Last night, we met Mark and Cindy at MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) for a Tommy Emmanuel concert. Joan and I have seen him live before, but he was even more animated for this crowd. Just TE and 3 different guitars. He had his own people running lights and sound, but it was a sparse stage setting...
He had the crowd going from the start of his first song. If you aren't familiar, TE is one of the most talented guitar players... ever. He plays his own arrangements of popular songs, as well as originals. You don't have to be a guitar player to appreciate his playing... but, if you are a guitar player, you will be even more impressed.
I was concerned that I may have "over sold" what to expect to Mark... and he was just as awe-struck as I was. Joan and Cindy were impressed, too (Cindy said, "That is one of the best concerts I've ever seen!"). Take the 3 best guitar players you've ever heard; have them play together... that is what Tommy Emmanuel sounds like playing solo.
During intermission (TE did two sets), Joan went to the "merch table" and got us each a t-shirt and got me a guitar pic. I told her the talent does come with the pic, and not to expect improved playing on my part.
The second set was equally impressive - the energy built, then he ended with a softer Paul Simon song. Of course, the crowd wanted an encore (not sometime I've often seen at MIM) - he came out and did an acapella song. To be fair, when you can play guitar like that, singing is secondary... he sang that last song with a lot of heart.
What a great evening's entertainment! And a spectacular venue at the MIM Theater.
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Music with the guys today at Mark's house. Of course, there was some discussion of last night's concert. And then, we made some music. One of the guys, Tom, who lives in Iowa but spends winters in Scottsdale, is here now. Two of the other guys couldn't make it today, but there were still 5 of us there.
3 comments:
Glad you enjoyed it. He put son a great show.
I saw TE here at our favorite venue in Boise a couple of years ago. Amazing concert, but the sound sucked. I knew we were in trouble when there were six foot high subwoofers on both sides of the stage. The show was amazing but hit 106 dBA on my calibrated iPhone sound meter app several times, in the back row. I had to wear ear earplugs for most of it which reduced the fun quotient quite a bit. I expect that MIM did a better job.
Hi Earl - the sound was outstanding at MIM for the concert. Not too loud, never felt the need for earplugs, but the sound filled the room nicely. Last time we saw TE, he and 3 other people were using about a dozen AER amps - I was surprised at how good that sound was. The acoustics are so good at MIM that someone on stage can talk without a mic and be heard (and he did that several times during the performance).
The acoustics at the Egyptian Theater here in Boise are excellent too. That is why it was surprising that they used such heavy-handed subwoofer amplification for a room that really does not need it. We have seen a number of acts in this room from Hawaiian slack-key to David Wilcox (solo guitar) to Gordon Lightfoot and never had issues before. Tommy has been the only problematic show. As someone who has designed audio systems and has worked the stage and run sound at festivals, poor audio is always particularly galling. I'm almost at the point of not seeing live music any longer unless it is purely acoustic. We have seen a show or two at MIM and they were great.
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