John Fahey: The Venue, London

WATCHING the American guitarist, John Fahey, one is reminded of the occasion when Ravi Shankar performed at the famous concert for Bangladesh. Taking to the stage, Shankar and his group played for a couple of minutes before stopping to a smattering of polite applause. "Thank you", Shankar said. "if you appreciate the tuning up so much I hope you enjoy the performance more". Fahey's leisurely and rather absentminded manner and his fondness for acoustic freeplay make the same sort of misunderstanding always a possibility. Is he really playing or merely vamping around the fretboard for his own amusement? It is sometimes hard to tell.