Not to be confused with that dreadful country duo Big & Rich, Loud & Rich came through the Carolina Theatre with a little less fanfare and a little more talent. Allow me rephrase that: a lot more talent. Loud is Loudon Wainwright III, the quirky and unconventional Americana songwriter who is in the midst of celebrating the career of the Eden-born old time legend Charlie Poole. Rich is Richard Thompson, one the greatest living guitarists anywhere and prime mover in the 1960s England’s electric folk scene. They are two artists who will never provide promo music for an ESPN football broadcast, but the two old friends have numerous collaborations together — including both of Wainwright’s Grammy-nominated releases — and their current tour holds one of the most cunningly apt billings of the year.
A brief intro by former Greensboro mayor Keith Holliday, whose “I-wasin-on-the-soundcheck-and-wow” crowd pumper needs a bit of a dust-up, preceded Wainwright’s opening set. The always-wiseacre Loud showed that he hasn’t mellowed one bit during his pointed and often acerbic 75-minute set. He was hell bent on proving that he’s an equal-opportunity government critic with one of his newest offerings, “Cash for Clunkers,” a slyly-simplistic ditty that torched every cliché used to sell the program.
“This is my attempt to cash in on this,” Wainwright said with a wry grin.
In classic Wainwright fashion, his set was set was riddled with false starts and forgotten lyrics, but that’s not necessarily an aspect of him to be derided.
He’s like the physical embodiment of the spirit of his own work; darkly witty and aggressive, yet exposed and self-deprecating all at the same time. His latest project is a retrospective to the hard-drinking and abruptly ending life of Poole, entitled High Wide and Handsome. Wainwright’s rendition of “The Letter That Never Came” was achingly beautiful, though a Richard Thompson appearance for Jerry Garcia favorite “The Deal” was the set’s highlight.
Rich would follow forthwith and while I don’t know why I was expecting a full-on electric set, it took less than one song to make me glad it was just him and his guitar. The last great thing that Rolling Stone ever did was include him at No. 19 in their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” It’s simply magical to watch and hear him play. His voice is commanding; his words are majestic; his technique is unrivaled. From opener “Feels So Good” to “I want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” performed mid-set, Thompson was impeccable on all fronts.
Yet somehow, he still turned it up another notch, to a near-superhuman level, on “The Sunset Song.” Thompson plucked a steady low-end rhythm with his thumb and index finger up top while playing a jawdropping lead with the other three, which reminded me that just when you think you’ve seen it all in music, you really haven’t. The only way he could properly follow such a display of extraordinary motor skills was with one of the most beloved works. Naturally the (acoustically) electrifying “1952 Vincent Black Lightening,” a song deserving of dark-horse consideration for Greatest Song Ever, came next.
Loud & Rich became Rich & Loud, as Wainwright reappeared to close out a long night of amazing music. The pair reached back 35 years and produced the Richard and Linda Thompson classic “Down Where the Drunkards Roll,” a heartbreaking dirge made exponentially more so by the pairing. Not to leave the crowd on a down note, a cover of the Robins classic hit “Smokey Joe’s Café” livened the mood back up considerably. To be simply two men with two guitars, Loud & Rich surpassed every expectation that their billing implied.
