Tommy Emmanuel

[Risky]

Hi all

I saw Tommy Emmanuel last night at the Robin 2 in Bilston (a small town to the South-west of the twin cities of Bloxwich and Great Wyrley).

If you've never seen Tommy live you must - watching him play, you are convinced that he is not of this Earth - he even makes Ecca look like a normal human being

Never have I seen such constant abuse of a guitar sound so great - all of his guitars look like something found on a scrap heap but that is no wonder when you see how he plays. It was great to watch and hear him play that YouTube hit "Guitar Boogie" as well as Classical Gas. A lot of the audience called for "Initiation" which I had never heard before. Have a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x346VoDX3pA - gobsmacking - he said that it was a "work-in-progress" and I can confirm that last night's effort was even more atmospheric than the YouTube performance.

He's at the Shepherds Bush Empire tonight (Thu 3 Dec) followed by Southhampton (Fri) and Bristol (Sat) before he jets off to Israel.

I believe that he's back in the UK around April next year.

[Risky]

By the way...

If you want to know how he plays Classical Gas have a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgR3DMWLzsA&feature=related

Phil

[Bluesnote]

You forgot to mention the state of his amp too. I dont know what was in the worst condition. Guitar polish not a main priority with Tommy it would seem. I saw him years ago at the Martin Taylor guitar festival in Ayrshire. I was stunned at the sound he was getting from that old heap of junk(heap of junk being a Martin I believe) . No other help either, just himself playing. His pa system packed in during a song so he sang into the soundhole of his guitar so he could still be heard.
I dont think I've seen so much energy from a player before or after for that matter. He certainly stole the show He even outshone Martin

[John Boyd]

Risky,
Thank you for the links. Great playing and so very funny.
Cheers
JB

[Mikey]

Amazing! Makes me want to take my acoustic out of it's case...and smash it to pieces!
I'm hoping there's a ticket left for the Bristol gig on Saturday. I'm seeing the Bootleg Beatles there tomorrow night so might make it two gigs in a row.

[Risky]

The YouTube example of "Initiation" that I gave before was shot about 7 years ago. Here's a more up-to-date version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJELjuPSvuQ&feature=related

I'm not much into the technical stuff but I could see that he had a pair of Alesis Midiverbs that he was constantly twiddling (if that's the correct technical term )

JB - If you like his sense of humour have a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7wAEMIAhFs&feature=PlayList&p=EFCFE21B4C4693AD&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2 - brilliant

Drummers - have a look at this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZzUCuCosnE&feature=related - who needs to carry around a heavy drum set when you can use an acoustic guitar? Watch it all the way through. He played this also on Wednesday.

[cockroach]

Living in Australia for many years, I've seen Tommy quite a few times over the years, from the first time in about 1979 (playing lead guitar in a support band opening for Bob Marley & The Wailers)...he played mainly electric guitar back then (Telecaster/Fender amp)

Most recently, I saw him play here in Adelaide last June, confirming once again that, for me, if there is a better all round player in the world- let's hear him or her...and Tommy is an incredibly good entertainer too. He has had some health problems lately however (congenital heart condition)

Also saw Martin Taylor some years ago, he's another incredible musician too. As is the British player Richard Smith, and another Aussie, Bruce Mattiske.

Tommy has used and endorsed Australian Maton acoustic guitars for years, his electrics are Fender and Maton.

[Bojan]

Tommy played in Belgrade a few weeks ago, but unfortunately I was not able to go see him. He has been to Serbia several times and I'm hoping to catch him the next time he comes. He is extremely popular and well respected here.

[Mikey]

I had the pleasure of seeing Tommy at the Colston Hall in Bristol last night. i bought my ticket during the Bootleg Beatles gig on Friday! Incidentally, I've been going to the Bootleg's gigs for so many years now that they refer to me as Hank Marvin and I get a mention every year! (The last time I looked anything like HM was on my wedding pics in 1970!).
Anyway, back to Tommy. After reading the comments here and looking at the vid clips my expectations were high but they were exceeded. The guy is phenomenal! I could wax lyrical about the performance but the best thing is to see for yourself next April or as I have done too, buy one of his DVDs from Amazon.
One thing that marred the evening a bit and could have been of-putting for a performer was the number of people going to and from the bar during the performance. The theatre must have changed it's policy because it never used to be like that. We were privileged to see such a talented performer and I couldn't believe that someone could be so desparate for a pint that they could get up in the middle of it! Call me old fashioned and i too like a drink but to me it was the height of bad manners. Rant over

[guitarpicker]

I agree with you that in theatres and music clubs the bar should be closed till the interval to allow no disruption to the music - but the a lot of money is made over the bar which they are not going to turn down


Regards

Dave