Al Stewart at the Bat

Al Stewart and I go way back. I first caught his show when I was a 19 year old freshman at Seattle University in 1974. He was on the same bill as comedian George Carlin. In 1985 or so, I again saw Al Stewart at Parker’s on Aurora, which is now a torn-down memory.

On September 5th, 2012, I saw Al Stewart at the Triple door on Union Street in downtown “Stewartsville”, in Seattle. He was backed by Dave Nachmanoff on lead acoustic guitar and Mike Lindauer on bass. These gentlemen opened the show with a short set, singing about “A complicated angel from California.” After they played, they led the audience in a chorus of Happy Birthday because September 5th is Al Stewart’s birthday.

Al Stewart came on about 7:30 P.M., opening with one of his older songs, with a heady chorus that proclaimed, ”Salon, salon, salon.” He played on an amplified acoustic guitar for the duration of the concert. The acoustics of the Triple Door worked to Al Stewart’s advantage, sending the sound back to the far reaches of the Triple Door. The stage was set off by golden tiers on each side. A ruby red curtain, ceiling high, caught the eye.

During one song, Al Stewart stopped in the middle of it, laughing. He admitted to losing his place as the audience laughed encouragingly. The concert was a mix of old and new Al Stewart songs. His latest release is known as Uncorked.

With his pleasantly velvet voice, Al Stewart sang his songs with a joie de vivre seldom seen in a bloke born in Wimborne, England. “The Year of the Cat” was dreamily performed with a long instrumental interlude, punctuating it’s purring lyrics, saying “She comes out of the crowd like Peter Lorre.” “Take the last train to Munich” was another Al Stewart oldie, accentuated by a guitar solo, as played by Dave Nachmanoff.

Towards the concert’s end, Al Stewart revealed when he attended his first concert. He was a young lad of 13 years old, grooving at a Duane Eddy concert. Al Stewart then started playing a signature Duane Eddy riff on his guitar that soon became the theme from the television show “Peter Gunn.” Later, he laughed and confided in the jolly audience that he had just received a birthday card from Duane Eddy.

Then, Al Stewart played his chart topper “Time Passages” and followed it up with a tuneful “On the Border.” “Night in a Broadway Hotel” floated through the night, as the lead guitarist Dave Nachmanoff played powerful guitar solos on all these songs.

What more can I say, yet I left the Al Stewart concert, singing “A Song of Myself” into the suddenly Walt Whitman night. I ferried my way home in a colorful taxi to a place where any Al Stewart music is welcome to play on my turntable and C.D. player at my home sweet home, where else…