Graham Parker with Ray Mason ~ 2019 May 16 ~ Iron Horse Music Hall ~ Northampton, MA
Graham Parker, vocals, Gibson acoustic guitar, Fender electric guitar, kazoo.
opening set: Ray Mason, vocals, Silvertone guitar
Set List
[Gibson acoustic]: New York Shuffle - Chloroform - Girl In Need - Ancient Past [kazoo] - Stick to the Plan [kazoo] - Waiting For the UFOs - Museum Piece - Back Door Love - Maida Hill - Saturday Night Is Dead - [Fender electric]: Discovering Japan - Love Gets You Twisted - Back to Schooldays - Howlin' Wind - Protection ... encore ... [Gibson acoustic]: Brushes - Hold Back the Night {The Trammps}
Set List (Ray Mason opening set)
I'm Not That Kind of Guy - Monkey in a Convent - Who's Gonna Play Like That - Castanets - Liner Notes - Yes I'm Ready {Barbara Mason} - When I Meet You On The Moon
Videos
Scroll down past the videos for review.
Castanets (by Ray Mason)
Stick to the Plan
Museum Piece
Discovering Japan
Review
It was a real treat to see one of my favorite musicians, Ray Mason, fill in at the last minute as a substitute opening act for James Maddock, who had been taken ill. Whatever James has, unfortunately Graham Parker seems to have it too. He said he woke up with the feeling of knives stabbing the inside of his throat. He's a trooper, though, and played only a slightly abbreviated set list when compared to the show last week in Rhode Island.
The crowd at the Iron Horse is always very enthusiastic, and it was gratifying to hear GP so well received. GP's humor was on show again. Reminiscing about an early concert experience with The Rumour, he told the story of how they were once booked into the Copacabana, and he crooned a few bars of Barry Manilow as an intro to "Protection." He also paid tribute to one of his most beloved influences, Aretha Franklin, by singing a few bars of her "Don't Play That Song For Me" as an intro to "Back Door Love."
His singing was almost as good as ever, despite the cold or flu, but a few times you could hear a few scratches in his vocals, and once or twice he sang a phrase at a lower register to take it easy on himself. Graham again was dressed plainly, with a dark blue long-sleeved dress shirt and dark trousers. The fedora from the other night was absent. As he was leaving the venue a few minutes after the end of the show, he said he really wasn't feeling well, and to no one's surprise, he had to postpone the next two shows on the tour. So I'm lucky I got to hear this one.
Another piece of luck for me was seeing Ray Mason as the opener. Ray lives in the Northampton area and fortunately for the Iron Horse, wasn't already booked for this evening, since he was able to serve as a last-minute fill-in. In some ways Ray is the anti-Graham. They are both literate singer-songwriters whose deep well of material shows an ear for melody and a knack for writing a catchy lyric. But whereas Geep has a lot of anger and sarcasm in his songs (and his banter), Ray is about as upbeat and affable as they come. His set contained two nods to the Chairman. He played "Monkey in a Convent," which, when it debuted on a local radio station drew comparisons to GP. And when introducing "Liner Notes," Ray always rattles off a list of albums he has found influential, and in the list he included Twelve Haunted Episodes. The crowd responded to Ray's half hour set with genuine enthusiasm, laughing at his jokes and applauding loudly for his songs. It was great to see Ray play in front of such an appreciative crowd.
I've been to the Iron Horse many times; I've seen both Ray and Graham there often. The venue has a pretty good pub food menu, and tonight's wait staff were attentive and efficient. Advance ticket sales had not warranted opening the balcony, but by showtime the lower level was pretty much packed, and everyone went home happy.
More Chairman
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