The Main Line...........

Sunday to Paris, the evening at the Olympia for Ry Cooder. Monday morning the Thalys for Schiphol and then a hop and jump to Haarlem. Ry Cooder cannot disappoint, he has nothing to prove having reached legend status. The rarity of his appearances brings out the devoted and packs the house, the musicians in the crowd all giving it large. Cooder belongs to the golden age when the guitar was king and great music relied on great instrumentalists. Cooder's playing is peerless and his signature bottleneck brings whoops from the crowd. This concert showcases Cooder's first album release for six years,'The Prodigal Son', it's a mix of standards, spiritual and roots blues. He takes centre stage, circled by his many, some legendary, instruments all of which get played. His voice, live, is impressive and there are several stomping showstoppers that Cooder drives along,'Jesus is on the main line' and 'Everybody ought to treat a stranger right' are stand out numbers. The Cooder crankiness comes through and standards such as 'How can a poor man stand such times and live', highlight the humanity and political anger for which he is renowned. It's a great show, a legendary and very relevant musician meditating on mortality and spirituality in a changing landscape.