Two men, two guitars — one “unique” experience.
Little Feat Guitarists and Vocalists Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett played last night at the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., bringing with them nothing but their guitars and their voices.
Fan Pete Policastro, 54, of Williamsport, Pa., who described the band’s sound as “totally unique,” met Barrere in the lobby before the show.
He said Barrere gave him a little sneak peak at what the show would be like.
“Oh yea, we’re going to have some fun tonight,” Policastro said Barrere told him.
Policastro said the nice part about the State Theatre is that it’s an excellent venue acoustically, it’s close to home and the atmosphere allows for a run-in with a celebrity like he experienced last night.
“That wouldn’t have happened at Madison Square Garden,” Policastro said.
Policastro sat front row and said he bought his tickets as soon as he saw the duo was coming.
He said the reason he likes Barrere and Tackett’s music is because the style of music they play — which he described as a down-home country rock twang, mixed with blues and Cajun music — can’t be heard anywhere else.
Apart from that, he said Barrere is one of the best guitarists around.
“He plays a slide guitar that makes the hair stand up,” Policastro said. “You’ve got a permanent smile on your face and you don’t want the night to end.”
Dave Shearer, 55, of Altoona, Pa., said he’s liked Little Feat since its beginnings in the 1970’s, and he came to the concert to get a live listening experience.
“There’s very few CDs I have that I can play down in my basement that I’m not sick of,” Shearer said. “Even I’m sick of Zeppelin at this point.”
He said seeing the act live brought back memories of “the good times.”
Shearer wasn’t the only one reminiscing at the concert.
Halfway through the show the group played the song “Willin’,” a song Barrere said gave Little Feat their start in the music business and is also notorious for blatantly referencing marijuana.
Barrere coaxed the crowd to sing along with him, giving them one reason.
“We like people to sing about marijuana,” Barrere said.
And the crowd certainly sang along, until one point in the song when Barrere and Tackett stopped playing.
“Some of y’all are still a little hesitant to sing,” Barrere said. “I’ll make it easier on you; sing like Bob Dylan.”
And when Barrere jumped back into the song singing the lyrics “Don’t Bogart that Joint” in a Dylanesque tone, the crowd clapped, laughed and sang right along with him.
