Editor’s Note – Today is the second of a two-part edition devoted to our weekend roadtrip to spend “An Evening With Al Stewart.” Yesterday, I gave you the back story. Tonight, I will tell you about a fantastic concert in a very special place.
On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime
In last night’s edition of the blog, I told youwhy I wanted to attend the Al Stewart concert in suburban Augusta, GA this past weekend; today I’ll tell you about the show, itself.
The Al Stewart Concert – billed as “An Evening With Al Stewart” – was part of a 17-show series presented by Augusta Amusements.
The concert hall, the Jabez Sanford Hardin Performing Arts Center, is located in a suburb of Augusta. Evans, GA actually reminded me a little bit of Farragut.
The Hardin Center was located in a municipal district of the town along with a large city park, an amphitheatre, town hall, and library. The auditorium, itself, was in the same building as the library. It was a very nice area of town.
We arrived about 15 minutes before the show – cutting it a bit too close for my tastes – and we were in our seats with six minutes to spare. Just at 7:30 p.m., the emcee for the evening took the stage.
He thanked an army of volunteers for all the work necessary to produce the series. This included tech staff, ushers, a photographer and other miscellaneous individuals. His remarks underscored the Southern, small town feel of the venue. In other words, it was very nice, tasteful, comfortable.
After completing his acknowledgements, the emcee noted that there were a number of out of town guests who had driven to the Augusta area to see the show. The crowd applauded. Then, one by one, he read the names of all the out of town guests. The crowd applauded even louder.
Those in attendance came from places like Charleston, SC; Charlotte, NC. One guest even drove over from MS. There were three Tennessee groups in attendance.
I kept waiting for my “Jeff Gray” moment but, honestly, it never came. About two-thirds through his list, he called my name and he nailed it. We gave him a hearty woo-hoo in return.
As the names were being called, I noticed something else. The three of us were among the youngest in attendance. Stewart, himself, is about 70 so I guess it isn’t surprising that the seats were filled with his generational contemporaries. It was definitely a 60+ crowd.
Some were dressed in vintage, late 60s (see: Woodstock) garb. I was thinking that style was about 10 years before Stewart’s heyday, which I would timestamp as mid 70s to mid 80s. But, it was all good. And they were having fun.
We were all having fun.
Soon, Dave Nachmanoff, a virtuoso guitarist who accompanies Stewart on his tour, took the stage. He performed three numbers to warm up the crowd and then he introduced Al Stewart.
Stewart’s performance was one part storytelling, one part audience interaction and one part singing and strumming. He is a great storyteller, in terms of his lyrics and musical presentation and he has a great sense of humor. So, it was no surprise that he would introduce many of the musical numbers by telling the backstory or setting up the song with a funny punchline. At some points of the show, he would weave great points of history into the narrative.
The first set built to a conclusion with his performance of the 1978 hit “Time Passages.” Then Al and Dave took a 20 minute intermission.
The second act was much the same as the first. The crowd was enthusiastic. Stewart was funny. Nachmanoff was excellent on guitar.
As the evening grew late, I think we all realized they were building to the climax, Al Stewart’s most famous song, the venerable “Year of the Cat.” For that number, they brought out a local bassist and a young man to punctuate the end of the song on saxophone.
Then, the first few chords signaled us that we had, indeed, arrived at the penultimate moment of the show.
She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolour in the rain
Don’t bother asking for explanations
She’ll just tell you that she came
In the year of the cat
As the song played, as Nachmanoff navigated the intricate chords, as Al sang the familiar words I’ve heard so many times, I soaked it all up. I breathed in all the sights and sounds much as you might imagine someone strolling the picturesque marketplace would do.
It took me some 30 years to get to this point but it was well worth the wait.
Well morning comes and you’re still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you’ve thrown away your choice you’ve lost your ticket
So you have to stay on
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you’re bound to leave her
But for now you’re going to stay
But the drumbeat strains of the night remain
In the year of the cat
JG
Originally posted 3/31/2015
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