Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, everyone:

I took a friend last night who has never seen Roger play. The concert was held at the Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, CT. It is a very cozy and intimate place-- 250 seats.
Much of the show was the same, opening with My Back Pages and going through his life story. By the way, he had a BLACK McGuinn 12-string Rick, the Martin 12, the Martin 7, and a banjo. However:

1) he did tell some different anecdotes to many of the songs

2) he played two one-hour sets-- with a 15 minute intermission

3) he played the Martin 12-string more than he usually does, although the 7-string was used the most

4) he played the Rick for a few more songs than he usually does

5) he did some different songs-- including 1977's "Russian Hill" on the Martin 12-- it was beautiful and the audience loved it

6) he did a great version of "Just A Season" and "Black Mt. Rag" (my friend was very impressed with Roger's picking)

7) he did some songs with which I was not familiar-- but they were fairly good, including one during his encore

Great job on the Rick with "Chimes of Freedom" and "All I Really Want To Do"-- he ended with "May the Road Rise to Meet You"

I got to talk with Camilla, his wife, for 10 minutes before the concert. To my utter amazement, she actually remembered me!!!! As always,she was friendly. I asked her about the long-awaited DVD on Roger's life that was supposed to be released in January. She, as usual, was most vague, smiling and saying "Oh, you know, Karl, these things always take a long time. We are still waiting for some of the talking heads (Judy Collins, Springsteen, etc to sign the release waivers, etc). Then, when I asked what Roger was going to do next, she said: "oh-- he always has various projects that he has in his head!!!! It just takes so long,he's such a perfectionist." She mentioned how LONG it took to record his latest--CCD (the collection of sea shanties).

I didn't even bother to ask about why Roger doesn't play more of his 12-string Rick!!!!! Members might remember that I posted her reply to that question last year-- that the 12-string Rickenbacker was too strident and should be used only for part of the concert. BUT-- she told me that the reason Roger doesn't come out to speak with fans anymore is because, several years ago, he used to catch their colds and such. She claims that they had to cancel some gigs because of this!!! She smiled and said-- "so, I have to brave the fans and get sick."

Overall, it was an entertaining concert. Roger's voice was excellent (although at times, it seemed that his vocal cords were somewhat tired!!! I'm glad that I went. Hey, Roger even spoke to me on stage during the concert. He was beginning to explain to the crowd how Gene Clark and he had written a song that went on to become a Top Ten hit for another group. He then challenged the audience: "Hey, does anyone here know which group it was?????? One second later, I shouted "the Turtles." Of course, the song was "You Showed Me." My answer was so fast and so easy that Roger laughed and said to me:
"I see that you have been coming to some of my shows!!!!!

Great report! Wish he'd get island fever and play Guam sometime.

Great story, I believe that I will go to his website to see if he is playing anywhere nearby, anytime soon.

Great report, Karl. It sounds like it was a fantastic show. I would be interested to know why Roger played so many shows last year (I'm thinking between 60 and 80) and has only 10 or so booked this year. In 2011, he was all over the US, in Europe for a couple of months, and even did a gig in South America. This year, hardly anything. It just seems like something is going on..... Wish I knew what. They may continue to fill in his calendar as the year progresses, but last year's shows were announced early and all at once.
It is also good to hear that his guitar work is back to normal. Thanks for the review. Tom

Tom:

I forgot to mention that Camilla told me that she and Roger were tired--especially from the grueling schedule last year. She said that she was even more tired than Roger and that they would love to return home to Orlando, Fla.

Karl,

Thanks for the detailed report on Roger's show at the Old Saybrook. I would love to have seen him play two one hour sets (the last time I saw him he played only one relatively short set). More of his 370/12 is always a good thing: for me, "Chimes of Freedom" alone would have been worth the price of admission. I would also have enjoyed hearing him play a few more songs on his 12-string acoustic. And all the traditional folk songs would have been welcome to my ears. I always enjoy his running commentary between songs (even if it gets a bit repetitive show after show). Too bad he's playing considerably fewer shows these days. Maybe that explains why he hasn't been here for ages!

Robert

Karl, thanks for the detailed report! I too would have loved to have seen him play for two hours. It's no wonder that Roger feels tired after that. He did play alot of shows last year. It's interesting how Roger mixes up which Rick he uses, but he still sounds great regardless. When I saw him last year in NJ, I think (but I'm not certain) he had his third (and final) 370/12 from The Byrds. That guitar also appears during his interview on the DVD "Stars And Their Guitars".