The Rush (Tom Rush that is)

Saturday night I finished the last of my Christmas presents from my sister, Zanne.  Back in October we had seen a notice that Tom Rush would be playing at the Peterborough Players on January 26.  We had just been talking about all the music and art offerings in the area and both being long-time Tom Rush fans we agreed we should go.  Unbeknown to me, she bought the tickets.

Unfortunately, Zanne left New Hampshire a week before the show.  I asked my friend from the barn, +Lauren Garofalo Riccio, if she was interested.  Though she was not very familiar with Tom Rush’s work, she loves folk and was excited for the event.  We had dinner first at a new trendy restaurant in Peterborough, The Bantam Grill and got to the sold out show just in time.

The Peterborough Players theatre is housed in an 18th-century restored barn.  It seats 250 in a very cozy setting.  The crowd was older and with the exception of the woman next to me who needed to be texting constantly, well behaved.

I first encountered Tom while attending college in New London, NH in the ’70s.  He would often play at the venues in the area and I fell in love with his voice and boyish good-looks.

At 8:30 Saturday night, the object of my affection walked out on stage.  The years have been good to Tom, unlike so many other celebrities.  He is still tall and lean.  He wore a crisp, cream-colored suit with a black button-down shirt.  His hair and mustache were bright white and bushy.  When he spoke, then sang, his voice had not lost a hint of its warmth or strength.

Tom played for about an hour, interspersing stories of the folk scene in the ’60s, ’70s and on with personal yarns.  He switched between three acoustic guitars and glided from new material to crowd-pleasing old favorites.

The second set was equally strong finishing up with No Regrets and Rockport Sunday.

Tom will be 73 this year.  I wish for 50 more years of his talent.