(This review first appeared in issue #55 of Shindig! magazine)
RYLEY
WALKER & DANNY THOMPSON / MEG BAIRD
Ropery
Hall, Barton-upon-Humber
SUNDAY
21st FEBRUARY
Tonight's venue sits a
stones throw from the Humber Bridge, formerly the world's longest
single span suspension bridge. Inside the hall it's continental and
generational gaps that are being spanned, not rivers. Despite the
50-year age difference, the Walker/Thompson pairing is for many a
dream billing.
Completing tonight's
constellation is Meg Baird, whose opening set holds the audience in
rapt awe. A drizzly night
outside, “I love the rain... don't take your water for granted”
she tells the audience before a
stunning version of 'Don't Weigh Down the Light', a song
written during California's recent droughts. Bless the weather
indeed!
Though it's Sunday
evening Walker takes a Saturday-sized swig of whisky before an
hour-long set of mostly new material. At 76, Danny Thompson's hard
drinking days may be over but his playing is as masterful and fluid
as ever, his treasured Victoria bass as majestic live as on those
classic recordings. His playing proves the perfect foil for Walker's
fervent freewheeling. There are familiar tracks – 'Primrose Green',
a reworked 'Summer Dress' and an encore of 'On the Banks of the Old
Kishwaukee', but it's the new songs that impress most; whether
exploring a young man's blues on 'Sullen Mind', the dark side of bar
room life on 'Roundabout', or reflecting on relationships on 'Funny
Thing She Said', signs look good for that third album.
Walker is visibly
thrilled to be accompanied by the legendary double bassist, with
Thompson equally happy to be back out on the road. “Beats watching
Flog It!” he deadpans. Amen to that!
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