First up, Richard Thompson at the Barbican, one of my favourite venues. Undaunted by the grim weather and the slightly disconcerting labyrinthine walk to reach the complex, I manage to link up with my gig companion, despite the flimsiest of pre-gig arrangements. We catch up on news (having last seen one another in 2008, on the rather momentous occasion of Pentangle's reunion at the South Bank). The intervening years evaporate as we chat Spanish life, passports, the pros and cons of Later with Jools, Tame Impala (in which I find myself alone in my fandom) and the previous evening's RT gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Would there be familial participation tonight?
It's a wonderful show (I discover that RT electric gigs are scarce these days - amazingly it's my first - and no less enjoyable for the lack of 'special guests'), marked by humble and prodigious musicianship from Thompson, Michael Jerome (drums) and Taras Prodaniuk (bass). Happily, the highlights (of which there are many) are recorded for posterity for Australian magazine Rhythms by the person seated to my right...
