I'm in the middle of a little flurry of gigs
at the moment. Last week, I finally caught up
with Micah P.Hinson, 10 years after his
brilliant debut 'The Gospel of Progress'. In
2010, I thought I'd lost any chance of ever
seeing Hinson in concert after he was involved in an horrific traffic accident. At
the time, doctors doubted he would ever
regain the use of his arms, but there he was,
alone on stage, accompanying himself on
guitar. On the night, he battled with
uncooperative technology and his own
frailty, but when he lent into the mic and
allowed that sonorous voice to flow, time
stood still.
Here's a version of 'She Don't
Own Me' recorded in Italy shortly before his accident.
Last night, I returned to the same venue for
erstwhile Green on Red frontman, Dan Stuart.
I don't remember exactly how many times I saw
his band in the 1980s and early 1990s, but it
must be in the region of 20. Dan effectively
disappeared from view in the mid-1990s, re-
emerging sporadically since 2005, but this is
the first time I've caught him live since
those halcyon days. He was aided and abetted
throughout his set by the formidable guitar
accompaniment of Antonio Gramentieri and the
wave of affection rolling from the audience
to the stage must surely have been palpable
to both men. Stuart was as sharp and witty as
always and the two of them played a wonderful
show. As they left the stage I looked around
the audience - we were an emotional bunch.
After the show, as I walked through the dark
streets towards the car park, I unexpectedly
bumped into Dan and Antonio loading their
guitars into a hire car. I just about held it
together as I shook their hands and thanked
them. Dan seemed genuinely moved that I'd
travelled just to see him and was gobsmacked
when I told him that I used to do 140 mile
round trips to see Green on Red in London. He
then apologised to me for forgetting the
words to one of his songs that evening! What
a guy.
Here's audience footage of Green on Red's classic 'Time Ain't Nothing' from Dan &
Antonio's London show last week.
Tuesday 29 April 2014
Catching Up with Micah and Dan
Labels:
Antonio Gramentieri,
Dan Stuart,
Green on Red,
Live,
Micah P.Hinson
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1 comment:
A couple of good nights out there TS...you lucky fellow...and what a way to end the evening, bumping in to your heroes....great story
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