April 13, 2007
Adrian Legg
Adrian Legg appeared at Coolwater for the first time on April 13th. Truthfully, I had been more than a tad nervous about this show. Adrian is one of the best known guitarists on the planet, is a technical wiz, has more pedals and electronic goodies than I would ever know what to do with. I was immediately put at ease when he helped out a 'hiss' problem we were having with the sound system by suggesting we stuffed toilet paper into the horns. It helped the hiss remarkably, and was such a funny solution to a common problem, we all had a good laugh and all of us were put at ease.
Adrian and his wife Diana were charming and sweet, an absolute pleasure to be around. His British sense of humor, something I've always been a sucker for, came through in the performance, as well as while we all chatted through dinner afterwards.
His show was phenomenal...such an array of sound coming from his Bill guitar. Beautiful, lilting melodies and harmonies contrasted with rhythmic toe-tappers, all fully utilizing Adrian's gift for tech without compromising the tune. The additional synthesized sounds were used with the utmost taste, and never did the 'tail wag the dog', that is to say his compositions were not top heavy with the FX, but pure and beautiful, orchestral and full.
Adrian is a master story teller, and kept us all on the edge of our seats with his humorous anecdotes, tales and asides. Pure delight. It was an honor to have him here at the ranch, and would gladly welcome him and Diana back.
Smiles all around.
