Graham Parker ~ 2008 July 19 ~ The Turning Point, Piermont, NY
Setlist (with guitars noted)
Review
My traveling companion and I dawdled down Route 9W, taking in a lighthouse or two along the Hudson River. New York State lighthouses aren't the tall magnificent structures we have on the Cape. They're more of a house with a light on top -- but they also don't need to be seen 15 miles out to sea.
We arrived at the Turning Point in Piermont on the Hudson in midafternoon. It was another New York State scorcher of a day. We got a cold drink and sat under a tree at the nearby park. The helpful folks at the TP had given us 4:30 as a time to return to be first in line, so we did. I ordered a salad since it was the only thing I could imagine eating in that kind of weather. We descended into the performance space a few minute later, where my friend Jerry just happened to be sitting in the seat next to the seats reserved for me. With him was someone I hadn't met before, who turned out to be another Jerry (from New Jersey). I enjoyed the company of the two Jerrys while we chatted about various subjects Parker.
There was no opening act. I was glad to see GP was wearing the same stylish stage clothes as the night before. It was hot in the Turning Point, but there was a fan on stage to help keep the performer from wilting in the heat. The night before he'd started with two numbers from Don't Tell Columbus, and tonight started with three classics from Heat Treatment. He repeated less than half of the songs from the previous night. GP was in exceptionally good spirits, undoubtedly energized by the duo show with Mike the night before, and he played and sang extremely well. At one point he had some technical difficulty with his guitar and sang a spontaneous a capella "Cupid" while the technical problem was corrected.
Again he had excellent comic timing. The fractured French history lesson about the Bastille was repeated, with the additional feature of some very funny celebrity impressions including David Beckham and Deepak Chopra. He also told some funny anecdotes about traveling with Eric Clapton while promoting Steady Nerves. Someone in the audience filled in a few details on that tour. The guy said GP only got to play five songs as the opening act.
Some musical highlights were another performance of the sweetly sexy "Pollinate"; a goosebump-worthy rendition of "If It Ever Stops Raining"; the heartfelt "Mighty Rivers," a song that is so much better when performed live than the recorded version on Steady Nerves with its excessive layers of sound; the lovely "Strong Winds"; the very funny "Socks 'n' Sandals."
After about sixteen songs GP remembered that he was on a schedule, since his 6:00 show was to be followed later in the evening by a separate-admission rock band, and he hustled a little through the rest of his set. His main set ended with "Heat Treatment." There is absolutely nowhere to go in the itsy bitsy teeny weeny Turning Point, so Graham moved off to the side of the stage and put his face behind a post. (If I can't see the audience, then they can't see me.) He "returned" for an encore set of three songs. He wound up playing 21 songs, only two less than the night before.
A slightly abbreviated version of the usual meet-and-greet followed. I took Jerry From NJ's picture with Graham, and we all dispersed into the night to our various destinations, looking forward to the next time.
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