Guitar Inadequacy, or The Ferry Supremacy

Last Saturday I saw Bryan Ferry perform at Casino Rama.
I saw Ferry in 1988 - my first concert and the moment I became a fan. In the last 23 years, I was sure I'd built the memory up into this fantastical, fictional account of what was likely a good concert, but not the "be-all, end-all of live music."

Well, if the 2011 show is any indication, I was wrong. The almost 2-hour performance was the best live concert I have EVER seen. Ever, ever, ever. Better than any of the half-dozen David Bowie performances I've attended (and that says something). Better than The X-Pensive Winos, which previously held either the #1 or #2 slot... Just phenominal.

One surprise was how guitar-oriented the setlist was. Another was how impressive Chris Spedding was as one of Ferry's guitarists. I've seen lots of DVD footage of Spedding, and knew it was good. But the lines he played last night were awe-inspiring. I've never seen such intricate slide-guitar skills, for one. Wow, wow, wow.
Now I feel quite the fool for not seeing his rockabilly performance last year at The Cadillac Lounge. His skills put mine to shame.
In fact, he's inspired me to improve my own guitar technique. I have been playing for 23 years now, and have been pretty confident with my abilities: whatever I want to play, I am able to play. Saturday night I saw lines plucked that I COULD NOT repeat. And I want to.

So now it's Tuesday morning. I am sitting in a hotel room with my wife. We're taking a mid-week holiday to celebrate our first anniversary. And my acoustic guitar is sitting in the corner, waiting for me to lay my hands on it. I'm about 5 minutes from that right now...
I WILL become a fantastic guitarist. I will, I will, I will. My plan had been to take piano lessons to improve that facet, but f**k that - the guitar comes first.