Legends In Concert

I’m a fingerstyle guitar enthusiast! So much so that I volunteer to write the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar weekly newsletter. I’ll post my articles here for your musical pleasure. Be sure to check us out online at http://www.torontofingerstyleguitar.com.

Saturday night “The Breshman” came to town. And he brought his friends along for the show. Anyone at the Hugh’s Room for the performance not only got to see Thom Bresh but also Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Nicholson, Ronald Regan, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Bill Clinton, John Anderson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Reed and Elvis. I’m amazed they all fit up there on the stage! But Thom Bresh slips in and out of each character so easily that sometimes it is hard to remember that it’s a one-man show.

Bresh grew up around legends and his performance is littered with stories about them. He told stories about his father, Merle Travis, and how Chet Atkins would always request that Bresh play “that song that I wrote that you play so well” even though Bresh was anxious to play others. The stories were integral to his performance and made the legends real, especially when he’d slip into an impersonation of them.

Though the evening was filled with fast pickin’ there were two slow ballads in the show. Even when Bresh slows down the tempo, the songs touch you to the core. They’re played with such an intensity of emotion that you’re left hovering on the brink of tears. A song about Time was raw and honest. But he picks up the pace again and breaks the mood with the banter he’s famous for.

Even though Bresh grew up around the greatest pickers of our time, he’s a genuine and down-to-earth performer. No ego. No conceit. After the show, he hopped off the stage and shook hands with anyone who wanted to meet him. He had time and a kind word for everyone. That’s partly the venue, Hugh’s Room, which lends itself to an intimacy that is felt by the performer as much as the audience, and partly the man - a man who grew up playing music for as long as he can remember.

It’s been 30 years since the last time Bresh performed in Toronto. Hopefully it won’t be another 30 before he returns. Be sure to catch him next time he’s in town.