ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted: March 19, 2011 02:47 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index 46 97 15 9Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyMusic: Teddy Thompson Shines at City Winery Read More: Jenni Muldaur , Linda Thompson , Richard Thompson , Rock And Roll , Rufus Wainwright , Teddy Thompson , Tift Merritt , Entertainment News TEDDY THOMPSON *** 1/2 out of **** CITY WINERY Poor Teddy Thompson.</p><p> The New York Times calls him "one of the most gifted singer-songwriters of his generation" and laments the puzzling lack of commercial success for this artist with music video-ready good looks, name recognition (thanks Mom and Dad), and of coursesongs that are smart but clearly hook-y enough for anyradio station clever enough to play them.</p><p> But I for one appreciate Thompson's refusal to grab the brass ring dangling in front of him.</p><p> One might easily beannoyed by his dashing good looks, lovely voice, string ofcritically acclaimed albums -- of which Bella is the latest -- MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 WATCH: Two New Yorkers Take A Taxi To Los Angeles 9/11 Responders Warned They Will Be Screened For Terrorism Ties (EXCLUSIVE) Poll Shows One Potential Presidential Hopeful InFOLLOW USBIG NEWS: Celebrities | Britney Spears | LeAnn Rimes | Lindsay Lohan | Personal Finance | More...</p><p> PHOTOS: The Funniest People Not On TwitterMiranda Kerr & Orlando Bloom Step Out To 'The The Funniest Someecards For Easter 2011Weekly Roundup of eBay Vintage Clothing Finds News Web Like 276K April 24, 2011 | Log In | Sign Up Get Alerts SHARE THIS STORY Submit this story Get Entertainment Alerts Sign UpPHOTO GALLERIES Like 2K Like 20K FRONT PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCALand a self-deprecating wit that wins over the ladies.</p><p> A hit single would turn that quiet envy into downright resentment.</p><p> I mean, enough is enough.</p><p> So thank God the one person in the world who can't see Thompson as a popular success is Thompson himself.</p><p> He has an Eeyore-like ability to see a sunny day as merely a precursor to a storm.</p><p> He's quietly building an audience that will follow him throughout his entire career, but Thompson imagines a littleblack cloud dogs his every step.</p><p> There isn't one, but isn't it nice to know he thinks there is? Thompson's mordant wit was on full display at City Winery for an acoustic show that ran a substantial 2 hours and 10 minutes but still left many of his best tunes waiting to be played.</p><p> His dry humor was a constant, from claiming he walked up to drunken Irish people in Times Square on St.</p><p> Patrick's Day tosay, "No, I WON'T kiss you" to describing what was happening across the street during the concert (thestage faces the audience and behind them huge windows looking out on Varick so anyone performingenjoys a backdrop of taxis and pedestrians).</p><p> And of course repeated jokes about his lack of album sales.When Thompson commented on his inability to remember some of the lyrics to his new songs, a fanshouted out that he could fake it and they wouldn't notice. "Because you haven't bought the album," shotback Thompson. "Sales reflect that," he added when people dissented. "Don't worry about me; I'm rollingin it.</p><p> Oil money!" It's only a small exaggeration to say people come to hear Thompson as much for hishumorous patter as his music.</p><p> And there was plenty of music to enjoy, from the rollicking "Looking For A Girl" to "Delilah" and "Over and Over" and "Home" and "Gotta Have Someone," all from his excellent new album Bella .</p><p> As on this in- studio performance for WNYC's SoundCheck, Thompson performed solo with just an acoustic guitar.</p><p> You can stream all the songs from Bella via his page on MySpace, but you might as well buy the album now.</p><p> It gets better and better with every listen.</p><p> The show was billed as Teddy Thompson & Friends.</p><p> Without resisting the urge to put himself down (he has no friends, suggests you be nice to friends and co-workers because someday you might need their help, etc.) Teddy then called up Rufus Wainwright to duet on "King of The Road," the Roger Miller classicthey performed on the soundtrack to Brokeback Mountain. ( Here's an amusing video of them doing it in the UK accompanied by ukulele. ) Despite holding the lyrics in his hand, Rufus bungled some of the lyrics (which he seems to always do on this song), but it only added to the casual, friendly air of the evening.</p><p> Their voices blend together so well, you can't help thinking they should do a duets album.</p><p> But the same thought crosses your mind when Teddy sang a few songs with Jenni Muldaur, one of his favorite singers Striking Distance Of Obama Popeater: Brad and Angelina's Strict Nanny Requirements Shelterpop: Unplugging Appliances: Do I REALLY Have to Do This? What To Do About Smelly Feet Noam Chomsky Is the World Too Big to Fail? The Contours of Global Order AOL Real Estate: Prince William and Kate to Live in Royal Mansion TV Squad: Maria Menounos Relives Her Paparazzi 'Wardrobe Malfunction' on 'Lopez' (VIDEO) DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5 Sam Waterston Saving Easter Island’s Marine Ecosystems David O.</p><p> Russell FDR Said it All in 1936 -- Who Will Follow in His Steps Today? Like 1K Like 1K Like 1K Like 664 Like 3K Like 56 Like 52 Lindsay Lohan Is 'Angry' About Jail Sentence READ MORE Antoine Dodson Arrested READ MORE Stefano Langone Reveals and she lives just down the road from the City Winery. "Isn't that convenient?" he joked.</p><p> But then you thought it again when he sang a few duets with Tift Merritt, making her laugh by inserting a few jokes into their cover of the Everly Brothers classic "(Til) I Kissed You." She sang, "You don't realize what youdo to me" and he tossed in, "Yes, I do." The truth is that singing duets is just one more of the many talents Thompson possesses.</p><p> Perhaps his natural air of modesty makes him ideal for it.</p><p> Maybe he's always been good at playing well with others; someone go check his school records.</p><p> Or maybe it's just that talented singers like to work with someone as gifted as him.</p><p> Whatever the reason, we came to see Thompson but his friends made the evening at the City Winery all the more enjoyable.</p><p> Now how will he top it at the Rubin Museum on March 25? There's something he can agonize over.</p><p> P.S.</p><p> I didn't try the specially blended Teddy Thompson red they offered that night, but it too will probably only get better with age.</p><p> CDS OF THE WEEK: CD #1 Ladysmith Black Mambazo -- Songs From A Zulu Farm CD#2 David Wax Museum -- Everything Is Saved CD#3 Adele -- 21 CD #4 The Low Anthem -- Smart Flesh CD #5 Ron Sexsmith -- Long Player Late Bloomer CD # 6 Simon and Garfunkel -- Bridge Over Troubled WaterCD #7 Teddy Thompson -- Bella SOME BEST CDS OF THE YEAR/DECADE LISTS: THE BEST CDS OF 2010THE BEST CDS OF THE 2000s THE BEST CDS OF 2009 THE BEST CDS OF 2007Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and alsoavailable for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews .</p><p> NOTE: Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of CDs or digital downloads by numerous labels toconsider for review and feature coverage.</p><p> He typically does not guarantee any coverage in exchangefor these CDs and indeed receives far more albums than he ever comes close to covering in his variousoutlets.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 10 Lindsay Lohan Back in the Slammer Beckhams In, Obamas Outat Royal Wedding Olsen's Wacky Fur Outfit MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1 of 2 HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3 HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2 More Celebrity News at People.com More Celebrity News at Popeater.com His Relationship Status READ MORE Royal Wedding Guest ListRevealed: Who's Going? 'Bed Intruder' Star Antoine Dodson Arrested Paul Reiser's New Show Yanked After Two Weeks Viral Star Antoine Dodson ARRESTED Jerry Seinfeld, Donald Trump Rip Each Other In Heated Political War Of Words Gwyneth Paltrow Is Right.</p><p> We're All Jealous. (Of Her and George W.</p><p> Bush.) Like 4K Tyler Perry To Spike Lee: 'Go Straight To Hell' Like 11K TOP LINKS ON THIS TOPIC 1 of 5 "Comfortable Just Being Me": An Interview with Teddy Thompson < PopMatters Database ErrorTeddy Thompson - Bella (2011) - LimsWeb-Forum Lindsay Lohan Quickly Released From Jail After...</p><p> Antoine Dodson Arrested For Marijuana Possession 'The Hangover 2' Trailers: New TV Spots... 'The Office' Season Finale: Jim Carrey Joining...More in Entertainment...</p><p> Buy a link here Sponsored Links Mom Is 55, Looks 30...</p><p> Her clever $5 wrinkle therapy angers Botox Doctors.</p><p> Find Out How! FDXNews8.com SHOCKING: Apple iPad for $24.87 TODAY ONLY: Auction site to give away 1,000 iPads for $24.87! NewsToday9.com Trade Free for 60 Days.</p><p> Plus get up to $500.</p><p> Apply at E*TRADE Securities. www.etrade.com/tradefree DO NOT buy Auto Insurance! A secret to saving you money now. $9 Auto Insurance is here! www.Consumer-Insurance.org Loading comments… Buy a link here Sponsored Links Mom Is 55, Looks 30...</p><p> Her clever $5 wrinkle therapy angers Botox Doctors.</p><p> Find Out How! FDXNews8.com HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES NBA Afghanistan Fast Food Gas & Oil NASA Hockey Brian Williams Gabrielle Giffords Mexico MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.</p><p> All rights reserved.</p><p> KCRWPlaylist Take Care of Yourself by Teddy Thompson from Bella http://goo.gl/fb/JvtYb played on # eclectic24 2 hours ago from Google playingonBBCR2 Teddy Thompson – The Next One now playing on BBCR2 2 hours ago from dlvr.it WhatsOnRadio2 Teddy Thompson The Next One http://bit ly/f1CsGf #Radio2 mayhemstudios RT @sbeasla : What happens when you tickle a little penguin? http://j.mp/dEZjCM via @huffingtonpost twsuccess Antoine Dodson Arrested For Marijuana Possession http://huff.to/edLaIo Get AlertsFRONT PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCAL
