The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall is a room for virtuosos. On the first Monday evening of August, virtuosity on guitars was what was on offer.
Tommy Emmanuel, quite possibly one of our greatest players, was here to play live and acoustically. As he displayed throughout the night, Emmanuel can pick, strum, and beat and brush his guitar into any musical form he desires.
For over two hours, Emmanuel exhibited that he is the master of his domain, the king of the Aussie finger pickers, and someone who appears to never put his guitar down for very long based on his relentless touring schedule.
Kicking off the evening were two guitarists from New York City. Frank Vignola has played with Les Paul and many others and he was joined by a twin guitar attack by the dynamic Vinny Raniolo.
Their showmanship and comedic talents added a bit of cabaret to their set and made for a sparkling half-hour. Their cover of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” showcased not only their talents but also the never-ending beauty of that pop song.
With nothing but a few guitars and his own hands, Emmanuel came on stage to a raucous welcome and the audience were eager to hear him play.
Obviously a show like this brings out the guitar players and everyone was locked into watching his fingers fly. Tommy tipped his hat to his influences early with his take on “Classical Gas”, and “9 Pound Hammer” and “16 Tons” originally done by Merle Travis. Based on the audience’s reaction, this type of picking could have gone on for the entire set and they would have been blissfully satisfied.
Emmanuel had other plans and brought out a couple of new songs, one of which was “Hope Street”. Emmanuel took the audience from that original to a stretch of Beatles songs in a lengthy medley inspired by George Harrison and a trip to Liverpool. This ability to take familiar tunes and make them his own within an instrumental groove truly kept the audience involved as everyone knew the melodies and murmured along.
Emmanuel always has some young guitarist in his sight and tonight was no different. 15-year-old Josh Needs from South West Rocks came out for a couple of numbers to display his talents.
This impressive twin picking lit up the gathering at the Opera House who showed their appreciation loudly. Emmanuel gave his audience some more numbers including his percussive display on guitar during “The Trail”.
Before the night was over, Vignola and Raniolo returned to the stage. Three guitars, six hands and 30 fingers moving in synchronised and fabulous fashion was almost too much to watch for some.
Tommy Emmanuel leads a showman’s life. The road is his home and he is never far from a stage. This is a bonus for all of his fans and connoisseurs of finger picking around the world. He is an excellent emissary for all that is Australian but the music he plays is truly universal. He is a legend that should be experienced live at least once to appreciate the time he has spent on his craft.
-Paul Busch
