Went to see Allan Holdsworth at The Brook in Southampton a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, hardly anyone else went; the Brook is a tiny venue but it was less than half full - maybe 80 people. Holdsworth is a legendary figure, a highly influential guitarist with astounding technique. He was, briefly, a member of UK and played in Bill Bruford's band before releasing a number of solo albums. He plays really really fast, which is why I made the photo of him look a bit blurry (it's not camera shake, honest.) Holdsworth's band featured two other gifted and high-profile musicians, Chad Wackerman (Zappa, Petrucci, Vai) on drums and Jimmy Johnson on bass. Jimmy played on Roger Waters' Amused to Death which is a very good thing to have been involved with.
I can't imagine why so few people turned up for the gig. Ok, fusion isn't everyone's cup-of-tea, being short on hummable tunes and, to some extent, emotional impact, but these guys perform at the very highest level of technical ability on their respective instruments. Still, the lack of audience meant we got to stand right at the front, which was nice.
Incidentally, Alan Holdsworth is 61 years old. He looks great for his age, don'tcha think?
