Wavendon, Milton Keynes
Wednesday 21st September 2016
Billed as "Jimmy Webb - Still On the Line: The Glen Campbell Years", this show epitomised the multi-decade friendship Jimmy and Glen have treasured. There was of course a tinge of sadness, knowing that Jimmy was paying tribute to his best friend who no longer actually remembers him, being in the last stages of dementia.
Jimmy is a fantastic raconteur, a prolific song writer and he had years of happy memories to pull from and share with us. And that is exactly what he did.
Seated at a Grand Piano, the time flew past as Jimmy chatted to us (and the rest of the audience!), interspersed with song, picture shows, video and even singing along with Glen on the video. The whole auditorium sat enthralled and were genuinely entertained as Jimmy shared his childhood years, his move away from home, the time he first met Glen....... through to the numerous collaborations with Glen. We could have sat there and listened for hours more.
He included the expected songs, such as "Witchita Lineman" and "When I get To Phoenix" but also spoke a lot about his time writing for The Fifth Dimension.
This show was not "off the cuff" like previous shows we have seen, as Jimmy's story telling had to match the flow of the photos and video in the backdrop. But even though this was "scripted" it still felt like Jimmy was in your sitting room, just sharing adhoc memories and bursting into song.
After the show, Jimmy gave a lot of his time to meet the audience who formed a long line through the lobby area. Although the queue was long and it was late, Jimmy never rushed anyone. Happy to sign his CDs, memorabilia, pose for photos, you really could not get a more generous star.
 |
| The Beeb gets his poster signed by Jimmy |
Seeing Jimmy Webb perform is as pleasure any time, and tonight was a bit special given the nature of the show. We felt the standing ovation at the end, which seemed to humble Jimmy, was not just for him but for Glen too.
