The total Bruce Cockburn experience!
by PickerDad on 2023-02-07The Centre in Vancouver - VancouverRating: 5 out of 5Start to finish, just a great show. Despite his age, he gave us a full two sets and encore. His guitar work is as amazing as ever, and his voice is still strong and accurate. Plus he casually added in the benefit of his life experience, from as far back as 1965. And he has now written a book of his life; I'll be picking that up soon. It was entirely a one-man show, and it couldn't have been better even with a full orchestra. His songs are always polished to perfection, and he is still, arguably, the world's best guitarist, so there was nothing lacking with just one man and his guitar and a minimum of electronic gear. Actually, it was three acoustic guitars, just the minimum set for all his material: a six-string, a 12-string, and a resonator. It was billed as "an evening with Bruce Cockburn" and that's precisely what is was.
I wasn't sure how it would go at first, because he walks a bit slow, and he is sporting the full "Father Christmas" look with white hair and a spectacular well-clipped white beard. But he dispelled any concerns the instant he started playing. He was just as note-perfect and competent as ever, to the final bow. In fact he revealed that he has just recorded a new album, to be released in the coming weeks. He played us some of the new songs and they are fantastic. It's not the work of an old man wrapping up his career, it's every bit as fresh as his early career. I'll definitely get it as soon as it is released. The night was a smooth mix of his songs from the sixties up to the present day, skilfully combined and performed to perfection. Between songs, he had us hanging on every word. He established a great connection with the audience, responding to all the questions and comments, and even getting us singing some of the choruses.
I was lucky enough to have a seat in the 6th row of the centre orchestra, and it felt like he was in my living room. The sound and acoustics were perfect and the house sound techs gave him just what he needed on his monitors whenever he asked. Working entirely alone for the entire show, he was (as usual) jaw-dropping amazing. I've been following his work and playing his albums since the very start, in the 60's, and became a fan all over again. Time to dust off those old LP's ...