Truly Inspired Performances; Tony Cox and Ryan Leblanc in the Schoolhouse

It was a last minute gig, two incredible artists just off the plane for a Folk Festival Conference. Ryan coming from our own east coast and Tony from the UK. Those who made the trip to the schoolhouse came away with an appreciation of what can be done on an acoustic guitar (and banjo and a box).

Ryan Leblanc took the stage first and showed us how to play all of the guitar. The ability to be play finely crafted melodies on the guitar whilst performing as your own percussion section (slapping the guitar, or the wooden box you're sitting on) is something to watch. At one point Ryan added a harmonica over the top, played the guitar with one hand (on the neck) and drummed the backline on his wooden box ($40 in material). Incredible, it seemed if someone were to lob another instrument on stage he'd have played that as well. Towards the end of the set, a banjo was brought out, a highly modified banjo (made to sound like a snare drum when hit). Over a couple songs we were shown the traditional bum-be-dah slowly at first to illustrate the technique and then at the speed of light. Ryan finished off the set with a number that displayed fearsome fingerwork up the neck.

Tony took the stage after a brief break with his beautiful guitar. He owned the stage, the room,the building instantly. His stories are fantastic, often based in his experiences in Rhodesia as a boy. It felt as though a stranger had come to town to tel us stories of far off lands. Them came the music. Everything seemed completely effortless and smooth. The arrangements were complex to be sure, but the execution was smooth and comfortable. The intro to any of his songs was always entertaining from humour to strife, to life. In fact the intro often matched the length of the song itself and occasionally included snippets of other songs to help explain the style and history of the song. The cover of baby Elephant Walk and the wildly entertaining intro to it strayed into the realm of unbelievable as the bass line and melody were both covered. The last number of his set "You asked for It" was more mesmerizing than the videos of past live versions of that number, and was my favourite of the night.

In response to the crowd's appreciation, Ryan came back up and the two played a number by Ryan (as yet untitled) where they passed wonderful solos back and forth before the two too a bow for the evening. It was a performance that we hope to see again in the future when they return to the area.