Hear Me. See Me. Tommy (Emmanuel)

A year ago, quite by chance, I had the opportunity to see a guitarist at The Playhouse in Fredericton. I was gobsmacked by what I saw and heard. The guitarist's name was Tommy Emmanuel. At the time it occurred to me that it would be unlikely that any musical artist could master their instrument any better than Tommy. Last evening I saw Tommy at Moncton's Capitol Theatre, and I felt the same way again.

When I saw/heard Tommy Emmanuel in Fredericton, I had only one regret, and that was that Wendy and Julian didn't hear him. I wanted Julian to hear what one man can do with a guitar. I wanted Wendy to hear an alpha musician at the top of the pack. Last night Wendy and Julian accompanied me to the Capitol Theatre. Mission accomplished.

I think everyone who is a professional musician, music teacher or is somehow passionate about music should see Tommy Emmanuel. It doesn't even matter if your instrument is guitar or not. I dare say...all musicians could learn something (even those at my humble level).

What fascinates me about Tommy is that even with his musical abilities, he'll never be Paul McCartney or Eric Clapton or Johnny Marr. Yes, he could play circles around them, but they are song writers and dreamers. That's not to say that Tommy isn't a songwriter or a dreamer. He is, and a fine one at that, but he ain't what they is. It hardly matters because, as an interpreter/arranger/technician/virtuoso, he is in a class of one. He's found his niche, clearly, and his audience adores him....nothing but adulation/amazement/awe.

So.....if you've never seen him before, do yourself a favour and buy yourself a ticket if eh comes within a hundred miles of your town. You won't regret it.

P.S. I should mention that today's image was pilfered from the internet and the shadowy head silhouettes were added after the fact. I'm tall, and I sit tall in my chair, yet I was almost thwarted last evening by the tall guy sitting in front of me. I had to crank myself up a notch just to see Tommy's head and guitar. Oddly enough, the seats at the Capitol were not staggered so that I was looking between the two people in front of me. An odd design oversight. Had I been 5'10", I would not have been able to have seen Tommy on stage without craning myself at an uncomfortable angle. One of two things need to happen:

1) the Capitol should stagger it's seating like most theatres do,

2) tall guys should be barred from attending concerts.

Just sayin'.