Tommy Emmanuel Live 21st July 2007

Hmm.

I had no idea at the beginning of this week that after booking out from Tekong I would actually be going to watch a live performance by Tommy Emmanuel himself live in the Esplanade Theatres. However, I must say that I did have prior knowledge of the performance, only to forget about it due to the rigors of NS life, which during the week included various physical activities and the almighty rifle range, which proved both boring due to the waiting and exciting due to me having never fired with a rifle before.

So, the performance.

Having bought the tickets last minute through SISTIC, I managed to get to The Esplanade (for future reference I always pronounce the word "esplanade" as "ess-plar-n-aid", rather than the psuedo-highbrow "ess-pler-nard") half an hour before the start of the concert, which commenced at 7;30pm in the evening.

I paid my former colleagues at Maestro Guitars a visit, and accompanied them down to the entrance, before making my way to a seat on the 1st level (that is, one level above the main seating area which is directly in front of the stage). Owing to me entering the place for the first time, I was expecting to be awestruck by the supposed beauty of the place. While the concert hall was indeed beautiful, I have to admit it was of a beauty belonging to a modern age that is trying too hard to capture the spirit of renaissance grandeur.

The stage was sparse, only bedecked with 2 guitars on their stands, a microphone stand, 2 stage monitors and a personal amp and effects unit plus a piano stool for the man himself to use where appropriate. Bathed in a sublime blue light, I was eager to see the man so hyped by my former colleagues at Maestro who somewhat idolised him, and constantly played his songs at work both on the guitar and on the workstation.

Finally after about 5 minutes after settling down in my chair, the lights dimmed and Tommy Emmanuel came onstage to raucious applause. I have to say that watching him come onstage in person, so comfortable and feeling at home, makes me envy such a veteran performer. I myself would always feel somewhat nervous and a little jittery.

Launching into a barrage of country-style licks, he moved from pure passion to pure speed and technical ability and back again. However, at times I felt that Tommy was showing too much flash, too much "here I am, I'm playing guitar at a gazillion beats per minute". Then again, I suppose that that is my mentality as a player to churn out notes at an "as-per-necessary" rate.

Tommy set's consisted of many of his trademark songs, many of which I only know by ear, not by name. However, what truly struck me about his performance was the way he carried himself, how he shifted his posture to and fro as the mood of his music weaved in and out, tapping his foot to the beat. His showmanship was impeccable, and he actually managed to make a mainly Singaporean crowd rise to the occasion and applaude him where his performanced merited it. I particularly applaude him for his innovative use of echo and reverb to add a deep punch to his sound, his percussive tricks and somewhat gimmicky flashy actions.

One can't fault Mr Emmanuel for such stage wizardry because it was never done in excess but rather it did balance out a performance which would have been rather bland if such eye candy wasn't present.

Overall I must say that I was very impressed with his performance and his choice to run over-time from the originally planned timing of 1 hr and 30 mins to a full 2 hrs and 30 mins. he came, he played and he conquered, but unfortunately I was not converted. Say rather that my eyes were opened to a new level of showmanship based on an individual's performance. Being a team player I know many such tricks would devastate a group unless rehearsed religiously, and I am grateful that I am able to catch the man who has captured the imagination of so many.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy