Graham Parker ~ 2004 December 31 ~ Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA
Graham Parker (vocals and guitar); Mike Gent (guitar, backing vocals); with a bass player and drummer
Set List (first set)
Devil's Sidewalk - That's What They All Say - Fools' Gold - I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down - Love Gets You Twisted - Local Girls - Here It Comes Again - Temporary Beauty - Hipshake {Slim Harpo} - If You Need Me {Wilson Pickett} - Get Started. Start a Fire
Set List (second set)
Discovering Japan - Local Girls - Hotel Chambermaid - Love Gets You Twisted - Here It Comes Again - That's What They All Say - Tornado Alley - Temporary Beauty - If You Need Me {Wilson Pickett } [a reggae version] - Hipshake {Slim Harpo} - Get Started. Start a Fire) - [GP put down his guitar for the rest of the show] - Soul Shoes - Cry To Me {Solomon Burke} [duet with Bill Janovitz] - Protection
Review
I've been to Boston's First Night a number of times, but never in my experience has this family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration booked a musician of the stature of Graham Parker. He played the probably too-big Orpheum Theater, where the actual GP fans clustered into the first three or four rows, and the rest of the auditorium was populated by New Year's Eve partiers coming in to check him out. He played with a band consisting of Mike Gent on guitar and backing vocals, a bass player, and drummer. Mike Gent (of power pop band The Figgs) is a long-time musical sidekick of Graham's and organized the band and the music for this New Year's Eve show. At one point Geep started to introduce the band, and then joked that he didn't even know their names. No matter; they sounded great and it was gratifying to see the Chairman play in such a big venue with a big crowd. Some in the audience had First Night noisemakers, which added to the generally upbeat mood of the evening.
GP played two sets. The first was 11 songs, the second 14. He did repeat 8 songs in the second set, which was a mild disappointment, but since he was playing with musicians he'd never met before (other than Mike), I suppose it's excellent that they found the time to learn 17 songs. Many of the songs were from GP's first four albums -- the only song from the current album (Your Country) was "Tornado Alley" (which was GREAT!!!). He also mixed quite a bit of Rolling Stones into the musical stew, performing three R&B songs that many fans associated with The Stones but were all originated by other musicians (Wilson Pickett's "If You Need Me," Slim Harpo's "Hip Shake," and Solomon Burke's "Cry To Me.")
The sound was very good and the backing band (who are an actual band, The Gentlemen) were good. Mike Gent obviously loves playing with GP -- I saw him singing along numerous times when he wasn't even on mike. Mike Gent was the lead guitarist, but I was very pleased that GP himself played as much lead (or more) than Mike did. GP's guitar work on "Get Started. Start a Fire" was especially good. He had two guitars, both electrics, a Fender and a Gibson, but he only played the Gibson on one song (the second set's version of "Get Started").
GP didn't banter with the audience as much as in his solo shows last winter, but it wasn't a GP crowd -- there were a dozen or so GP fans in the first couple of rows and the rest of the large crowd were people who were taking in Boston's First Night. A musical highlight was the cover of "Hipshake." The end of the second set was a lot of fun, when GP put down the guitar and concentrated on vocals for the last three songs, and had a chance to do the Rock Star, striking some poses and loosening two buttons on his shirt.
An incident late in the second show provided a glimpse into GP's personality. When Mike Gent's guitar had a technical problem, a guitar tech came for it, but it wasn't something you could fix instantly, and for a few moments the band couldn't start the next song. GP said to Mike: "You can use my guitar." That remark indicates a lack of an ego problem, in my opinion. Not every star would hand his guitar over to his accompanist quite so readily.
Prior to GP's first set, and between his two sets, local rockster Bill Janovitz performed. Graham asked him back up on stage to sing on "Cry To Me" during the second set.
More Chairman
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