Andy McKee Displayed His Incredible Guitar Skills!
Posted by suze72
I was not familiar with Andy McKee until a friend of mine mentioned that he’s her favorite musician. When I saw that he would be playing at Regattabar, one of my favorite venues, I knew I had to be in the audience.
Wow, everything she said completely understated Andy’s talent.
Andy’s style is hard to put into words. He is called a fingerstyle guitarist, and I am not sure that I have seen anyone play the guitar in quite the same way as Andy. His music is folky, but I wonder if I say that because he’s a man with an acoustic guitar and there’s a presumption of folk music when I see that. There was a trance-like, progressive quality to some of his songs. Regardless of what it’s called, it’s phenomenal.
When he took the stage and started playing, I thought he must have had a computer playing a few loops along with the live music because it sounded as if there were three guitars and a drum kit in the room. It did not take me long to realize that it was all happening before my eyes.
My astonishment continued to grow as Andy played. He got a powerful percussive sound from the body of his guitars when he wanted it.
For about a third of his 135-minute set, Andy played the harpguitar. I have seen a harpguitar but never from such a close vantage point; watching his hands moved across the two necks and twelve strings was fascinating! Again, it sounded like there were many more instruments on stage.
His set included mostly original music, but he did a cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” which I might have enjoyed more than the original version! Andy told us about one of his influences, the late Michael Hedges, and played a couple of songs written by Michael. I was also unfamiliar with him but plan to get to know his music well.
This is instrumental music at its finest; there were instances where he took my breath away.
I’m thankful to Jen and Derek for introducing me to Andy’s music. We decided that we will see him together whenever he is in the Boston area. I know I will never tire of seeing Andy perform. I daresay that when I know his music better, his shows will become even more exciting.
Ticket courtesy of Regattabar; all opinion are my own.
About suze72
I've loved the arts all my life... I go to a lot of concerts, take lots of photos and want to share them. Every once in a while I do something other than a concert, too. The Boston area is full of opportunities to indulge my passion - I'd like to help make it yours too!Posted on October 23, 2014, in concert reviews, music, Uncategorized and tagged Andy McKee, boston, concert review, fingerstyle, folk music, guitar virtuoso, guitarist, harpguitar, progressive jazz, Regattabar. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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