ONSTAGE
Paul Thorn Band Bonnie Bishop The Birchmere Alexandria, VA August 19, 2016 This concert was my primary reason
for flying into Washington, DC on the morn- ing of the 19th. The rest of the trip was gravy. Prior to
the show, I touched base with Billy Mad- dox, Paul’s co- songwriter and tour manager, and he took Craig and I back- stage to visit. It was a full house so we didn’t stay very long. The band, Bonnie Bishop and her guitar player Ford were all seated around a large table enjoy- ing some fine Birchmere food. It was great as always seeing my buddy Paul and the rest of the band. They are all great cats. Paul and Billy had already been telling
me how great Bonnie Bishop is. I had not heard of her, but knew if she got these glow- ing reviews from Thorn and Maddox she had to be good. Bonnie and her guitar playing partner
Ford Thurston kicked off the show with a truly stellar set. For some of the songs Bonnie played a guitar, but for most of the show she
left the guitar duties to Ford while she just threw her mind, body and soul into the singing. Just to be clear, Bonnie is now among my all-time favorite female singers, right up there with Bonnie Bramlett, Bekka Bramlett, Maria McKee and a handful of oth- ers.
On this show, she performed mostly
Me and Paul Thorn backstage pre-show. Billy Maddox photo bomb. (Photo by Jeffrey Perkins)
songs from her latest album Ain’t Who I Was, beginning with “Poor Man’s Melody,” fol- lowed by “Mercy,” and in a big surprise, a killer cover of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post,” done “her way.” Ford was really doing an outstanding job on the riff, and I know it can’t bee easy playing this clas- sic solo, but did he ever. I have always wanted to hear a girl sing this, so I was thrilled. After that, she continued with more
songs from her album, “Be With You,” “Too Late,” and her set closer, the awesome title
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