LORD OF THE STRINGS – The Clubroom @ GC

MATHEW FAGAN is “LORD OF THE STRINGS”

GC (German Club) The Clubroom      Feb 23rd – 7:30pm

Review by GARY CLARKE     4.5K

Tucked away in the back of the GC behind the busy dining room/bar is an intimate venue named The Clubroom.   This night featured acclaimed guitarist Mathew Fagan a.k.a Lord Of The Strings.  The title was gifted to Mathew by none other than Billy Connolly with whom Mathew toured 53 gigs as a musical accompanist in 1999.  Did that make him a guitarist playing second fiddle to a banjo player? …

Not really.  Mathew was lauded by Billy as ” The best guest guitarist he has ever had”  !  As the evening progressed Mathew proceeded to demonstrate just why he deserved such an accolade.  Initially Our Lord presented  as something akin to an exotic Eastern Prince resplendent in brightly coloured, highly distinctive dress.  After a brief intro he put aside his costume and set about putting us all at ease with his unpretentious persona and adept flourishes of guitar music.

Perched comfortably amidst a cache of beautiful guitars  including a unique 10 string Richard Howell featuring 4 extra bass strings  Mathew demonstrated his extraordinary musical prowess interspersing  the set with clever witticisms and easy banter.  He tells us he took up guitar as therapy and this performance was equally therapeutic for the delighted audience.

We were asked to contribute suggestions of guitar pieces in a Guitar Challenge.  From The Beatles to Bach, from Peter Green (Albatross) to Paco De Lucia and even Bob Marley!!! nothing phased him.   Watching Mathew rip through Paco De Lucia’s Almoraima was breathtaking yet he didn’t even break a sweat!   This very entertaining performance was worth 5k but for some minor distortion that may have been an artifact of the rooms acoustics …….Highly Recommended    4.5K

Review by GARY CLARKE.

NOTE:   Mathew Fagan also teams up with Czech Violinist Romana Geermans in a World Premiere of  “Gypsy Fire Electric”   See Fringe Guide for more details.