valerie

"you give me heart attack

oh valerie...

well i'm a-wait, wait, waitin' for valerie"


and i was, and it was worth every moment.

richard thompson lit up the boardinghouse park stage tonight, and what a way to kick off this summer's lowell summer music series. the last time my son and i were there it was to see los lobos, and though the sound was sparer, the music was was every bit as memorable this time around. close to the high point of the evening for me was when richard launched (and there's no better word to describe it) into "i feel so good", and my son started singing along because he had fallen in love with the song from my star spangles cd (dirty bomb, gabba gabba hey) and he recognized it immediately. (get the homage here, and scroll down to select it if it's not the one playing, though don't worry if you like what else you hear there, cuz it's good good good). a singular moment.

the other song i really loved almost the most from tonight was "1952 vincent black lightning" and i wasn't sure which youtube version to pick for the link, but here's one stripped down and clean enough to seem close, and, besides, it seems you can't go wrong with any of 'em, so have at it. "red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme".

but, i have to say it, and i was almost afraid to hope for it, but it was valerie that brought the house down, and everybody to their feet.

mmm, mmm, good.

edited in appreciation for the links from richard thompson's web site as well as the lowell summer music series', to include a link to the actual recorded concert itself so you can hear all the beauty for yourself: hit the link here, and then scroll down to the link to richard's show from the other night. it's wonderful--enjoy!!!