Guadaloupe," he said he'd played a show at a place in the Great Lakes region called Brit's Pub that was celebrating Bastille Day, and that he had to set the record straight on what really happened at the historic storming of the Bastille. He said the Bastille was not a prison. It was a disco and it was liberated and turned back into a rock 'n' roll club where French rock stars then performed.
Musical highlights included "Pollinate," that innocently sexy love song from 12 Haunted Episodes; the fab rocker "Release Me," featured on the Platinum Bastard "official bootleg"; "Stick To Me," which I hadn't heard live in quite some time; and the very moving "Strong Winds." Although he did not mention his daughter, who is with the peace corps in Fiji, one knew he was thinking of her while he sang this beautiful song. The main set ended with "Nation of Shopkeepers" and its fun singalong.
After a very short break Graham came back on stage with Mike and they played an encore set together of seven songs. They were great! Having Mike on stage as the second musician provides some of the advantages of a band show (more sound!) while not detracting at all from the advantages of the solo format (GP gets to show off his own musical skill, and he gets to play stand-up comic). The encore set started with the sparkling "High Horse," which Mike was having a lot of fun playing, and ended with the fabulous "The Raid," a song that never gets stale.
This is only the second time I've heard Graham and Mike in the duo format, the other time being that odd record store gig of five songs a couple of years back, and it left me wanting more. I see that Tom Freund, not Mike, is scheduled to perform in the duo shows in the Great Lakes region in September, and while I have absolutely nothing against Tom Freund, I think that Mike is so perfect as an accompanist and backup singer for Graham that it would be great if Mike were doing those two shows, too.
After leaving the venue we were saying goodnight to some of the other concert goers, and all it took was a split second for the God of Rain to decide to empty a bucket on our heads. For the next few minutes we were treated to a truly spectacular thunderstorm, the likes of which we just don't get here on sea level Cape Cod.
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