An artist and his instrument

[pcqgod]

When I for the first time in life saw Jonathan Richman perform live about two years ago, I was somewhat surprised that his backing "band" was basically a drummer and some percussion instruments he picked up during various songs to accompany himself. On certain songs, the drummer sat out entirely, leaving Jonathan free to stop and start songs as he wished and tailor the performance to the situation, sometimes purposely not singing in the mike so that the people in the audience would have to crowd up to the stage to hear him. That made me think of other similar performances I had seen when it was basically an artist with his chosen instrument on stage. Michael Nesmith thrived in this setting when I saw back in the early 90's; his songs seemed tailor-made for this kind of intimate, conversational performance. I recall Nick Lowe doing a good job transposing his pop hits to acoustic performance. Ben Folds, on the occasion I saw him, played with a backing band but also played several songs, including "Army" unaccompanied except for his own piano. At one point, he actually climbed on top of it to help "direct" audience members singing the horn parts in the song.

What are some memorable performances you've seen featuring only an artist and his instrument?

[Tactful Cactus]

Good question. I saw Jonathan Richman last November aswell, in Boston! He's one of the few artists I'd associate with that city so I was delighted he was playing there while I was in town. The performance was very similar to how you described it. It was a bit shambolic but really spellbinding. He actually finished the concert with a Sicilian poem! Memorable.

Another example would be seeing Angel Olson, she played with a band but performed White Fire alone with guitar and it was a really stunning pairing of guitar and vocal. I'll never forget that

[Jimbo]

Saw Graham Parker with just a guitar. He'd switch from electric to acoustic. I wished he'd had a band. It was like Graham Parker: busker.

Oh, and Neil Young with just a guitar - - - in an arena. I wasn't familiar with his work beyond Southern Girl and songs from that era so it was a huge bore and a waste of money.

[ConnyOlivetti]

The master of it... Peter Hammill

[Geezee]

No, the master of it is Robin Williamson. It's awe-inspiring.

I'd also throw Guy Clark in there - I mean he also made the damn guitars he was playing...I recall seeing him play an early version of The Guitar as well, and that was pretty incredible.

[Hightea]

stunning live performances by instrument

Drums: Tony Williams, Max Roach, Buddy Rich
Guitar: Jorma, Neil Young, Andreas segovia, Joe Pass, John Williams, Julian Bream
Bass: Jaco
Piano: Tori Amos, Oscar Peterson, MCCoy Tyner,

[pcqgod]

Drums: Tony Williams, Max Roach, Buddy Rich

Whoa. I am the color of Shrek right now.

[pcqgod]

Saw Graham Parker with just a guitar. He'd switch from electric to acoustic. I wished he'd had a band. It was like Graham Parker: busker.

Oh, and Neil Young with just a guitar - - - in an arena. I wasn't familiar with his work beyond Southern Girl and songs from that era so it was a huge bore and a waste of money.

I actually should have asked if some people think it's a waste of time seeing an artist who usually plays in a band play a solo set. Obviously, I'm in the camp that thinks a completely solo set can be a rewarding experience.

[Hightea]

Drums: Tony Williams, Max Roach, Buddy Rich

Whoa. I am the color of Shrek right now.

Well they were all back in the late 70's and early 80's. I'm so glad I got sick of punk quickly and became a jazz fan so was able to see lots of jazz in NYC before some of the greats were lost.

[Jimbo]

Saw Graham Parker with just a guitar. He'd switch from electric to acoustic. I wished he'd had a band. It was like Graham Parker: busker.

Oh, and Neil Young with just a guitar - - - in an arena. I wasn't familiar with his work beyond Southern Girl and songs from that era so it was a huge bore and a waste of money.

I actually should have asked if some people think it's a waste of time seeing an artist who usually plays in a band play a solo set. Obviously, I'm in the camp that thinks a completely solo set can be a rewarding experience.

It was a person like me about whom Kurt Colbain got all snarky when he sang, "Here we are now. Entertain us."

[Charlie O.]

Jimbo: "Play 'Southern Girl'!"

Neil: "Just for that, I'm gonna play all of Greendale again."

[Neige]

Memory might play tricks on me, but I think I saw a solo Maria McKee touring her 'difficult' third album Life Is Sweet alone, with a really dirty-sounding electric guitar (or at least the rhythm section wasn't memorable at all). I was riveted for the whole show.

[Spock!]

First time I saw Jonathan Richman was a solo performance in Eric's, Liverpool. It was fantastic, seen him since with a band & the solo performance was more memorable.


Lol Coxhill was good, but not great on the occasion I saw him (Liberty Hall, Everyman Theatre).




Not sure if the rest count; artists like Ketil Bjornstad who was phenomenal, the richness of the live sound making the recorded works sound diminished, Martin Simpson, Larry Johnson, Steve Tilston, Pete Rowan, Yoko Ono (classical pianist) & Vin Garbutt as they are often solo (I guess Pete Rowan often plays with others).

[harvey k-tel]

An artist and his instrument, yesterday:

[Muskrat]

Pretty much a lost art.

[trans-chigley express]

I've seen Roy Harper a few times with just him and his guitar, always worth seeing.

John Renbourne solo is spellbinding.

Gordon Giltrap is an equally spellbinding acoustic guitarist and he's also chatty and funny so some nice between song banter.

Steve Hackett was another good solo performance to watch, probably actually better than when he was with a band.

[Jimbly]

Jackie Leven - master storyteller
My brother
Bruce Molsky - Old Time American folk musician.

Most folkies tour solo as it keeps costs down.

Greg Lake - Songs of A Lifetime. Worst gig ever.

[Charlie O.]

Greg Lake - Songs of A Lifetime. Worst gig ever.

Not that I was a fan, but you've piqued my curiosity. What made it so outstandingly awful?

[Bent Fabric]

Greg Lake - Songs of A Lifetime. Worst gig ever.

Not that I was a fan, but you've piqued my curiosity. What made it so outstandingly awful?

I like ITCOTCK and a small amount of ELP, but...there was a sort of "highlight reel" doing the rounds on YouTube at one point (presumably still there) that portrayed a certain grimness.

[Jimbly]

Greg Lake - Songs of A Lifetime. Worst gig ever.

Not that I was a fan, but you've piqued my curiosity. What made it so outstandingly awful?

Bearing in mind that growing up I was a huge ELP fan and I never saw them live as a group. I'd seen both Emerson and Palmer live solo, and enjoyed the gigs. Emerson was a bit past his prime and couldn't play the way he used to but was still trying to play as fast, it was a bit sloppy. Palmer was fantastic, small venue no frills, no ego either which surprised me a bit and came across as just a guy loving to play the drums.

So I was going with years of goodwill and my teenage self well to the fore, looking forward to the gig. It was billed as Songs of A Lifetime and part of that would be a conversation between Lake and the audience. Rather than one man and a guitar, it was one man, a guitar and a shit load of backing tracks.

He would start a song playing acoustic guitar and then magically play the electric guitar solo and then back to acoustic when the solo finished. I know you can get set ups that do this didn't look right. His playing in general was clumsy and given that he was primarily a guitar player rather than a bass player, it was surprising.

The main issue I had was that he came across as if he was still a major rock star, the venue held around 200-300. He decried "punk rock" for having no talent etc etc. His stories were all well known to any fan of ELP or King Crimson. The sleeve of the first Crimson album, the moog solo on Lucky Man, they headlined California Jam. No insight, no perspective. He spoke about seeing Elvis live and then played Heartbreak Hotel, awful version. No nothing about why Elvis was so important to him. Same with The Beatles, he spoke about how HE toured with Ringo and then murdered You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.

And then there was the audience questions. One guy asked what tips he would give his daughter, sitting next to him, of making a career in the music business. If me and my mate hadn't been in the middle of the row we would have left.

There are clips on YouTube, I dare you to have a look.