Graham Parker ~ 2019 May 9 ~ Greenwich Odeum ~ East Greenwich, RI
Graham Parker, vocals, Gibson acoustic guitar, Fender electric guitar, kazoo.
Set List
[Gibson acoustic]: New York Shuffle - Chloroform - Girl In Need - Ancient Past [kazoo] - Stick to the Plan [kazoo] - Waiting For the UFOs - Museum Piece - Back Door Love - Maida Hill - Saturday Night Is Dead - [Fender electric]: Discovering Japan - Love Gets You Twisted - Nobody Hurts You - Back to School Days - Stick to Me - Howlin' Wind - Protection ... encore ... [Gibson acoustic]: Brushes - Hold Back the Night {The Trammps} - You Can't Be Too Strong
Videos
Scroll down past the videos for review.
Chloroform
Ancient Past
Stick To Me
Hold Back the Night
Review
I'm happy to see Graham Parker touring solo again. When I first started seeing GP in concert, he was mostly performing solo, which gave him a chance to vary his set list from night to night so that he wouldn't get bored, and allowed him to show off his sometimes sarcastic, but often upbeat sense of humor.
The sense of humor was certainly on display in this show, as he pulled out the kazoo for two songs and told a silly story about learning the instrument from a kazoo master. He also demonstrated how to take chloroform, and mentioned that it might not be a good idea to leave the stuff around if one's wife is mad at you. Besides a good helping of his trademark humor, he also gave vent to his frustration over the political climate in the U.S., using "Stick to the Plan" as a jumping off point to tell a story about seeing a truck with a Bush sticker some years ago, and hearing a prediction from the truck's driver that one day he would miss the Bush days; Geep said that things are so bad now that he does miss those "halcyon days." He also used the song "Maida Hill" as a lead-in to a history lesson about the aggression committed over time by the British Empire.
The Chairman's latest CD release is an acoustic recording of Squeezing Out Sparks to celebrate that album's fortieth anniversary, and he played seven of those classic songs to give an idea to the fans what they will hear if they pick up this acoustic release. (Some years ago I heard him perform the album live in its entirety. See 2006 Dec. 2 and 2006 Dec. 3.) He also played four songs from his latest album Cloud Symbols. Another song that I very much enjoyed hearing was "Museum Piece" (a rare song that is familiar to Geep completists as it is on The Art Vandelay Tapes). It's a tirade against the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame with a bit of sour grapes over not having a chance of getting in. It's also a very catchy song that has played in my mental jukebox for the last few days.
Graham wore a plain shirt, sports coat, and trousers all in various shades of gray. And he also wore a fancy fedora with a hatband and an attractive pattern. He was happy to show it off to the crowd. I only saw the top of his head once, when he removed the hat to put the kazoo holder in place. (He didn't play any harmonica songs in this show.)
The show was opened by singer/songwriter James Maddock, a transplanted Englishman now living in New York. Although he plays and sings well, he doesn't have much stage presence (hardly talks to the audience) and I wasn't tremendously impressed. I think his songs might be best enjoyed in the recorded format.
The Greenwich Odeum is a very nice place to see a show, easily accessible from Rte. 95. The staff there have worked hard over the past few years to renovate it, and it looks very nice, has comfy seats, and plenty of free parking in the area. The only thing I didn't like was the black backdrop on the stage, making the pictures look as if they were taken in front of a black screen.
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