I was at the Glen Campbell concert in Vicar Street on Saturday. This was the fifth concert I planned to go to in a nine day period that included two concerts on the same day and three in the same venue.
This was the schedule:
- Friday 16 April 13:05 Max Greenwood in the John Field Room of the National Concert Hall
- Friday 16 April 20:00 love:live music Dublin flagship performance at The Button Factory
- Sunday 18 April 15:15 Big Band Divas at the National Concert Hall
- Friday 23 April 13:05 Derby Browne – April in Paris in the John Field Room of the National Concert Hall
- Saturday 24 April 20:30 Glen Campbell supported by Mike Bartlett at Vicar Street
I don’t think I’ve ever gone to such a run of concerts before, but I was looking forward to all of them. Different musical styles, different venues and a couple of artists I knew nothing about; not a bad concert recipe.
The run ended with Glen Campbell last Saturday and don’t think I could’ve picked a better concert to finish on.
I like Glen Campbell’s music, but I think it wouldn’t have been fair to say I was a fan. I am now.
I went to the concert knowing he was in his seventies and thinking that if he can nail a few of his classics on the night (and one in particular) I’d go away happy. He did much more than that.
He came on stage after the excellent support by Mike Bartlett and for the rest of the night he entertained, joked, sang, played wonderful guitar, introduced his very talented family and held the audience in the palm of his hand.
Many people there appeared to be devoted fans, but there was a large contingent that was just out for good night. I’d be surprised if they didn’t go home thrilled that they saw a complete professional who can still deliver a great performance.
He started with John Hartford’s beautiful track Gentle on My Mind. What a way to start. Here’s a clip showing him in action.
He followed that up with many of his other hits including By the Time I Get to Phoenix and one of my all-time favourites Wichita Lineman.
Wichita Lineman is one of those songs that make me stop what I’m doing. I’m sure you have songs like that too. You know the way it works, you’re busy in your own little world and your hear Elvis doing I Just Can’t Help Believing or Pink Floyd playing Wish You Were Here and you just have to stop and listen, you’ve no choice. I’m sure you have different songs that do that to you but for me Wichita Lineman does it every time.
There were a few unexpected treats during the night also. He did Duelling Banjos with his daughter Ashley, Jackson with his daughter Debbie, a damn fine version of U2′s All I Want Is You and Mason William’s instrumental Classical Gas. All through this his son Cal showed his skill on the drums.
Was there anything I didn’t like about the concert?
Well this is being really picky but I missed the brass in Gentle on My Mind.
What were the highlights?
I found it really hard to pick anything in particular so I asked P and after thinking about for a few seconds she said that she loved the song Postcard From Paris written by Jimmy Webb. She hadn’t heard it before and loved the way Glen Campbell sang it.
And what wasn’t to love? His voce and guitar playing was excellent. The band, including his family, was superb. If I could I’d go see him again tomorrow.
I only recently discovered that Glen Campbell was a much sought after session guitarist at the beginning of his musical career. He played with very tight group of musicians that became known as The Wrecking Crew. There’s a documentary directed by Denny Tedesco that tells the story of these musicians and if you ever get a chance you definitely should watch it.
The list the artists that benefitted from their talents is huge. There’s a good chance that many of the much loved classic 60′s songs you’re familiar with were helped by The Wrecking Crew. As a session musician Glen Campbell played on tracks for Bobby Darin, The Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Troggs, Jan & Dean, and The Mamas & the Papas, naming but a few.
At this point I feel I should tell you about the other four concerts.
I only got to three of them as the Big Band Divas, which promised music remembering great female vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday didn’t happen. We were bringing P’s parents but it got cancelled as the musicians and singers were grounded by volcanic ash.
Of the other gigs I think the one the stood out was the traditional music concert at The Button Factory. It was my first time there since they renamed it and I loved it. It’s a super place for a concert and having a couple of pints listening to Slide, Fidil and the duo Brendan Begley and Caoimhín O Raghallaigh. All the musicians were brilliant, but for me Slide stole the show. I plan to get their third CD Overneath in the next few days.
The other two concerts were in the John Field Room of The National Concert Hall. They were part of a lunchtime series and they were artists I’d never seen or heard of before.
The first was Max Greenwood who sang and played the piano. He had a double bass player and a drummer there too and I thought the music they created was really good. I wasn’t a fan of the singing style but the audience was and they appeared to be really enjoying every song he sang.
And finally Derby Browne treated us to an hour of songs, mainly in French, inspired by the Boulevards and romantic cafes of Paris. I knew a few of the songs with included La Vie En Rose, Boom! Why Does My Heart Go Boom? and Where Do I Begin, the theme to Love Story.
It took a while before I got used to her style of delivery. She was helped by a piano and a wonderful accordion – I could have listened to that accordion all day and if I closed my eyes I could almost believe I was in a cafe in Paris.
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