Live Review: Albert Lee

Sometimes a legend comes to town to trade in on past glories, hoping to put bums on seats for the sake of nostalgia. Other times though, a legend comes to town and shows us all why they're a legend. Albert Lee, guitarist extraordinaire, master stylist, and sideman to many a star, is the second kind of legend. Fifty years of playing with the likes of Emmylou Harris, The Everly Brothers, and The Crickets, have left him with a tremendous range and repertoire, and Sunday night at the Charles Hotel, he gave Perth a taste.

Despite Lee's tendency to lean towards country rather than blues, leather jackets outnumbered flannel shirts in the crowd. Lee himself is 74 years old though, so it was no surprise to see that 'comfortable shoes' were even more common. Never fear, the audience was ready to hoot and holler like a Saturday night even on a Sunday - and here and there you spotted some younger folk, guitar disciples queuing up for a glimpse of The Man's technique.

Over almost two hours, Lee went through an awe-inspiring back catalogue, treating us to songs from every era of his career, and scattering anecdotes from a life at the centre of the music universe throughout the set. How a man can come across modest while telling stories about his escapades with the likes of Eric Clapton is beyond this reviewer; somehow Lee managed the trick. But the real highlight of the show, of course, was the playing. His three-piece backing band — keyboards, bass and drums — were up to every challenge, supporting frenetic country picking or liquid honey as Lee moved through the gears.

The crowd were transfixed, rapt not just for his signature numbers such as Country Boy, but for tunes from both obscure artists and headliners like Gram Parsons, Buddy Holly, and Ray Charles. The house was quiet when Lee moved to the piano, although guitarists around the room were heard to mutter in confusion for moment or two. In a nod to a fellow guitar legend, Lee tore through Richard Thompson's Tear Stained Letter, his guitar stinging, darting, and leaping about like a mad thing. Then the band took a pro forma break, before coming back to farewell the crowd with a romp through a few more tunes, including Chuck Berry's Back In The USA.

Lee manages to be a hero to guitar players, but not a 'guitar hero' playing only to the faithful. That made the night a pleasure for everyone — leather jackets, flannel shirts, soft shoes and the rest. Here's hoping we get the pleasure again sometime soon.