We were glad to see R.T. back in town last night -- especially at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, a very nice venue with good acoustics (and a much shorter drive for us than going into Seattle). From the way he spoke, he was quite glad to be touring again. He pointed out that the pandemic has been awful for live music, but for him, at least, it was a good time to write and record. His set included a few songs from his new CD,
Bloody Noses and Serpent's Tears.
The man was in fine voice and fine form on guitar. He was also in good humor, telling the story behind "Walking the Long Miles Home." He said his family moved from central London to the far suburbs when he was a teenager -- just as he was getting into music. As a result, he had to take the buses to get to clubs like the Marquee, "where you would see The Yardbirds on a Saturday night, then The Stones on Sunday, and then Tuesday, it would be The Who." (He wore a Who t-shirt last night; "My original one wore out, so I had to get a new one.") But those late shows often caused him to miss the last bus, resulting in a ten-mile walk home ... on school nights. "My grades slipped disastrously," he said. "That's the biggest reason I became a musician: I didn't have the academic credentials for anything else."
The second half of his set, he was joined onstage by singer Zara Phillips (who, I find out, is his partner offstage too). She added a fine dimension to the music. The only song I was disappointed in was "Walking on a Wire." He played it faster than the original, but not fast enough to make it seem like he was trying to rock things up; it felt more like he was trying to get the song over with.
Overall, it was a great night. For me, though, the biggest deterrent from live music may end up being the whining from other attendees, as they gripe and bitch and bristle under the restrictions set by the halls. "Come on, man, the entire rest of the world is opening back up, except for Washington!" I even heard one woman say, "Look at how packed the Super Bowl was, and
nobody died there!" Sheesh.
SETLIST:
Gethsemane
If I Could Live My Life Again
Genesis Hall
Valerie
Woods of Darney
Johnny's Far Away
Uninhabited Man
Walking on a Wire
Walking the Long Miles Home
1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Sunset Song
Wall of Death
The Rattle Within
Singapore Sadie
She Never Could Resist a Winding Road
Keep Your Distance
The Fortress
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
ENCORE 1:
Beeswing
ENCORE 2:
Tinker's Rhapsody
Lost in the Crowd
