*** 1/2 ( out of four stars)
Al Stewart loves Phoenixville and the old. historic Colonial Theater. He returns every year and has played the colonial countless times over the years. He triumphantly came back Sunday night to a sold-out, jam-packed venue.
Seeing Al in concert is always fun. He is witty, funny and musically, either acoustic or with a full band, you get your money's worth of entertainment. He makes you feel special, listens to his audience and soon you feel like the great British singer is sitting in your living room, playing just for you alone.
This was the third time we have seen Al in Phoenixville. He keeps getting better and better. He was again supposed to reprise his classic album 'Year of the Cat" in it's entirety. Bot he has done the YOTC album twice before at the Colonial, both acoustically and with a back-up band. So loyal Al Stewart fans alerted the venue of this fact, plus Al himself had made a comment coming off stage that he may do his other iconic album "Past, Present and Future" next time. After his main set, as an encore, fans were calling out songs from the PPF album, such as "Road To Moscow". give Al credit for hearing his fans and giving them what they want.
Past, Present and Future was an album recorded in the 70s, written as a historic piece of events mainly in the 20th century, from Nazi Germany to the psychedelic times in the 60s. It's brilliant in his length and scope but not a commercial success, as Stewart admits. But Al wrote it anyway, saying 'What the hell?"
So, as soon as Al graciously agreed to switch albums, we looked forward to this show because these were songs not heard maybe in forty-plus years. We would still hear the hits and deep cuts, as with any Stewart show, but this time we would also be treated to epic, magnificent storytelling songs.
The crisp, cool Autumn night started with a fine Italian meal at Franco's Restaurant, directly across bridge Street from the legendary Colonial. Arriving at the theater approximately 20 minutes before showtime we found the lobby crowded with an enormous buzz around the mostly middle-aged audience. There was an anticipation and excitement in the air unlike previous Stewart's concerts.
Al's back-up band out of Chicago, The Empty Pockets, did a 5-song, 20-minute warm-up and received a warm response. Great young musicians but we were there to see and hear Al, and The Empty Pockets knew it,
Stewart came out to roaring applause with the very appropriate "One Stage Before," a song about deja vu, a cut from The Year of the Cat lp. Then came "On The Border" and finally "Time Passages,"It was clever and brilliant arrangement and placing of each song, as "Time Passages" is exactly what the Past, Present and Future album is all about.
The 8-song album is short on songs but most are lengthy, and the little chats and mini-historical lessons and reasons why Al wrote each song was priceless. We learned a lot about each song and Al's personal history during his time frame that he wrote about ( including the fact he snuck backstage as a 17-year-old and met John Lennon ( he got to play Lennon's guitar). Later in the 60s Al met and worked with Yoko Ono, so, as he quipped "I actually met John and Yoko even before they met each other...Who knows why?"
"Old Admirals" is the opening song, and it finally sunk in what we were hearing was classic stuff and I hoped someone was taping this concert.
More great tunes followed, such as "Warren Harding", Soho (Needless To Say)" and " The Last Day of June 1934." The best was yet to come, and the hundreds of fans crammed into the theater waited patiently for what they knew was coming.
The final three songs on the PPF album are truly iconic, starting with "Roads To Moscow." Lavish, sad, poetic and epic, it is a masterpiece. It received a nice standing ovation ( I thought it deserved more), but the crowd was saving itself.
"Terminal Eyes" is an "I Am The Walrus" clone, which Stewart turned into an out-and-out rock song.
"Nostradamus" is the finale on the album, an over 8 minute piece of art, highlighted by incessant, driving acoustic guitar work. Breath-taking, as the crowd clapped along.
A long, well-deserved standing ovation and thunderous roar followed, welcoming the departing Stewart and band back to the stage for an encore, the predictable but still highly enjoyable classic, "Year of the Cat."
Stewart concerts always are too short ( 13 songs on this chilly night), but it seemed just right to cap the night. Another lesser song as an extra encore may have spoiled the evening. Everyone got what they wanted- the long-awaited album and the hits, all rolled into a tidy two hours of intense music.
We were left speechless after the show, and folks around us seemed pleased, as they hurried out of the theater on a Sunday night. There was no signing afterwords in the lobby.
I can't wait until next year when Al Stewart comes back to Phoenixville. But how can he top what happened last night? That will be the challenge.
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