Julian Lage at Ann Arbor's Ark

Julian Lage
The Ark
Ann Arbor, Michigan
September 8, 2023

Julian Lage plays like a man amused. He shakes his head and laughs at the things happening to his guitar as if he didn't make them happen. He rocks back and forth in his chair, tapping his foot, staring off into the distance reading music that no one else sees. The crowd laughs too when they hear something they know is impossible. No matter how many notes he plays, it seems the audience is there with him. However far he stretches, his technique does not exceed the music.

Imagine a concert with no special lighting, no props, no pedals or effects, just one acoustic guitar, and one chair placed in the middle of the stage. Lage toured this way for six weeks in 2023. The music more than made up for the barebones approach. He drew a packed house of 400 at The Ark of Ann Arbor. Lage enthralled the crowd of hard-core guitar enthusiasts who came to watch a master in action.

Lage truly seemed grateful to his audience. After playing song after song, chiefly from World's Fair (Modern Lore, 2015), Lage stopped to thank the audience for coming out and made a joke about tuning his guitar. He said that he follows Leo Kottke's notion that tuners offer only guidelines if there were any tuning problems, only the most trained ears perceived them. Playing his signature Collings acoustic guitar, his improvisations mixed secondary dominant chords with sevenths, building and releasing the tension as his hands ran up and down the neck. Songs like "Peru" and "Day and Age" revealed a wide range of influences, from symphonic to folk to jazz. A few slight arm gestures may have even revealed a rock and roll side. The technicality of the music and the gymnastics of his fingers never interfered with his dedication to playing musically.

Lage played for just more than an hour, but no one left feeling like they didn't hear enough. His improvisational style and agility kept the audience attentive for the duration of the show which ended before it could become too much of a great thing.

Opening for Lage seems like a nightmare proposition, but singer-songwriter Elijah Wolf was up to the task. His heartfelt songs and ambient sounds started the night strong. Unlike the Lage, he used an amp and a few pedals. Wolf won a few fans that night as well.