Every relationship involves compromise. Emma has accompanied me to countless gigs featuring obscure Scottish bands, psychedelic experiments, post-punk noise and various other musical adventures that probably weren’t high on her bucket list. So when the opportunity arose to see Loudon Wainwright III at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, it seemed only fair that I returned the favour and brought Emma along.
For those unfamiliar with Loudon Wainwright III, he occupies a rather unique place in American music. Over the course of a career spanning more than five decades, he has built a reputation as one of the sharpest and most honest songwriters around. His songs can be laugh-out-loud funny one minute and unexpectedly heartbreaking the next, often managing both at the same time. Few artists are as willing to expose their own flaws, failings and family dramas for the sake of a good song.
That honesty is one of the reasons his music has endured. While many songwriters create characters or hide behind metaphors, Loudon has always seemed happiest placing himself directly in the firing line. Whether writing about relationships, ageing, parenthood or life in general, he has a gift for finding humour in situations that most of us would rather avoid discussing altogether.
The Royal Concert Hall proved to be the perfect setting for his style of performance. This wasn’t the sort of evening that required elaborate lighting effects, giant video screens or walls of amplifiers. The focus was entirely on the songs, the stories and the personality of the man delivering them. That’s exactly as it should be.
One of the pleasures of seeing artists like Loudon Wainwright III live is that you never quite know where the evening will go. A song can unexpectedly turn into a story, a story can become a joke and a joke can suddenly reveal something surprisingly profound. The audience quickly settled into his rhythm and followed him wherever he chose to lead.
As always, attending concerts with Emma adds an extra layer of entertainment. Over the years she has become remarkably tolerant of my habit of dragging her to see musicians she has never heard of, so it was nice to reverse the process for once and spend an evening with an artist whose appeal extends far beyond the usual gig-going experience.
Looking back, what impressed me most was how effortless everything seemed. There was no sense of someone relying on past glories or nostalgia. Instead, it felt like an evening in the company of a master storyteller who still had plenty left to say.
The videos and photographs below capture some of the evening, but as with all great singer-songwriters, the real magic was in the songs themselves. Loudon Wainwright III has spent decades proving that honesty, humour and a good melody can take you a very long way indeed.
The Photos
Cheers!
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