RY COODER received a standing ovation at the Philharmonic on Saturday – amazingly his first ever show in Liverpool.
The reaction was well deserved.
The stripped-down trio of Ry, his son Joachim on drums and Nick Lowe on bass and vocal – Flaco Jiminez, billed for the tour, was ‘not feeling so good’ – worked a treat.
Lowe, in fact, opened up with a plaintive A Fool Who Knows before it was Cooder’s turn on old favourites Fool For A Cigarette and Vigilante Man, where he swapped his Strat for a small, black evil-looking thing.
Crouching over this guitar like a preying mantis, he conjured suitably scary sounds using slide and deft use of harmonics.
Alternating with songs and singing with Lowe, Ry, a la Bob Dylan, was bent on reclaiming some of his best-known recordings in powerful reworkings. This was an understated concert of music that captured an air of simplicity, honesty and restrained virtuosity.
Ry, it’s great to see you back playing live where you belong.
