T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

It was a challenge to squeeze into the Positive Feedback Hospitality Suite, where visitors competed for space with liquor bottles. Not even co-host Carol Clark could reach the liquor table when I said “yes” to her offer to a touch of red wine. But somehow I was able to make it far enough into the room to discover, in the midst of the positive spirits, the Extreme Guitar Duo.

Hearing this duo unamplified, even in a small room, came as a shock. In comparison to the over-amplified, over-hyped, and overly colored sound encountered in far too many exhibit rooms, the sound of two guitars in a small hotel room seemed very small indeed. It was as though I had briefly exited an alternate universe, only to discover that reality was less seductive.

Which is not to put down in any way the beauty of these two men’s playing. Especially fascinating was when Keith Knights put down his guitar for a moment, allowing his partner, Don Alder, to demonstrate the harp guitar, an instrument with added bass strings.