The Pabst Theater is not known for cover bands but Richard Thompson's survey of "1000 Years of Popular Music" is not your average bar band.
Dividing history neatly into two sets, Thompson (guitar / vocals / hurdy gurdy) and his group (Judith Owen: vocals / keyboards and Debra Dobkin: drums / vocals / keyboards) chronologically offered snapshots of tunes in French, Italian and English, spiked with Thompson's legendary dry wit.
Since beginning his career with foundation Brit folk-rockers Fairport Convention Thompson has staked his claim as songwriter and one of the best guitar players on the planet. Thursday's show offered a healthy dose of Thompson the entertainer as well as virtuoso musician.
A series of song-appropriate backdrops accompanied each tune. Among the madrigals and opera, the evening's first set was highlighted by a rambunctious take on Gilbert and Sullivan's "A Man Who Would Woo a Fair Maid" and the Music Hall tune "Trafalgar Square."
Following intermission the mood changed decidedly with the Ink Spots' "Java Jive" and Owen's slow-burn vocals on Cole Porter's "Night and Day," wherein the trio's musical vibe recalled vintage Getz / Gilberto with a touch of Marianne Faithfull. On another tune where Owen took lead vocals, a Julie London's torch song "Cry Me a River," Thompson the guitar-slinger proved to be an equally impressive accompanist, offering only what the tune required of him.
The intensity then notched up with Stick McGhee via Jerry Lee Lewis' "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee," a tune Thompson said he learned thanks to his sister's record collection. Throughout his career, Thompson has covered honky-tonk nuggets and this time Ray Price's "All Right I'll Sign the Papers" got the treatment followed by a nod to fellow Brit Ray Davies with a cover of The Kinks' proto-raga-rocker "See My Friends."
Firmly planted in the British Invasion, the trio launched into The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind." The song's subdued intro virtually exploded with Dobkin's loose-limbed drumming, Owens' vocals and Thompson's sheer exuberance. In 30 years of seeing live music this one moment ranks near the top.
Even a Beatles medley for an encore couldn't top it. When all was said and done this show was the one time that an artist could have actually honored a dumb-ass request for "Freebird" and gotten away with it. To Thompson's credit, he probably never considered it.
