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RICHARD THOMPSON WITH DANNY THOMPSON
Brothers by any other name
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Does Richard always do his best work with another Thompson? Post–Fairport Convention, wife Linda was the catalyst. Post-Linda, bassist Danny (no relation or romance this time) seems to have been the spark. On stage at the Somerville Theatre a week ago Monday, it was obvious why: Danny Thompson’s musicality raises the bar. And Richard, no slouch on guitar, responds in kind. The result is a duel. Not an emotional one this time, but no less intense. Danny is a big barrel of a man who, after early work in various jazz and blues groups, joined the experimental folk-rock band Pentangle. He went on to record with almost every luminary in the genre, including Tim Buckley, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, John Martyn, and, more recently, namesake Richard. On stage, he’s a mug — practically a mime — making the audience laugh with gestures behind Richard’s back. Harpo Thompson. Richard, meanwhile, is a cut-up. With his eyes rolling and his mind racing, his string of clever remarks — and songs — never stops. Groucho Thompson. He responds musically to the silent bassist and verbally to the audience. After a few numbers, fans start calling out requests. He’s not taking any, but he banters anyway. The requests get more ridiculous. "Substitute," someone calls out. "Is that mine?" he asks. (It’s not.) "Oh," he reasons, "you must mean I am a substitute." He then announces that, yes, in fact Richard couldn’t make it, it’s a shame, but he’s presently on the beach in Bora Bora "developing his next project" (eyes roll) — but no worries, he himself plays in a Richard Thompson tribute band, he’s been a big fan for a long time and "knows the act fairly well." And so for the rest of the show, we were treated to the Richard Thompson tribute band. Did this spontaneous conceit allow Richard to put aside his self-depreciating wit more and lose himself in the songs? At times, especially in the more nostalgic numbers (more than one song conjured up the lost England of his childhood, in the 1950s), he did seem transported. He dutifully plugged the new album (Front Parlour Ballads on Cooking Vinyl) and played a number of songs off it . . . but when pressed by an audience member to announce the title, he replied, "Yes of course — now if I could only remember it."
BY DAMON KRUKOWSKI
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