Bob-Dubery
Excellent show. Tony Cox is a fab player with strong southern African roots that inform just about everything he plays. I enjoyed the control of dynamics in his playing, the way he controlled volume. Also the percussive right-hand techniques combined with damping - he was turning that on and off as he liked.
More than that I enjoyed his laid back persona, which was very effective in engaging the audience, and the compositions which often painted pictures in my mind.
Points off for the organisation though. Unless you were in the front two rows or could wriggle over to the side and stand you didn't see very much. Cox plays sitting down. A simple stage to raise him up from floor level would have made a big difference.
I enjoyed one of his party pieces - the Baby Elephant Walk.
From GFSA I met Brent, Racman, Big M and Ray.
Great sound on his guitar. Very full and rich, but also intimate so that even at the back of the room you could hear all the details in his playing. He was playing a Smoothtalker.
Ray
Ya well, as I said, the reserved signs were just sellotaped to the seats so nothing to stop you taking them off and plakking yours on. I sat in the second row. No, I wouldnt do that but I did sit in the second row but on the right hand side which wasnt so lekker when it's a right handed guitarist playing. A little stage would have been a good plan as even in the second row, when the family folk in front moved about a bit it blocked the view. But the sound was good.
Smoothtalker, yes it is an interesting looking instrument. I would like to hear it completely unplugged. Just to convince me that it can do what acoustic guitars do. My son went and bought a cd there and I see that pics on the cover he has the Smoothtalker as well.
As for the show, lovely! Nice meeting you Bob.
Ray
I was actually just sitting around now thinking about the show last night and about the stuff that Tony Cox was saying and how I get taken quite easily. Just before his last number he was talking about smoke on stage being the avenue for recognition and all and how he f's up a stompbox to get it to smoke and he was going to show us this and I thought yissis this oke is not so lekker hey. I think he actually told us he was talking shit but I was so busy worrying about it that I didnt hear it and when the show was done I was pretty relieved. I was wondering why he just didnt even blink an eye that his trick didnt work.
Bob-Dubery
One of the good things about that show was how he acted like a human being and engaged the audience with his between-songs anecdotes and twakpraat.
This is the third time I've seen him in the last two years or so, and it seemed to me that he had a bit extra in the tank this time around. He played really, really well. He showed great skill and the performance was committed and convincing.
