Vance Gilbert ~ 2021 May 22 ~ Payomet Performing Arts Center, Truro, MA
Vance Gilbert, guitar and vocals.
Set List
Not sure of all the song titles. Corrections welcome.
Pie and Whiskey - Goodbye Pluto - When Sunny Gets Blue {jazz standard} - Trust (What Were You Thinking) - unknown (Wondrous Times?) - a tribute to John Prine (Simple Things?) - Hand Back the Keys {new song} - Zombie Pattycake - My Bad - Good Good Man - Old White Men - Unfamiliar Moon - Jimi Hendrix medley evolving into For The Good Times ... encore ... King Of Rome
Review
As much as it's great to say I saw Vance Gilbert perform a really excellent show, the main thing to say is simply that after fourteen months Concert Going Partner and I attended a live show.
During this Coronavirus pandemic, we have watched a number of streaming shows from performers including Vance himself, Pete and Maura Kennedy, Zoë Lewis, Willie Nile, and others. These shows have been a lot of fun, but of course there's nothing like in person music.
Concert Going Partner and I are both fully vaccinated, and the state is issuing guidelines for relaxed opening of businesses. Even with these factors in play, we decided to attend this show mainly because Payomet has done a good job of taking the pandemic seriously. They constructed an outdoor stage and provided a good sized field to enable concert goers to spread out safely, and also limited the size of the crowd. A big round of applause to Payomet for these policies; some venues are unfortunately in a hurry to get people crowded inside again, which could still pose a real risk.
It was a delight to see Vance Gilbert as our first live concert. He is not just a tremendous singer, songwriter, and guitarist, but he has a loving, upbeat, and funny stage presence, which simply brought joy to the hearts of the audience. Vance circulated among the concertgoers before going on stage and greeted a number of folks he knew personally. The performance lasted about 1 hour 15 minutes. He played a number of his well known classics, a few covers, and a new song called "Hand Back the Keys" that he debuted on his Monday night streaming show just last week. He ended with the wonderful "King of Rome," a song he always sings a cappella; today he sat on the front of the stage and belted it out without the need for a microphone.