Last Wednesday, I was able to to see Bruce Cockburn and Joan Osborne for a taping of etown radio, a two hour show featuring great music and interviews with both Cockburn and Osborne.
Bruce’s Set
Slow Down Fast
Pacing The Cage
Interview with host Nick Forster
(Joan Osborne Played Her Set)
If a Tree Falls
Beautiful Creatures
Jerusalem Poker
The City is Hungry
Bruce walks out on stage with a new hairstyle; grown long and pulled back to a pony tail, samurai style. He made a joke that he needed to put a bone in his hair to complete the look. Bruce played two small sets with an interview placed in the middle. Nick Forster (etown host) asked Bruce questions about his accomplishments, influences and intentions regarding songwriting. A common theme in Bruce’s answers was that he didn’t want to look back but just live in the moment. He said, at one point, his greatest achievement was being on “this stage at this time.”
His performance of Jerusalem Poker was incredible. It never ceases to amaze me how he can keep that thumb going while he plays the ridiculously hard solo for that song. His last selection was a new piece called “The City is Hungry.” He mentioned that it was inspired by New York City where has spent quite a bit of time visiting his girlfriend.
Even though this was a shorter performance that I’m used to, Bruce was in great form and I can’t wait to see him for the “Slice of Life Tour.”
P.S. I went to this concert only to see Bruce but I have to say that Joan Osborne blew my mind. Her voice is so strong and her tone is spine tingling. She put on a great show and I look forward seeing her live again. Loved her performance so much I bought Relish and Little Wild One the next day.
As you may know, I’m a huge Bruce Cockburn fan and when I discovered the documentary, “My Beat: The Life and Times of Bruce Cockburn” at Amazon, I had to have it. A brilliant documentary that gives just a bit of insight into the genius of Bruce Cockburn and his writing process.
Highlights include:
Studio footage of Bruce working with Andy Milne and Dapp Theory in his pursuit of overcoming writers block.
Witnessing the birth of “Postcards from Cambodia” from “You’ve Never Seen Everything.” He was working through the lyrics and music for this song and tried out the chorus for the first time on camera. Truly moving to watch.
If you are an aspiring song writer or just someone who loves the music of Bruce Cockburn, this documentary is highly recommended. From interviews with friends and family and words from Bruce himself, you will learn just a bit more about this modern day troubadour.
I’ve been trying to find accurate Bruce Cockburn tabs for you play. Unlike my Tommy Emmanuel Tabs post, it wasn’t as easy to find good tabs to find and I found many sites that were nothing but pop-ups and deceptive links, so beware because those types of sites are the kind you get spyware from. Here are a few for you to try and if you have any other recommendations, please leave a comment and share with us.
Sunwheel Dance: I’m not a fan of ASCII tab but it’s fairly accurate/close to the version I have in my “All the Diamonds” songbook. This version has you tune to open E(EBEG#BE) but I believe it’s tuned to open D (DADF#AD). Both with the capo on the second fret. The song is surprisingly easy to learn but incredibly hard to master, especially at the correct tempo.
Pacing the Cage: I couldn’t not find a free tab that was worth mentioning but I did find two versions that you can pay for. Both are very accurate and are in a tab/standard notation form. Version 1: $5.50 to download from musicnotes.com Version 2: $3.95 to download from freehandmusic.com
Foxglove: Tuned to open C, this is transcribed to power tab and is almost identical to my “All the Diamonds” songbook.
Wondering Where The Lions Are: ASCII tab again but gives you the main motive pretty accurately which is pretty much 90% of the song.
Dear Dancing Round a Broken Mirror and Water Into Wine: Very good transcriptions, one in Powertab. You will have to subscribe to the Bruce Cockburn musicians group in Yahoo groups and the tab can be found in the files sections. Many other good tabs and ideas that will set you in the right direction in learning other Bruce’s songs.
If you are like me, you probably own quite a few guitars. With all of those guitars in your arsenal, do you own your dream guitar yet? The one that you long for and would buy it if you had the money and the chance. My dream guitar is a made by Canadian Luthier, Linda Manzer and I’m afraid that it will remain just that…. a dream.
I first discovered Manzer guitars about five years ago I saw Bruce Cockburn in Boulder, Colorado. I have heard many times that when it comes to guitars, we listen with our eyes. Let’s just say that with a Manzer guitar your eyes won’t be disappointed. They are beautiful! The tone is exquisite and a joy to listen to. I also helps that Bruce really knows how to make it sing. Other notable Manzer lovers are Pat Methany and Carlos Santana. Methany owns the famous Pikasso(Pictured right), which is an intimidating instrument to look at it, let alone play it. As you can see, the craftsmanship on these guitars are first rate and with such high quality of guitars made, the popularity and demand increases.
When I first dreamt about owning a Manzer, there was about a 12 month waiting list because she only makes about 15 guitars a year. Next thing you know, it’s an eighteen months and today, the waiting list is closed so she can “catch up.” One day, I was tooling around on the Internet and stumbled on the Dream Guitars site. I noticed that they had a Manzer in the used list. For grins, I checked it out and see how much it would cost. $17,000! Now you know why it’s only a dream. Whether or not this is a ridiculous price or not is best left for a different post. You can bet that you will not see a post about my new Manzer unless I get the winning lotto numbers.
So what is your dream guitar? Is it attainable or will it always be a dream?
I have decided to start a new “series” of sorts, here at Guitar Musings. Along with giving you my thoughts and recommendations on new CD’s that I have purchasedt, I will also grab some music from my collection and let you know what I think. Why should all recommendations come from new releases when there is so much music to explore that has been around for years?
My first selection is Bruce Cockburn’s “Speechless.” I chose Bruce because it was his playing that inspired me to study fingerstyle guitar with his signature alternating bass lines with that unwavering thumb and his melodies continue to make my draw drop. Speechless came out in 2005 and is a collection of his instrumentals throughout his almost 40 year career. I think every song on this release is wonderful but here are some of my favorites.
Rouler Sa Bosse: He has been performing this live quite a bit now. Took me over a year to get that sucker down.
Sunrise on the Mississippi: Great blues tune. A great example of how his thumb is independent from his entire body. Make you feel like you’re on the front porch down south with some of the old greats.
Deep Lake: Slow meditative song that reminds me of a trip I took to the English River in Canada.
Water Into Wine and Sunwheel Dance: Both of these songs are perfect examples of his mastery of fingerstyle guitar. There is so much happening in these songs, you sometimes wonder if there is someone playing with him.
Mistress of Storms: Another “thumb” song but he adds vibes to this for a more jazzy feel. If you can get a hold of him doing this live, get it! His improv is incredible.
” at Amazon, I had to have it. A brilliant documentary that gives just a bit of insight into the genius of Bruce Cockburn and his writing process. 
in his pursuit of overcoming writers block.
