Roger McGuinn in Davis Last Night
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:54 am
Saw Roger McGuinn's solo concert at the beautiful Mondavi Center in Davis, California last night. This was his first show since breaking his wrist last December, and it was wonderful. The place was packed.
He came out with the Rick 370/12 and opened with "Mr. Tambourine Man", then sat down among his Rick, a banjo, a Martin 12 string acoustic and the Martin 7 string he helped develop. His voice was excellent throughout the 90 minute performance (yes, it could have been longer, but hey...he's doing it alone). He looked great, and his playing was excellent. He is a great storyteller, very easy to listen to, very entertaining.
I was a little disappointed that he played "Bells of Rhymney" (one of my favorite Byrd tunes) on the acoustic 7 string rather than either of the 12 strings. But it worked, and sounded great. On the Rick 12, he played "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Mr. Spaceman", "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star", "Turn, Turn, Turn ," and "My Back Pages." A nice assortment.
Oddly enough, he played only one song, "On Easter Morn He Rose" on the acoustic 12 string. I could have heard a bunch more, as that Martin 12 string sounds gorgeous. Maybe 3 tunes on the banjo. The lion's share of songs were played on the 7 string. Whether this is typical, or might have something to do with his wrist fracture, who knows?
I'm so glad I got the chance to see this piece of Rock & Roll (and music in general) history. This is not a "dinosaurs of rock" act that should have retired decades ago (we can all think of some of those). McGuinn is the real thing, and I would highly recommend seeing him if you get the opportunity.
He came out with the Rick 370/12 and opened with "Mr. Tambourine Man", then sat down among his Rick, a banjo, a Martin 12 string acoustic and the Martin 7 string he helped develop. His voice was excellent throughout the 90 minute performance (yes, it could have been longer, but hey...he's doing it alone). He looked great, and his playing was excellent. He is a great storyteller, very easy to listen to, very entertaining.
I was a little disappointed that he played "Bells of Rhymney" (one of my favorite Byrd tunes) on the acoustic 7 string rather than either of the 12 strings. But it worked, and sounded great. On the Rick 12, he played "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Mr. Spaceman", "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star", "Turn, Turn, Turn ," and "My Back Pages." A nice assortment.
Oddly enough, he played only one song, "On Easter Morn He Rose" on the acoustic 12 string. I could have heard a bunch more, as that Martin 12 string sounds gorgeous. Maybe 3 tunes on the banjo. The lion's share of songs were played on the 7 string. Whether this is typical, or might have something to do with his wrist fracture, who knows?
I'm so glad I got the chance to see this piece of Rock & Roll (and music in general) history. This is not a "dinosaurs of rock" act that should have retired decades ago (we can all think of some of those). McGuinn is the real thing, and I would highly recommend seeing him if you get the opportunity.
The last time he was here (that I know of) was around 2003 ..touring with Judy Colins...at the Starlight. It was good but I would like to see Roger in a solo performance.