Mark T. Small ~ 2020 February 8 ~ Eastham Public Library ~ Eastham, MA
Mark T. Small accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, acoustic resophonic guitar, and banjo.
Videos
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Review
Mark T. Small is an extraordinary guitar player and singer and historian of the guitar. He played a generous one-hour-plus set on a sunny Saturday afternoon as part of a free winter concert series at the public library in this beautiful Lower Cape town.
Mark doesn't just play and sing. He explains the history of each instrument -- three guitars, one of which he described but did not play, and a banjo. His introductions to the songs really enhanced this standing-room-only crowd's appreciation of the show. Without being pedantic, he gave the audience members a new appreciation of the many different folks who played these instruments throughout history.
Besides a superb level of skill on these instruments, a fab singing voice, encyclopedic knowledge of his subject, and a real passion for the music, Mark has one more attribute that I really enjoy in a performer. He has a look. He's got an angular face framed with straight champagne blonde hair past his shoulders. He was dressed jauntily as if gearing up to play an upscale 1940s era nightclub. And while playing, he often made what I can only call guitar player faces; a grimace of pain on his expressive face.
I'd seen Mark twice before, both times opening for David Lindley. This was my first time seeing him as a headliner, but I'm sure I'll be back. A little bit of education and a lot of music played by a real master made for a great afternoon of entertainment.
Thanks to the Eastham Public Library for hosting this weekly Saturday afternoon music series during the winter. The library is a sparkling new building with a generously sized auditorium seating a couple of hundred. There's plenty of parking in their lot, and it's easy to find, just down the road from the Windmill Green.
Mark T. Small
complete photo gallery of the concert on Flickr.
Click for 2020 Concert Page with links to all 2020 concerts ... Click for Main Concert Page with links to all years