George Lucas is quoted as saying that the video of a movie is only half the experience; the audio is the other half. I was reminded of this when we saw Leo Kottke in performance last Saturday night.
For a Leo concert experience I'll reverse that quote. For you unfortunate people that have never heard of Leo, he is quite simply the grandmaster of the finger picked twelve string guitar. (Yes, I know about the late Michael Hedges, who was fabulous. Leo once said "that guy has an octopus for a left hand".) Sometimes it sounds like there are two people playing.
He has an instantly recognizable style: Technically outrageous, very rhythmic (watch his performances below; his whole body bounces up and down to his playing) but beautifully melodic.
For the other half: He's just this regular guy from MInneapolis that walks out on stage in jeans and a button down shirt or blazer with two guitars. When he's not playing a tune he has this rambling, digressing monologue with himself about the tune he's about to play, what happened to him the other day, what it was like being beaten up as the new kid in town, working in a morgue, unknowingly telling Bob Dylan what he really thought of Bob's music...the list goes on. And while he's talking to you, he's absentmindedly playing random bits with a technique that most guitarists would give both thumbs to have. He has a surprisingly gravely voice - he once described his singing as "geese farts on a muggy day" - and a very dry delivery. He's hilarious in a really unique way. He's not trying to be a comic; he's just really funny. His "LIve" CD does a pretty good job of capturing his live performance.
He performed an hour and twenty minute set with no break, playing a selection of tunes from his 40-year career. And he doesn't look that age either :). Two of my favorites are "Little Martha", and, especially, "Rings". I didn't embed it into this entry because it deserves to be seen in its own window (and be sure to switch to high quality). This is a good distillation of Leo, and he often closes with it: Monologue, humor, spontaneity, singing, musicality, technique, and sheer love for what he's doing.
He never comes to Dallas, that hotbed of folk music and college kids (not), but if he should make it to your town (like Sacramento or Denver or Olympia), don't miss him.
No comments:
Post a Comment