Chris Wood in concert at Exeter Phoenix, Thursday 20th October, 2011. A Midnight Mango presentation.
An evening with Chris Wood is always, I find, a joy to experience.
From the moment he stepped on stage with a beaming smile, it seemed that we were going to be enjoying something special.
Immediately it was as if he was chatting to and playing for me personally in a homely setting.
There seemed such a wonderful and easy flow in his performance as if was deciding on the spur of the moment what was appropriate to play.
Maybe at times this was true though quite definitely a great deal of thought and preparation had taken place before such a well crafted performance.
Chris showed he was a brilliantly perceptive judge of his audience and soon had us eating out of his hands.
He began with a most unlikely song, a beautiful and unusual version of While Shepherds Watched.
This was an interesting choice as Chris revealed that while his parents were devout churchgoers and he was a former choirboy, he was no longer a believer.
The song had a fine melody and words and obviously meant something to him so why should he not sing it.
He later performed his moving atheist spiritual Come Down, Jehovah:
They say paradise is right here on earth, Jehovah
Not tomorrow but right now today
And Devil come up from your fiery furnace,
Come up from your fiery place.
There’s nothing you can teach us of evil or hatred
That we don’t have right here in this place
A great example of the sensitivity and poignance of Chris’s lyrics.
During Chris Wood’s concert we found out a lot about the man.
His love for humanity was clear though he hads no fear in speaking out about differences with others especially when he perceived injustice.
His many fiends often shared his love of music.
There were a few surprises such as the revelation that Chris regularly played country and western songs with old mates. He could still be one of the lads, our Chris.
He really appreciated what friends offered him. Word man Hugh Lupton regularly sent him words to put tunes to and Chris finds well written words just magic. Both he and Hugh, it seems, were huge fans of marriage and home life.
He put fellow musician and long-time touring partner Andy Cutting on a high pedastal.
By attempting to play – and succeeding in playing – an intricate and difficult new Morris tune composed by Cutting, Chris Wood showed his admiration for and reverance of Cutting.
Looking back over the evening, Chris remarked that all the songs had really been love songs and so they were.
Some songs, such as his homily to John Charles de Mendez, the Brazilian shot by police in a London tube station, were highly perceptive and strong expressions of his high regard for humanity and justice.
Others like Summerfield Avenue vividly expressed fond memories.
All the songs and tunes performed seemed to be done with such ease and flair.
It would have been hard to leave this concert without feeling relaxed, refreshed and perfectly entertained.
Till we meet again, many thanks, to a real craftsman and a great guy, Chris Wood.
Martin Hodge