King Arthur Movie Tristan

One likes to believe in the freedom of music.

Rush - Spirit of Radio.

I noted a year and a half ago that I'm a big Steve Howe fan. When I was a teenage guitar player with big ideas about what I would do with my life, I learned early that versatility was what I wanted in my playing. Can you play country? they would ask, and I would reply with some crying guitar in a major scale. Acoustic guitar? I would flat pick, finger pick and toe tap. Jazz? I'm a hot cat who plays it cool. Classical? Baching right.

It started with Jimmy Page. He can comfortably handle any style, all the while sounding like a rock player. But when it comes to playing in many varied styles with virtuosity no one can compare to Yes guitarist Steve Howe.

I cottoned on to Howe with Yes's Fragile album. The rock/classical album features the legendary Roundabout that has Howe starting the piece with a classical intro, segueing into some jazzy harmonics before flat out rocking the chorus. Truly an awe inspiring song to a young impressionable with a penchant for guitar versatility. Fragile also features the Spanish tinged rock/classical masterpiece Mood For a Day. A few years ago the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet covered this song a really brought out the flamenco side of it. It was, in fact, the first classical style song I ever played, and I was tickled when the LAGQ legitimized it in the guitar repertoire.

So a few months ago when I received an e-mail from fingerstyleguitar.ca announcing a Steve Howe performance I didn't think twice, I didn't call anybody, I didn't send around e-mail seeing who was interested. I immediately ordered a single ticket, knowing that every second I waited I would get farther from the stage. It paid off, and Thursday night I sat in the fifth row, almost dead centre, and watched one of the great guitar players doing what he does best. Half a show with a nylon string playing his classical tinged material, and half with a steel string playing fingerpicking stuff. His playing is elegant and almost flawless, even if his memory isn't what it used to be.

There is something truly magical about seeing a master musician, up close and personal, nothing but his instrument. When it is someone who's music, and musicianship, you have admired for many years it is magical. To have a chance at a meet and signing afterwards is worth every penny. To hear Mood for a Day and The Clap from 25 feet away: priceless