Ever since I talked about this then-busker from London two years ago, I've been hoping to catch Rod Thomas do his one man wonder sometime during this South By. Little did I know that I would find this opportunity at the Hilton lobby. Oddly enough, the large, grand lobby of this hotel made for a decent stage, and the constant hustle through the room only brought Rod to more people's attention as he literally stopped people in their tracks, beckoning them closer. Echoing in the room, the murmur of conversations slowly faded to Rod's bare acoustics as he, a one man act, worked the pedal loop to construct multi-layered goodness. As he played his tunes, not even the occasional celebrity passing through trumped interest, and the lobby began to crowd as Rod moseyed on through his set. He was in no hurry, and you could tell he took this to his advantage as he carefully doted over his music constructing piece after piece. At the end of his set, a finale garnered the unhooking of his guitar as he went back to his busker roots and played unamplified in the middle of the crowd. A great showing from this great Brit.

Various Songs From Rod Thomas (all songs are right click - save as):
Good Coat

Learn more at his site.
Be his friend!

Labels: Retrospective, SXSW '09