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Marty Wilson-Piper |
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Marty Wilson-Piper is far from a household name, but for fans of moody and mysterious 80s Australian Rocker, The Church, and British Hippie-Goth band All About Eve, he is a legend. And speaking of mysterious, how many solo acoustic 12-string artists go on tour to promote themselves with only an electric guitarist and a full 1920's harpist with them? Far from the pretentiousness associated with his bands, Marty is a warm, comedic, chatty performer who made fun of everything from his own bands ("I'm going to chat for 20 years of not chatting in The Church!") to lampooning boy bands, Prince, hair metal, guitarists in general, etc. He had ample time to chat--between every song he tuned up is 12-string guitar. While his humor was a welcome addition to the show, his constant tuning became rather annoying. You don't come to a concert for the standup, however, and the real question is how was the music? I am happy to report that it was wonderful. Wilson-Piper is a truly expert rhythm guitarist, capable of pulling everything from complex melodies and charging rhythms out of his old, raggedy 12-string acoustic. His singing is passable at best (even he joked about being in that Tom Petty/Bob Dylan style of "vocalism" instead of really singing), but as long as he didn't try to hit high notes, he was ok. His playing was so strong and rhythmic that even without a drummer, you could still practically feel the beat. His accompanists (who were only with him for his California shows) were also very skilled, amiable sorts, and added adeptly and gracefully to the mix. He even teased the audience with a few bars of one of my personal favorite All About Eve songs called "Martha's Harbour" (a song from before he was in the band). You couldn't ask for more out of a small, intimate show with some expert musicians who were obviously enjoying themselves. |