Ticket
The Apollo
26th June 1990

Ry Cooder at The Apollo with a mate of his, think about 1990. Mentioned before how in the mid to late ‘80’s I had a bit of a catch-up time with old established artists and bands from me youth who’d gone by the by, or I’d missed ,as I was busy mostly looking in the direction of music coming from my own demograph and youth culture. So it was the likes of , John lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Millie Jackson etc. for me.... When you’re in your prime and wrapped up in the current goings on of “your” time, it’s more than easy to not see a bigger picture and that’s pretty much how it’s always been and should be. Remember being at The Hac for The Pogues when The Clancy Brothers were playing up the road at The Ardri on the same night and thinkin’ I should be at that instead; consequently another living legend band that passed and I never got to see. The other thing is seminal or “legendary” artists/ bands who are in the back ground of your formative years often seem like wallpaper; they’re just a back drop and just “there” , so it’s not always easy to appreciate or get a feel for them. It’s usually only when they cease to be that they suddenly might achieve renewed interest or mythical status; happens a lot in all walks of life. Johnny Cash was a bit like that. I’m glad I got to see him but I postponed it late ‘cos for most of my life he was a bit of a daggy old bloke who your mam and dad liked and pretty much every household would have had “Live at San Quentin” tucked away at the back of the record rack. When he was gone he seemed almost overnight to become this mythical , larger than life figure. He did re-invent himself though with his take on Nick Cave/ Depeche Mode songs etc. so fair enough. Enough of the bedroom philosophy.....
Ryland wasn’t at his rockin’ best for this one. It was just him and his mate doin’ acoustic numbers on guitar, mandolin etc. from the Great American Song Anthology, but I’d always liked him ,and like many a troubadour, a great interpreter and educator of the legacy of music gone before; a signpost at the Crossroads so to speak. I’ve got quite a lot of old blues/ bluegrass/ gospel stuff just by checking out the artists he and others namechecked; always a good way to figure out the roots ‘n fruits of music. It’s a nice little trail to get lost in too.....When I first heard The Cramps, 2-Tone, Stray Cats etc. I, like many others had our curiosity aroused and off we went looking for where that music had come from. It’s amazing where that journey can sometimes take you...
Ry’s version of Woody Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man” is a well renowned classic and I think pretty much every year on the Whistle Test’s annual New Year’s Eve viewers’ show it was the number one request. One man and a guitar; it doesn’t really get any simpler or better than that....
He’d also played on Beefheart’s “Safe As Milk”, with his slide guitar on the garage/ psych “Sure ‘Nuff ‘n Yes I Do” being an all-time personal fave; I’m sure Howlin’ Wolf would have approved....
The man’s got form too; from his contribution to the Stone’s “Sister Morphine” to the unforgettable soundscape of the opening minutes of “Paris, Texas”, his work with Little Feat, Buena Vista Social Club and so on; a true musician in the old troubadour sense .And since I never did get anywhere close to seeing the likes of Marion Williams ,Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Huddie Ledbetter, Robert Johnson and countless other mostly long forgotten folk/ blues artist of the 20th century, thankfully, people like Ry Cooder form a living link with the legacy of that music gone long before.....
I know Irma Thomas is heading this way soon so better get me skates on for that one; I do like seeing young , up and coming , vibrant bands too though! Old folks can go to the opera so no reason why old codgers can’t sit down with half a shandy and tap their toes along to bright young things. It is only rock ‘n roll after all ,and I still likes it.... time for me cocoa......