My friend, Ursula, got tickets for this guy and invited me. I'd never heard of him but it was a rather dazzling evening.
Pearson himself is a Texan alcoholic with a Bengali's beard. He performs solo with an acoustic guitar that he played with chapel-quiet refinement but more often in a strummed style that was almost orchestral in size and power. I found myself feeling as stoned by the music as I was by music and dope after the Friday pub at 19. I've bought his album this afternoon, The Last of the Country Gentlemen. The songs are familiar but the performances are quieter and supplemented by some gorgeous, hymnal piano and raw fiddle. Quite different from the live show and utterly recommended.
He also tells alot of jokes, many of them dirty.
There were 4 other acts on the bill in the first half including Big Deal, a pair of teenage Yanks who sang about the agony of being unable to concentrate of their homework; and Cold Specks, a Canadian singer who seemed to use the authors of the King James Bible as her lyricists. Ursula thought Cold Specks had a great voice but the electric guitarist/singer/stomper who was backing her made the music remarkable by his elegantly spare guitar.
Pearson himself is a Texan alcoholic with a Bengali's beard. He performs solo with an acoustic guitar that he played with chapel-quiet refinement but more often in a strummed style that was almost orchestral in size and power. I found myself feeling as stoned by the music as I was by music and dope after the Friday pub at 19. I've bought his album this afternoon, The Last of the Country Gentlemen. The songs are familiar but the performances are quieter and supplemented by some gorgeous, hymnal piano and raw fiddle. Quite different from the live show and utterly recommended.
He also tells alot of jokes, many of them dirty.
Q: What's the worst thing about fucking a goat?
A: You have to go all the way round the front to give him a kiss.
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