Date: 24 March 1997
To: RichMailList
Subject: [RichMailList 123]: Another Langhorne, PA review

Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 08:07:03
From: Judi Lemay-Lusk
Subject: Rich at PCB

Danl,

Thought I'd contribute a quick report on Rich's concert at Philadelphia
College of Bible on Friday night. It was great, but then, I'm not telling
you anything you already didn't know! To avoid having to get there at least
an hour early to make a mad dash for seats, we decided to get the reserved
seats, which was the best thing we could have done! I used to work with the
woman at the campus bookstore, so when I asked if she had any good seats
left, she gave us second row, center, aisle seats! They were great, except
when Rich sat at the piano, he had a microphone stand in the middle of his
face!

The show was only Rich and Mitch. It was longer than we expected, starting
around 7:40, break around 9:40, restarting around 10, ending just before
11. A long show for just 2 people. The set list and all have been reported,
so I'm not going into that, except to say that he did the usual opening,
dividing us up into three groups to sing, Praise Ye the Lord, 2 new songs
("come to the desert" and "John's song", which I'm assuming is new, at
least it's new to me), he went through the story of the designs on Irish
sweaters (which brought me to tears when he finished it later on), and
ended with several hymn sing-a-longs, and walked off while we sang the
doxology. He also mentioned that passage in Ps. 137 about babies, which
seemed to draw a few gasps from the crowd.

The best part of being so close is to see what goes on on stage. During one
song, Mitch was using Rich's guitar. When he returned it to Rich, he said
"I like yours better than mine". Rich's retort was "well, get a job and buy
one!" At another time, Mitch was doing a solo with harmonica. It was
apparent to him that he had the wrong one, could Rich get the G harmonica
out of his case? Rich didn't know if it was G or not, so when Mitch showed
him the G on the end of it, he simply replied "Oh!" in such a way that
everyone howled. They also did 2 really lovely songs on dulcimer, the
second one they flubbed at the end, which had us all laughing again! It was
during one of these songs that Rich brought out a lap dulcimer, complete
with what looked like the price tag still attached!

Rich did seem to be a bit hoarse as the evening wore on, my husband noticed
that he limped onto the stage, and I noticed when he left, that he seemed
to really favor his right leg. He was in great humor, however, and great
voice. I had never heard Mitch before (does anyone know where Rich found
him?) but we really enjoyed listening to him, solo and in harmony with
Rich. They make a great team.

Maybe I'm just a bit biased, but I really thought he deserved a few
standing ovations, which never came. The crowd certainly liked him, but
even though they were warm to him, I still sensed a (for the lack of a
better word) conservatism or restraint in the crowd. 

He didn't talk about his work on the reservation much at all, nor did he
mention the musical that he's working on. The concert, as you all probably
know, was to talk about Compassion, which he did. He said he gets asked who
his models are (G.K. Chesterton, Francis of Assisi, C.S. Lewis). He also
mentioned Lent a few times, I don't think he has converted to Catholicism
but he apparently does have a relationship with a priest.

It was a joy to be there and to hear him! He is quick to laugh, his
integrity and sincerity are right there for everyone to see, he is an
encourager, exhorter, and a real life human being. His way with words has
always touched my heart, and speaking for myself, I hope he continues his
writing and performing. I can't imagine life without him!

If any of you can get the opportunity to see him, please make the effort,
it's worth it!

in Him,
judi