Impressions from a Peter Hammill Noob:
I have to admit that prior to this week I was a borderline Peter Hammill/Van der Graaf Generator fan. That is until I won some free tickets from Twist and Shout to go see PH in person. I wanted to hone up on some of his solo material, but was advised by those in the know in regards to his extensive back catalog I'd probably be rather overwhelmed in trying to do so, especially since PH usually changes up his set lists night to night making it nearly impossible to familiarize oneself with any of his material he might pull out. So, I found a few of his solo albums online, "Singularity", "Enter K" and "Patience" just to get a flavor of his style. I gave them many spins over the week and have to admit I found them really enjoyable. Where have I been in regards to Hammill's music?
I was also advised to just go and get in the mindset of seeing a master singer songwriter. Robert Fripp is quoted as calling PH the Jimi Hendrix of vocals so expect some extreme vocal acrobatics. OK, I can hear that in his recorded material for sure, how will it translate live? I'm not much of a singer songwriter guy, that is I generally find attending shows where it's just one guy and a piano, or in this case, also a guitar, to be rather boring. Chalk it up to my short attention span I suppose. Give me a band with lots going on. Well, that concern turned out to be rather non-valid to say the least. Peter Hammill is no standard singer songwriter guy! His performance was very captivating. His use of dynamics and nuance is top notch and lyrically I found myself really engaged. A standout example lyric for me was, from which song I have no idea, "The birds don't know which way to sing, my friend, and neither do I". I found myself applying many of his lyrics to the current world and political situations. I'm sure many of these songs are 30 years old or so, but still have a certain timelessness. I am definitely looking forward to exploring more of his back catalog.
Overall, Hammill seemed very appreciative of the audience. Sadly, there was only about 50 folks there, but it didn't deter him from playing his heart out. After the show he came out and signed autographs and was very fan friendly mingling and even joked around with us. He mentioned to us this was his first time in Colorado, believe it or not considering his long career.
I have a collection of photos on my photo site and have three digital videos shot with my digital camera, so they are nothing too fancy, on my YouTube Station.
