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Leo Kottke
Sep. 29th, 2012 08:00 pmWe saw Leo Kottke out in Brookfield, at the Wilson Center.
Kottke is a true master. I'd heard he had arthritis pretty bad, or some kind of pain that caused him to have to slow down his playing. If that's true, I couldn't tell. I just looked him up, and it says he had to change his playing and picking style, due to painful tendonitis and related nerve damage.
If you're unfamiliar with Leo Kottke, check out this video of "The Last Steam Engine Train.". Kottke got his start in the late sixties, this video was recorded about 20 years ago, and the version I heard earlier tonight was way better than this one. It was the same basic tune, but it had a lot more embellishments.
Wikipedia says, "Focusing primarily on instrumental composition and playing, Kottke also sings sporadically, in an unconventional yet expressive baritone famously self-described as sounding like "geese farts on a muggy day". In concert, Kottke intersperses humorous and often bizarre monologues with vocal and instrumental selections from throughout his career, played solo on his signature 6- and 12-string guitars."
I would say his monologues were often humorous, sometimes bizarre and rambling, and occasionally pointless. He's a funny guy, but sometimes we were just wondering, wha?. At one point, he stopped talking, and the audience was silent. After a moment he said, "well I thought it was funny."
He played for an hour, using the 12-string in the first third of the show. He got beautiful tones from it, even when he wasn't showing off.
For his encore, he did Duane Allman's "Little Martha."
Then we saw the headliner, Shawn Colvin. I wasn't familiar with her work, but Leo Kottke was playing, and I figured it would be a good opportunity to check her out. I wasn't extremely impressed. Disappointed, actually. She's a singer/songwriter/guitarist. She's good but not spectacular. I'd rate her on the level of a good local artist. My favorite songs that she played were covers - Tom Waits's "Hold On" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."
Kottke is a true master. I'd heard he had arthritis pretty bad, or some kind of pain that caused him to have to slow down his playing. If that's true, I couldn't tell. I just looked him up, and it says he had to change his playing and picking style, due to painful tendonitis and related nerve damage.
If you're unfamiliar with Leo Kottke, check out this video of "The Last Steam Engine Train.". Kottke got his start in the late sixties, this video was recorded about 20 years ago, and the version I heard earlier tonight was way better than this one. It was the same basic tune, but it had a lot more embellishments.
Wikipedia says, "Focusing primarily on instrumental composition and playing, Kottke also sings sporadically, in an unconventional yet expressive baritone famously self-described as sounding like "geese farts on a muggy day". In concert, Kottke intersperses humorous and often bizarre monologues with vocal and instrumental selections from throughout his career, played solo on his signature 6- and 12-string guitars."
I would say his monologues were often humorous, sometimes bizarre and rambling, and occasionally pointless. He's a funny guy, but sometimes we were just wondering, wha?. At one point, he stopped talking, and the audience was silent. After a moment he said, "well I thought it was funny."
He played for an hour, using the 12-string in the first third of the show. He got beautiful tones from it, even when he wasn't showing off.
For his encore, he did Duane Allman's "Little Martha."
Then we saw the headliner, Shawn Colvin. I wasn't familiar with her work, but Leo Kottke was playing, and I figured it would be a good opportunity to check her out. I wasn't extremely impressed. Disappointed, actually. She's a singer/songwriter/guitarist. She's good but not spectacular. I'd rate her on the level of a good local artist. My favorite songs that she played were covers - Tom Waits's "Hold On" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."
