Nashville Hurricane: A Curious Tale of Fingerpickin’ Fury

Chase Padgett Productions—PTE Mainstage

Chase Padgett, the Portland, Oregon based star of last Fringe’s hit 6 Guitars, returns with show that is similar to that one in some regards. He plays fast-paced guitar pieces, occasionally sings, and acts out four different characters, as he tells the story of the child guitar prodigy nicknamed the Nashville Hurricane in the mid to late 1970s.

We hear this story from the point of view of the reluctant child star( who seems more interested in physics than performance), his lackadaisical mother, his abusive manager Smokey Jones (a former revivalist preacher), and a mentor. All these characters had very different accents and postures, and Padgett transitioned between them without a hitch.

There was some audience participation during the show and Padgett, as one character or another, reacted smoothly and was spontaneously able to turn just about any response into something funny. This was true even when a particular audience member didn’t give him much to work with and things could have become awkward.

One disappointment for me was that Padgett only performed four guitar pieces during this 75-minute show, which seems to be a lot less than what he did last year. However, the last piece, performed by the Hurricane character after he decides he just wants to play music for himself, and not as a career, is a showstopper indeed. Padgett throws in all types of guitar techniques into this finale, including playing with one hand, using a beer bottle as a pick, finger picking, and other captivating movements, while performing the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

Konrad Antony