Nick Lowe is always good value - I saw him a few years ago at the Haymarket Theatre (with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham) and he likened himself (and his two date tour) as being the sort of negative image of James Brown, "the hardest working man in show business".

Speaking of Jackson Browne I saw him in Paris yonks ago and a drunken audience member yelled out "You're Jackson Browne" to which he responded "Thanks - sometimes I wonder...)

Always great entertainment, often to the point of 'alright Billy, do some singing now please'.
Ian Dury was a great entertainer. Lux Interior from The Cramps was immensely funny.
Conversely some of the winsome alt country acts make me seethe with their twee comments and complete lack of stagecraft. The Be Good Tanyas were a case in point, last time I saw them they started arguing about what to do next. It was toe curling. And the woman sat next to me was asleep and snoring.

Funny, dry, self-deprecating. It's a well-worn path now, but his intro to "Bell, Book and Candle" never fails to raise a giggle. Essentially the story of how it was picked up to be featured on Emmerdale during the death scene of some Dingle or another who'd been hit by some falling masonry during a particularly violent onscreen storm and the album reissued with a sticker to denote the fact the lengthy preamble finishes with the line "...and so here's 'Look Out, There's a Chimney'". I also treasure his anecdote about having a song on a Mel C CD single which meant that he went to a recording of Top of the Pops (TM) and ended up playing darts with Caprice in the green room. She's apparently "rubbish".

for between songs banter - in actual fact he would make a great stand up comedian. His 'Sting's dead' sketch is hilarious.
Loudon Wainwright can be pretty hilarious too and Elvis Costello can either be incredibly chatty or mute - you never know which one will turn up with him.

1. Bruce Springsteen - the only musician I've seen whose between songs patter elevates his show into an epic narrative which makes it greater than the sum of its parts.
2. James Taylor - the master of self-deprecation. Responding to woman in the audience shouting "I love you!" he says "thank you, I think it's best that we don't know each other."
3. Randy Newman - a genius in his songwriting and in conversation the most candid entertainer you will ever hear from - "I made more money from 'I Love To See You Smile' than anything else I've ever done. I sold it toothpaste companies, mule-packing companies, anywhere I could."
4. Tom Waits - I once saw him do a BBC In Concert in front of a load of pensioners who'd come to see "Jim'll Fix It". "Welcome to another nocturnal emission..."

The story Springsteen tells before The River on the Live 1975-85 box set is as moving as the best of his songs. Jackson Browne was very entertaining in between songs on his 2004 tour, as evidenced by Solo Acoustic Vol. 1.

Emmylou Harris was good in 2001. I remember, just before singing Boy From Tupelo, she presented the theory that Elvis Presley was an authority on the ways of love. If you wanted to know how to treat a woman, she said, merely study his song titles: Treat Me Nice, Don't Be Cruel, Love Me Tender, etc etc.

And Neil Young, as filmed by the BBC in 1971, quite possibly spends longer talking than he does singing. I can't be bothered to check, sorry.

...Loudon Wainwright III has been known to say "my orthodontist says I should wear this for an hour every night"....hehe!

Fred Eaglesmith is known as much for his funny stories introducing his songs, as the songs themselves.

Todd Snider also has funny stories introducing his songs.....he has a funny story introducing DB Cooper(the story of DB Cooper being in the news today).

Steve Earle usually has a political rant(which may cause the audience to shout "shut up and sing") but his oneliners are legendary too...eg.."I remember my first beer too" in answer to a drunken heckler.

Lyle Lovett is as dry as a bone, bashfully telling stories about(unsuccessfully)trying to pick up girls.

The lead singer of CLEM SNIDE is very funny between songs.Usually the gags are aimed at himself and the Band.

I have mentioned elsewhere a certain Mr. Taj Mahal, who has a great line in outrageously dirty jokes.

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/driving-music#comment-24051

Howe Gelb is a genius between songs. Full of dry humour, great stories and banter with the crowd. A hugely underrated performer, I haven't seen many who can match him for natural onstage charisma and stagecraft. Every time I've seen him, each show has been completely different from the last and I'd probably pay to see him even if you took the songs out completely.

the Rick Wakeman (billed in the ad as 'The Creative Genius Behind Yes') 'Grumpy Old Picture Show' all about? It appears that he is traipsing around the Winter Gardens of this fair isle doing some sort of turn that doesn't involve much music, a bit of cashing in on the BBC's Grumpy Old Men series and a slide show/screening of unseen footage.

Has anyone actually seen this?

always manages to spring something meaningful from the vibe in the room

The "Hello Steve, doing a bit of soldering?" is a corker.

Folkies go a bit too far. "This is a tune I learned off Mattie McDull, the Shetland hurdy-gurdyist, who learned it off his great uncle Seamus O'Seamussey, the one-armed fiddle player from County Antrim, who in turn learned it from a book of late-17th century wallpaper patterns..." and then go to tell you the story actually told in the song, how the chorus goes, and so on. Thus consuming more time than the song actually takes.

Most of the time I'd settle for "1-2-3-4", but Bellowhead parody the folk tradition somewhat with things like "this is from the Oxford Book of Disco Sea Shanties".

Boo H is indeed a very funny man.

Rarely found without a funny story live. On a recent live record she talks about appearing on German breakfast television singing a song with the line "my **** is like a wound that won't heal" and assuming nobody would notice.

of Richard Thompson's ability to respond to an unexpected situation round on stage.
So, imagine you are Richard Thompson, playing the spiritual home of all things Fairport and headlining to 20 thousand odd people at Cropredy (Fairport's 40th Anniversery, August 2007). After a lively run-through of your first song you are surprised, then baffled, then slighty alarmed that the audience seems to be booing you, rather than treating you with the un-restrained adulation you would expect.
It turns out that, unbeknown to you, the main vocal mic hasn't been working. Watch RT turn take stock, work out what's happening and turn it into a joke before carrying on unruffled.

but going by the between song banter on "John Prine live", Mr Prine is serious value for money even without the fabulous music, in particular the 3 minute plus preamble to "Oldest Baby in the World" is a masterpiece of understatement and quiet hilarity.

Just home from James Taylor at the Waterfront Hall Belfast. Superb show, good between song banter. He knows his audience and his audience knows him, but the anecdotes and stripped down presentation puts a great twist on well worn songs. The highlight however was a version of 'Belfast to Boston'. I'm here to tell you it takes some balls to come and sing about the (so-called) Troubles to a Belfast audience, even a sympathetic paying crowd, but yer man pulled it off.

Nice of him to sign a copy of his first album afterwards too. It was forty years ago today ... etc

The Mexican-Canadian singer Lhasa de Sela is a great raconteur onstage. When I saw her play a show in support of her fabulous album 'The Living Road', she really engaged with the crowd. She told stories about her life that were funny, poetic and profound in equal measure.

does good banter too. It's amazing he can remember it all, as he was so hammered in earlier years.
I agree about the tendency of many folkies to assume they have the same gift of the gab, and the need to document entirely the entire lineage of the song, but remember Billy Connolly began a a singer/banjoist, but that the between song chat eventually ate up the songs entirely.
Returning to Cropredy, following the above excellent Thompson quip, legitimised as they are providing the sponsorship for our chatting, presumably, given the banner that has replaced the Diabate one at the top of the page, another superb example of banter making its way onto a live record is Ashley Hutchings' verbal history of the band, introducing ech member of the earlier line-ups in turn. Having enjoyed it live on the day, I was delighted when it turned up on the 30 year anniversary Cropredy box.

Wonderful, engaging tales between songs. The thing is, he speaks so quietly....

Meanwhile, Dan Penn has a tale or two to tell, doesn't he?

Depending on his mood and the amount of illegal substances consumed - on a good night he can be extremely amusing and other times it becomes a bit of a ramble.

I've thought of another one: Edwyn Collins. I saw him some time in the early 90s, and even though it was only a short set, he managed to get in a few good-natured (possibly) digs at posturing singers, notably Gang Of Four.

Other honourable mentions to Tom Robinson, Mary Coughlan and the Crickets - yes, Buddy's old band, who supported Nanci Griffith a dozen or so years ago. Can't remember which one did most of the talking, but he was alternately poignant and amusingly self-deprecating. And of course we must not forget the great Ronnie Scott, whose jokes never changed, but what delivery!

Richard Hawley. He should do Stand Up.

Loudon Wainwright III on " Career Moves " is hilarious on how the keep spelling his name wrong, then launches into They Spelt My Name Wrong Again. This is a very good live album ,live from some small gig and he´s just downright brilliant.
I´ve seen Christy Moore make a heckler cry.Awesome.

"We'd like to thank Earl for letting us use his Court"...... and I bet no one had thought to make the joke before.

Wreckless Eric is always good value for the odd (and sometimes very odd) anecdote. Nick Lowe is a given. Chris Mills is good value too. Sid Griffin will "paint a picture" before launching into the next one as well.