This is really good. Thanks for sharing. I have been a fan of Al’s since the early 70s when Past, Present and Future was released. I was blown away by Roads to Moscow. Couldn’t get enough of it. What a treat to discover his music. It was so unique to have a songwriter write these amazing songs, about historical events no less. While working at my college radio station at Ryerson in Toronto, I had the good fortune to interview him after he did at Convocation Hall, a fairly small venue. I was nervous as hell, but he was very gracious and answered all my many questions. Fast forward a couple of years and his next Toronto show was after he released Year of the Cat. This time he played Maple Leaf Gardens, a much bigger venue. What a difference a hit makes. He said many times at his concerts that YOTC paid his bills. I was also lucky enough to see him several times in the 2000s at a little club in Toronto called Hugh’s Room. The last 3 of those with Dave Nachmanoff, also a very personable fellow. Every show was fantastic. Al’s voice was as strong and smooth as it was in his younger years. This guy is a great, yet under-appreciated artist.
I'm a Toronto boy too and made many a visit to Hugh's Room. Unfortunately I didn't "discover" it until about 2010 but then made regular visits to see people like Valdy, Murray McLauchlan and countless times to see Ian Thomas and Rik Emmett. Great memories, fantastic place to see a band and sadly no more. I would loved to have seen Al there.
Took me back over fifty years to when I bought a ticket to hear someone I did not know about. Just a guy with a guitar and magical words, it turned out to be favourite concert ever. He was so cute then, his charm and voice remain the same.
Al Stewart.....what a wonderful gift!! Al Stewart has always been one of my very favorites. I just love his voice! It sounds just as beautiful as when he was a young man singing that gem of a song, Time Pasages. He's very funny and adorable!!
Thanks for posting this. A lot of people have forgotten what it's like to watch people perform music. As a person who has no musical talent it always intrigues me to watch music performed live without all the stuff added to music videos. A real treat for me.
Thanks so much for sharing this treasure! Because Al has such a small ego, he always has ceded the spotlight to other masterful guitarists, be they Peter White, Tim Renwick, Ardeshir Farah or Dave Nachmanoff. But Al always could play a bit himself, as any student of his "earlier" songs could confirm. "Antarctica" is an old favorite that he sometimes still will play live, somewhat slower than this. Did i say, "Thanks?"
Fan of Al Stewart since 1973 when my mate Peter White played with him. Have you seen the price of Al's Road To Moscow album these days......silly money! True value of an artist and his talent.
I missed seeing Al tonight. I had tickets but couldn’t get in because of Covid restrictions. This is an awesome substitute. Al Stewart’s music occupied a huge amount of my memories
Just ran across this. What fantastic memories of an amazing singer in a fabulous location. We’ve seen Almsp many times in some very unique locales. One was in Monterrey where my daughter attended a flute camp earlier.
He really is ! I saw him just before all these damn lockdowns with the empty pockets, and I gotta say he was so on form it was crazy ! One of the best times I've ever seen him, and I've seen him a lot.
It was great to be there in San Francisco, on top of Nob Hill ... for the 2 show performances at the Grace Cathedral, for the 2001 Festiv-AL gathering.😊
Thanks for putting this up, I don't think I've seen this before. Saw Al on a couple of his UK tour dates last year backed by the Empty Pockets, superb band. Nice to see Dave Nachmanoff with Al again though as these guys play off each other so well.
Yup I was there in Manchester and they were great ! In fact one of the very best times I've seen Al, and I've seen him a lot :) I was lucky enough to get in the orchestra pits so we were close enough to smell him lol - he smelled just fine.
Hello I really do appreciate you for being a big fan thank you for your wonderful comments on my post it really means a lot to me.I sincerely hope you never stop listening to my music…..❤️❤️
Hello I really do appreciate you for being a big fan thank you for your wonderful comments on my post it really means a lot to me.I sincerely hope you never stop listening to my music…..❤️❤️
I've been to many concerts and go for the music. Loved Floyd and Elton they put on a show but there is music behind it. When one goes to see Al it's for the music. I was fortunate to see him in Seattle when he did an acoustic show with Dane Nach. Loved that show as much as Floyd and Elton.
@@mordokch Totally agree and I always missed being able to see this concert because of image problems it was unaffordable for almost everyone but thankfully there are generous people like you, who give us the opportunity for negative things to change to positive ..... That is why I am very grateful to you, I love Al Stewart's music since I was a child and for that, I am a great follower of his career, of everything he composes, of his concerts on the Internet, etc. etc. Thank you very much again........!!!!!
@@josezurita9470 I saw him a couple of months before xmas, in Manchester, England. It was with a full band and they were bloody great ! I tell you, Al's lost nothing - he's still as good as ever ! I bought a cd from the tour stall (uncorked), but they didn't have any dvd's or I would have snapped them up in a flash :) If you didn't already, you might want to check out my channel for the Bert Jansch 60th birthday video - I suspect you might like that one. Treat your self :)
@@mordokch Thank you for your comments, although I know that it is not the same to see an Al concert in a video instead of live, I can still feel his energy, spontaneity, talent and positivity through the videos and I agree that despite the Over the years, Al, still as great as ever. I live in a city called Jaén, in the south of Spain and I saw Al in 1989 in Madrid, it was my only time, unfortunately, that I saw him in a live concert, but it stuck in my mind for life and I remember it as if it were yesterday. Unfortunately also, that was the last tour that Al made for Spain, so I have not seen him again but already resigned, I am content to see him through the internet, because in the past, there was no way to see him except on television (almost never in my country) or in concert, very rarely too, I understand, that the issue of different languages greatly influences the music market. at least, in those times and in my country. Greetings and thanks......!!!
Hello I really do appreciate you for being a big fan thank you for your wonderful comments on my post it really means a lot to me.I sincerely hope you never stop listening to my music…..❤️❤️
This is so cool. Hey, Mr. Stewart. Do you have Lyle Lovett's phone number? I will get it for you. You all should colab. Much love to you and stay safe. Thanks for entertaining since I was 16 years old.
where's Grace Cathedral? I love that he opens with Flying Sorcery!--I remember sharing this song with my Dad, a WW2 pilot. I have this song on vinyl, and right there, next to Flying Sorcery, is my Dad's mark---a tidy little star...marking the song that his daughter thought he'd enjoy.
It's a glorious Episcopal church on the top of Nob Hill in San Francisco. At first I misremembered that it was where I took my bar prep classes... then I looked it up and realized that was at St. Mary's Cathedral, which is the CATHOLIC cathedral, maybe a mile away.
Flying Sorcery is one of my favourite Al Stewart songs. Apart from Year of the Cat, I think that it is the best song on that album, and every track is brilliant.
There were two performances (On a Sunday & Monday evening), for the Festiv-AL gathering of devoted Al Stewart fans. We had a Saturday evening supper gathering at a well-known San Fransicso ristorante (Luigi's ?) in which Al Stewart sat with each table of fans for a few minutes to answer questions, and recommend a good wine for the dinner. The event also included a drive to Napa wine country in a few 1946 white Packard limousines, for wine tasting. Al was trying to sell his remaining CD copies of "Down In The Cellar" , and offered them for the bargain price of $5 each, autographed.
@@James007Bone what an event! I love my "Down in the Cellar" CD, which I bought at one of his two concerts I attended in 2016 and 2017 (Kirkland WA and Portland OR). I knew of his early and intense interest in all things winey, and this menu doesn't disappoint. I will always love that the band got the wine that night...
Hello I really do appreciate you for being a big fan thank you for your wonderful comments on my post it really means a lot to me.I sincerely hope you never stop listening to my music…..❤️❤️
If it were properly mixed for release then maybe they would have tamed the choir down a bit, but one has to remember that this was a live stereo recording and so will never be 'perfect'. The acoustics in that place probably lend themselves quite well to that choir type sound, in fact I suppose it was designed to do that, so perhaps it's not all that surprising that it sounded a little forward in the mix. Funnily enough I can't say it ever bothered me though, in fact I don't think I even noticed :)
Yep he sounds exactly like 25 years when i saw him many times in London. But I can't remember him having this funny nose. Ok, I will turn the image off.
