Beth Orton at the Trocadero
by kickspoodles on 9/28/12Keswick Theatre - GlensideI had been looking forward to this event all summer. Was concerned when the event was moved from the Keswick to the Trocadero, but the seating switch worked well and it was still worth all the jockeying for great seats I did in July. The opening act was unbearable. Just awful. Most of us within three rows of each other just looked around at each other, mouthing, "Can this be real?" Excellent musicianship, but the vocal piece was self-indulgent shrieking, intentionally. We were relieved when it ended at 8:30. Beth Orton walked into the theatre at 8:20, passing within inches of us as she slipped behind the stage. By 9:00, after sitting in my seat for a half hour after the opening act came to a fortunate close, I was irritated from waiting. If the artist was trying to build excitement by taking so long to come onstage, she failed. The delay was not due to a change of costume nor to prepare her guitars, as she took the stage in the same clothing she wore into the theatre, and when she began to play, the guitar was not tuned correctly and she fumbled for a few minutes before picking up a different guitar and saying that she would just have to skip the song she had intended to play. Her spacey, bumbling manner was somewhat endearing in contrast to the bloated egos and indulgences often exhibited onstage, but it seemed terribly unprofessional. After all, I didn't pay a $15 cover charge to get in. I enjoyed the playlist, the performance, but would likely not do it again.