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REVIEW: Leo Kottke lets his fingers do the talking

By Steven Horowitz

Acoustic guitar maven Leo Kottke took the stage of the mostly packed house at the Englert on Wednesday night and played two instrumental songs on his 12-string guitar without saying a word. Dressed in blue jeans, a black shirt and a dark sport jacket, the slightly-built gentleman took up just a small space on the large proscenium, but he looked comfortable as he started picking right at 8 p.m. as scheduled.

When Kottke got around to speaking, he started telling stories. He seldom discussed his music and rarely mentioned a song title. Instead he told tales about being a trombone player in the marching band in Muskogee, Okla., finding inspiration in a book about ants and twice being in the presence of U.S. presidents.

Kottke displayed a droll sense of humor. Playing weddings was a hassle, he said, but “funerals are a snap.” He relayed Oscar Wilde’s last words, “Either the wallpaper goes or I do.” But the guitarist’s spiels were secondary to his playing as he let his fingers do most of the talking.

Throughout during Kottke’s 90-minute set he performed several songs in a row without interruption. While he delicately fingered his first four and last three tunes on the 12-string guitar, Kottke played the 6-string guitar for the bulk of the show. Sometimes Kottke would use a slide, other times he employed a capo, but he never drew attention to what he was doing technically to get the sounds out of his instrument.

Most of the tunes were instrumentals. In the past Kottke has joked about his vocal limitations and has compared himself to a croaking frog. While that overstates the case, Kottke’s voice is best suited to the blues and other styles that don’t require much of a range. He sang a lively cover of the traditional folk song “Corrina, Corrina,” a bluesy rendition of the Eddie Reeves/Alex Harvey tune “Rings” and a spirited version of his own composition, “Julie’s House.”

Kottke performed music from throughout his almost 40-year career, including a wonderful version of “Watermelon” from his 1969 album 6- and 12- String Guitar on John Fahey’s Takoma label. Kottke has released more than 30 studio albums since then and continues to tour prolifically. He mentioned that he would soon be traveling to Australia to play a series of gigs down under.

But Wednesday, on a bare stage with just a microphone, a chair and his two guitars, Kottke seemed right at home. He never raised his voice and always had a easygoing smile on his face. The guitar master performed as if he were in a small room with intimate friends. He never showed off, even when the complexity of what he was doing suggested that there must have been another guitarist onstage to get the intricate interplay of notes out of the strings.

The mostly middle-aged audience seemed familiar with Kottke’s repertoire and even shouted out a few requests during the encore. But that was not to be. He played just one more complicated tune on his 12-string guitar and then left the stage. No one was really disappointed. Kottke had plainly expended a great deal of energy performing all by himself and his fingers must have been tired. The crowd had gotten its money’s worth and it was time to go home. Friends don’t force friends to overexert themselves.