Richard Thompson: Bristol Beacon – Live Review

Richard Thompson
Bristol Beacon
May 26, 2024

Guitar legend RicThompson picks in style at the Bristol Beacon. Elfyn Griffith relishes it.

It is a family business. Richard Thompson, British folk royalty, one of the most revered guitarists in music, is on stage with his wife, American singer Zara Phillips, and his nephew Zac Hobbs on second guitar. Family groupings are nothing new for Thompson, of course, as he and his wife Linda were a popular tour de force after Thompson left UK folk-rock giants Fairport Convention in 1971.

Thompson does well in groups, duos or solo, but seems to have more power on his own at times. Tonight, with all due respect to his band, which includes ex-Fairport drummer Dave Mattacks and his usual bassist Troy Prodannuk, there are moments when the focus shifts a bit in a few numbers, with Thompson’s masterful and innovative guitar playing the main thing that pull back. together.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a good gig with a lot of great songs by an extremely talented singer-songwriter. But the absolute standout moment is halfway through the set, when the band walks off and Thompson delivers a stunning solo performance of Beeswing, which he wrote thirty years ago, his deep, singing voice and soulful acoustic 12-string chords (a music subtle highland). the heart) immensely powerful and moving.

Wearing a black beret with a star and strapping on a red Stratocaster, Thompson taps into his extensive catalog, kicking off the evening with a track from his latest album Ship To Shore (out this week), Freeze’s intricate folk rock, his charming guitar from the beginning. . This is the first of a handful from tonight’s album, including the storytelling weirdness of The Old Pack Mule, the haunting Singapore Sadie and The Day that I Give In. While Hard On Me’s overlong jam-out strays a bit from its folk-rock/country influence, the rare melancholic beauty of Richard & Linda Thompson’s Withered and Died is perfect.

Thompson has always had a unique sound that enhances each of his numbers, implementing a style of playing bass notes and rhythms with a choice between the first finger and the thumb, adding melody and punctuation by plucking the high strings with his fingers, and also varying. his agreements. This, along with his deep sonorous voice – which sounds alluringly Geordie, despite being a Londoner with Scottish roots – and his soulful songwriting, flavor all his material, from tonight’s rocking Turning of the Tide, the slow, noir-esque ballad Hand of Kindness. , the Tom-Waits-ish theatricality of Al Bowlly’s In Heaven , the country melody of Take Care The Road You Chose and all the rest. Nephew Zak has clearly learned from the best and compliments his own breaks well, battling gramps on guitar and mandolin

Thompson’s stories of love, loss and redemption, community and counterculture also nod to the pointless futility and horrors of war, with Sandy Denny’s John The Gun and the dark intensity of his own Guns Are The Tongues. Ending the set with the tearful Tear Stained Letter, he returns solo for an encore of the stirring Dimming of the Day, the song he sang with Linda Thompson that has been so widely covered and which he delivers superbly. The band returns to the stage, Thompson dons a Rickenbacker and launches into a glorious sounding cover of The Bells Of Rhymney by The Byrds.

The rousing final number, Jealous Words, echoes around this beautifully restored and refurbished Bristol landmark. Fitting for the icon that is Richard Thompson.

Richard Thompson is on tour until June 8th. Follow Richard Thompson and Facebook or Twitter/X.

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Words by Elfyn Griffith. Elfyn tweets Here

Photos by Rob Scott