Leo Kottke, South Portland Auditorium, Maine, U.S.A., November 20, 2004
This is offered as an update or addendum to the review of Leo Kottke's appearance in this same venue a year and a half ago. This will probably make more sense if you read that review first. Just click here, I'll wait.
So, now that you're up to date on what I said before, let's continue.
As I did last March, I attended -- with utter disregard for journalistic professionalism -- absent my critic's notebook. This time an acquaintance close to Leo Kottke had arranged for four guest passes. Accompanied (again) by my daughter, our quartet was filled out by my wife Barb Truex and one of her musical compatriots, the inimitable Lynny. We staked out seats near the sound mixer and watched the ample space fill to nearly SRO capacity. The daughter unit commented on the audience age demographics as primarily Boomers with a strong showing of Echoes, the offspring of hippies who probably grew up with Leo Kottke LPs being part of their childhood soundtrack, with a noticeably thinner showing of those in between. On stage was a small oriental carpet on which were two guitar stands, one empty, the other holding Kottke's twelve-string, and a single microphone and stand. Almost identical to his performance last year, absent only the folding chair.
A few minutes before showtime, a representative of the presenter, Heptunes Productions, came on stage to note that they were celebrating their thirtieth anniversary of concert production in the Northeast and wanted to thank the Greater Portland area for its steady support. Furthermore, he announced Heptunes would be producing Leo Kottke's fortieth (eek!) anniversary as a performer with a concert in Cambridge Massachusetts. I'll need to keep tabs on THAT show.
Promptly at the advertised eight o'clock showtime Kottke, with his six-string strapped on, walked on stage without introduction or fanfare to an appreciative response. Plugging into the direct box, Kottke spent a few minutes noodling, tuning, and allowing the house mix engineer to fine-tune the sound. While the audience was sophisticated enough to avoid applauding his tuning noodle (does anyone remember legendary Ravi Shankar appearances at late sixties pop and rock festivals?) it was clear that Leo Kottke's noodling could hold an audience's interest with ease.
There is only a little more that I can add to my previous comments. At one point Kottke explained how he determined early in his performing career that, for him, having a carefully planned and rehearsed set list meant he felt himself locked in concrete after five minutes on stage. And so, Kottke works without a safety net, alone on stage with no backing musicians, no canned patter, no script, no set list. He noodles and tells stories until he decides what piece from his huge catalog to perform next. He is such a witty and engaging raconteur, not to mention the high musical quality of his improvised noodles, that he could probably do an entire evening without playing a single definable song or tune and still satisfy 95% of the audience. Other than "Corinna, Corinna," I couldn't swear to any repeated material, although given the number of instrumentals and the fact virtually none of the tune titles were announced, there might have been a couple. He mentioned titles of two instrumentals from his new album, Try and Stop Me, "Monopoly" and "Bristol Sloth." The latter title explained as the nickname of a nineteenth century English chess master ... talk about an interesting mind!
Kottke is a walking oxymoron, a man so laid back he speaks of himself as having a "thyroid the size of a comma" yet he exudes manic energy in his super- fast and technically outstanding playing. A Navy vet, he has a working class, 'everyman,' persona combined with a wit filled with references that reveal an intellectual curiosity both wide and deep.
In conclusion, I can only offer again the final paragraph from last year's review. All in all, I would heartily recommend to any and all that, if Leo Kottke is appearing somewhere near you, get your tickets, show up early and get a good seat. You won't be disappointed.
Check the artist's Web site for tour dates and other information.
