Description and review of the recent acoustic guitar concert performed by Peppino D’Agostino at the B Street Theatre at the Sophia.
A friend and I recently attended a concert at the B Street Theatre at the Sophia featuring Peppino D’Agostino, a native of Italy and a master of the guitar. It was a magical evening and I now know why Guitar Player magazine in 2017 listed Peppino as one of the 50 transcendent superhero’s of the acoustic guitar!
It was Peppino D’Agostino alone onstage with three guitars. He designed his signature Seagull acoustic guitar – which was voted among the ten best signature guitars by Guitar Player. At one point during the evening he asked how many in the audience played guitar and a number of hands went up – including virtually everyone in the first row!
Many of the songs he performed were original, and he shared with the audience what had inspired each song. He has a way with words and pulled the audience in with his stories between songs.
See related blog post: Eleftheria Kotzia – Classical Guitar Concert
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An avid soccer fan, the first song he played was inspired by a game of soccer when he was playing with friends. The song was titled Running Wild.
In his commentary between songs he shared his response to the question – what kind of music do you write? His answer – Minestrone music. He explained that just like Minestrone soup has a mix of different kind of vegetables, etc. – his music is a mix of elements that he finds interesting.
The second song he played was inspired by his wife and daughter. He shared that his daughter did not really sleep except for brief naps for three years. He and his wife tried everything – and found that she would fall asleep briefly while lying on top of the dryer when it was running, or when riding in the car. One day they were visiting friends and had just sat down to a wonderful meal when the baby started crying. The song was titled Mother’s Tears.
Peppino explained that he was inspired not only by events – but also by rhythms or pulses. In addition to touring he teaches guitar and one of his students brought to him a 7/8 tempo. The result was Beyond the Dunes.
Another song he wrote and played was inspired by beautiful, exotic Costa Rica. After a few more songs he changed guitars and announced he was going to try an experiment. He had the lights turned on and left the stage, slowly making his way around the room all the time playing a series of songs up close and personal. Among the songs played was While My Guitar Gently Weeps by the Beatles. Beautiful.
Other stories and songs followed once he returned to the stage, including one that included audience participation singing the chorus.
Peppino even played a song he wrote after seeing the movie Deliverance (banjo music played on the guitar!) and a song that had been originally written for the accordion.
For the last song of the evening he asked everyone to close their eyes while he played Blue Ocean. The evening had gone by so fast – and I could not believe how many songs he had played during the 1 ½ hour show without a break!
I am certainly going to keep my eyes open for the next time he comes to town – and you might want to do so as well.
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