Graham Parker ~ 2009 April 10 ~ Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT
Graham Parker accompanying himself with Fender electric guitar, Gibson acoustic guitar, and harmonica
Setlist (with guitars indicated)
[Gibson acoustic]: If It Ever Stops Rainin' - High Horse - Nothin's Gonna Pull It Apart - Chloroform - They Got It Wrong (As Usual) - Custom Fanny - Pollinate - Black Lincoln Continental - Hotel Chambermaid - [Fender electric]: Soul Corruption - Stick To Me - Long Stem Rose - Love Gets You Twisted - Discovering Japan - Passion Is No Ordinary Word - Don't Ask Me Questions - Someone to Watch Over Me [a cappela] - [Gibson]: Depend on Me - Back In Time - Heat Treatment ... encore ... Glue and Chickens {"Tex Skerball"} - Last Stop is Nowhere - Local Girls
Review
On Friday night Graham Parker played a truly memorable concert at the Infinity Music Hall in the tiny village of Norfolk, CT, a town tucked away in the rural farm country of the northwestern corner of the state. Geep quipped that the town has a population of 1600 and "you are all here." In reality the crowd was probably about the same as it usually is for GP (150, maybe?), a respectable showing for a venue that is so far away from anything that it makes the Bull Run in Shirley, Mass. (sometimes referred to as being "in the middle of nowhere") seem urban by comparison.
The staff at Infinity were extremely polite and enthusiastic. A committee of about four individuals greeted us at the door and exchanged our internet receipts for real tickets, then described the location of the restrooms, refreshments and the performance space itself. We were urged to go up to the balcony to check out the impressive view of the stage.
The venue is housed in an 1883 theater building in which Mark Twain once performed. Graham seemed genuinely awed by the fact that he was performing on the same stage -- it is even still the same wood. The building was recently bought on foreclosure and renovated to become a concert venue. On the outside it is an impressive, massive structure on several stories, painted green, with a myriad of architectural features to catch your interest such as windows arranged in odd patterns and a top floor balcony. Inside, the stained glass windows, high ceilings, wood floors, comfy padded seats, and a two story high proscenium arch bracketing the stage all added to the atmosphere.
The stage, as befits a traditional theater, is much higher than in most venues. It was about 3 1/2 feet high. I customarily like to sit in the front row and from my front row seat this time I was at about Graham's sneaker height. It was just like sitting in the dugout at a baseball game. Although one of my concert going partners (the GP fan known as Infamous Capgirl) declared this to be too close and moved to a different seat, I stubbornly clung to the idea that there is no such thing as too close, and during this show as a result I paid a lot more attention to GP's toe tapping and body language than I usually do, and from that vantage, performing really looks like demanding physical work.
The set list and humorous banter were much the same as during the four-show tour of two weeks ago (and he again wore the 1980s vintage stars and planets through a window shirt). There were, however, some brilliant additions. During "Don't Ask Me Questions" GP was singing emphatically -- he was adding in a few subtle vocal twists that the song doesn't usually have. At the end of the song he put down his Telecaster, praised the acoustics, and said he enjoyed performing there so much that he would have sung for an hour and a half with nobody in the audience. To prove it, he treated us to a rendition of the a cappela "Someone to Watch Over Me" that was the most delicate and at the same time the most powerful version I have heard to date. The roar from the crowd when he was done might have made the building shake, if this impressive Victorian structure wasn't so solidly built. Next he said he'd play something he'd done on a radio show earlier (that same day?) and launched into the breathtaking "Depend On Me" -- a song that epitomizes the Graham Parker sincere love song. He followed with "Back in Time" and "Heat Treatment," then hid very obviously behind one of the stage curtains to begin the encore set.
GP began the encore set with the Tex Skerball number "Glue and Chickens," receiving a hesitant murmur from the crowd when he asked if anyone had heard of Tex. He had brought his own ballcap this time. With that cap on backwards and the sunglasses removed, and his eyes bulging, Graham really takes on the part of that Youtube sensation, the stoner hillbilly. A couple of times during the song, when a new verse was about to begin, Geep strummed the guitar for a few extra chords as if Tex was either having trouble remembering the lyrics, or just having trouble remembering. It was subtle but very funny. A good deal of applause and laughter followed, upon which Geep gave the mood handle a 180 degree spin ... from the ridiculous to the sublime ... and played "Last Stop is Nowhere." His singing (and humming) on this achingly sad song were spot on perfect, just so rich and expressive, echoing around the rafters of this extraordinary performance space. The surefire "Local Girls," with Graham enjoying his chance to "scat" sing over the audience, finished up the show.
It seems to me that Graham benefits from being in practice. Four shows in New England two weeks ago, four in the Lakes Region last weekend, and now this show, and he is sounding the best I've ever heard. His vocals are supple and nuanced, and I've also seen him add in a few guitar flourishes to songs like "Pollinate" and "Tough on Clothes" that have never been there before. But for this one night, the star of the show, even more than Geep himself, was the Infinity Music Hall.
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