November 5, 2025

Elizabeth and I had an interesting juxtaposition of Richard Thompson shows that made clear why we prefer seeing him in smaller venues.

As part of a five-day NYC jaunt last week, we saw him open for the great Tommy Emmanuel at Carnegie Hall. Richard played for an hour, so his set was about half of what he usually performs. Despite a little vocal strain on some high notes, his performance was, as always, exemplary. The acoustics were decent. Tommy’s set was electrifying, if maybe a wee bit hammy. When Tommy and Richard played together on Merle Haggard’s “Working Man Blues” and John Lennon’s “Imagine”, it was a ragged-but-right performance that succeeded despite virtually no rehearsal. We loved the show.

But on Monday night we saw RT at The Birchmere and the difference in venue was striking. It’s not just the relative intimacy of the crowd and close proximity to the stage. I think it’s because Richard doesn’t play “big” — no rock-hero guitar moves, broad gestures, dancing/dipping/crouching, dramatic lighting at the end of songs, etc. His humor, which is a big part of his show appeal, is sly, clever, and spontaneous. Not loud. The off-hand remark, or droll one-liner to an over-enthusiastic audience request is sharp, but never bombastic. The focus on his playing is intense, not showy.

We’ve seen him in venues large and small and his performance is never short of incredible; but larger venues seem to diminish his strengths. We loved both shows... the Birchmere gig just had that special sauce.