christine lavin and tom paxton concert

Christine Lavin at Hugh's Room last night.


Woke up sick today. Blech. Slept until noon, will likely crash again this afternoon.

Had a fantastic time with Allison at Hugh's Room last night, though. See her report on the event here. We had a great table right beside the stage, and were also delighted to run into Kathy Johnson & her husband Larry of Sound Techniques studio, who produced "Castles and Skyscrapers," our first tape.

LOVED both Christine Lavin's and Tom Paxton's concerts. Hugh's Room is a wonderful venue. Great sound system ... I couldn't help but contrast the venue to the Sloan concert I attended with Rand months ago, where I couldn't understand any of the lyrics because of the bad sound, had beer spilled on me by screaming teenyboppers who kept pushing me from behind and left the concert with temporary partial hearing loss. Still enjoyed the concert (mainly because of the company, and I do love Sloan's music), but it's not the type of venue I'd want to attend regularly.

In contrast, Hugh's Room was intimate and comfortable, and it was wonderful to actually be able to enjoy the lyrics and excellent musicianship. I was already familiar with Lavin's music, found her immensely entertaining and easygoing; I could listen to her for hours.

Although I didn't know Tom Paxton's music (Allison's much more of a old-time folky), I thoroughly enjoyed his concert. What an incredibly benevolent and sweet guy; this showed in both his on-stage intros as well as his music. The musicianship was supremely professional, especially Ken Whitely's stellar mandolin solos. Several of Paxton's songs made me teary-eyed, especially a wonderful song at the end with the chorus "Peace will come, and let it begin with me" where he taught different vocal parts to the men and women in the audience.

And at the end of the show, this two-time Grammy nominated old-timer sat on a stool by the front door to chat with anyone who was interested; both Allison and I told him how much we enjoyed his performance.

Anyway, this concert definitely rates as one of my all-time favourites.

Royal Winter Fair photos tomorrow...




Ken Whitely and Tom Paxton.

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