Concert #617 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 10, 2011)

It was holiday bliss last night at McCabe's and it was much more than just the colorful Christmas lights decorating the stage: Jackshit, the band, went out of their way to put on a show that was truly memorable and I don't believe anyone enjoyed it more than I did. This was my twenty-fourth time to see Jackshit live, and if you think that is excessive, then you haven't seen Jackshit live.

But first, let's quickly recap who Jackshit are:

• Pete Thomas: Rock & Roll Hall-Of-Famer, Elvis Costello's life-long drummer
• Dave Faragher: One of Elvis Costello's Imposters and coveted session bassist
• Val McCallum: Lead guitarist for Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, etc.

The stage

The show started just like your typical Jackshit show, with "Hi, How Are You" and "Christine's Tune", followed by a mix of songs that is continually being renewed. Gone are old faves such as "Gone, Gone, Gone", "I Believe" and "Tears A Go Go", but in are Jimmie Vaughan's "Boom Boppa Boom" and "False Hearted Lover", which sounds better every time I hear it.

The concert poster promised "Extra Special Guests", and extra special they were. Introduced as "Jenny Shit", out came Jenny Lewis, formerly of Rilo Kiley and current half of the up-and-coming duo Jenny & Johnny. She opened her four-song set with "Jackson", with Val sharing vocal duties. For the remainder of her set, Jenny was joined by "Johnny Shit" and they sounded great together. I should have instantly recognized who he was, but it wasn't until after the concert that I found out that Johnny was Jonathan Rice, the other half of the aforementioned duo, as well as Jenny's boyfriend.

Val McCallum & Jenny Lewis

Dave Faragher and Jonathan Rice

After three more songs played by Val, Pete and Dave, it was time for yet another surprise guest and when Val invited "Brown Shit" to take the stage, pretty much everyone knew who would be coming down the stairs and indeed, just like last year, Jackson Browne joined the band for a short set, four songs in all. Seeing two Rock & Roll hall-of-famers on the stage at the same time (Jackson & Pete) was very special. 

Val McCallum and Jackson Browne

The highlight of Jackson Browne's appearance was undoubtedly "Take It Easy", the mega-hit of the Eagles, a song co-written by Glenn Frey with Jackson himself. For this number, Jenny Lewis came out once again to sing backup vocals. I also liked "Redneck Friend", an uptempo song that has generated lots of speculations over the years as to who or what the "redneck friend" might be. Jackson's voice was strong and I enjoyed watching his interaction with Val. His overall presence on the stage made a very favorable impression on me.

Jackson Browne at McCabe's

The whole gang playing "Take It Easy"

Youngster Charlie "Ringo" Shit made a cameo appearance replacing Pete Thomas at the drums for the playing of "Why Don't We Do It In The Road". 

The set list (not fully followed)

The always-fun Shit Horns showed up as well, which is another way of saying that we got to hear "Ring Of Fire" and Herb Alpert's "The Lonely Bull", two songs that should never be left out from any Jackshit concert.

Val McCallum and the Shit Horns

Val and Dave playing "The Lonely Bull"

"The Lonely Bull" turned out to be the final song of the set. The Boys From Cochtotin came back for a one-song encore, which somewhat predictably, was Johnny Horton's "I'm Coming Home", delivered as usual in epic fashion.

Noticeably absent from the set list was "Bull Rider", the perennial Jackshit favorite, a song written by Rodney Crowell for ex-Father-in-Law Johnny Cash. Also missing was "Pretty Polly", in spite of her presence on the set list.

Hanging out at McCabe's after the music's over is always fun, especially when the artists come down and mingle with their fans. Here are some photos taken after the concert:

Jackson Browne with McCabe's employee Mikki Itzigsohn

Pete Thomas and Yours Truly

Jenny Lewis with my friend Steve

Val McCallum (right) chatting with Jonathan Rice (left)

I went to the concert with a few friends, most of them with previous Jackshit experience. Here are some of them:

Sean and Amy

Steve, Tony and Tul

Yours Truly and John R.

Jackshit remains a huge favorite of mine. In a metropolis where I have hundreds of concerts to choose from on any given night, literally, I find myself coming back, time and time again, to see Val, Davey and Pete and I enjoy each and every one of their concerts as if they were my first. Then there's the pleasure I get whenever I bring new folks into the fold, which was the case last night with John R, Gary K and his wife Andrea. They now know Jackshit.

Miniature Christmas tree placed inside of Pete Thomas' drum

Val McCallum's guitars

Holiday button sold at McCabe's for one dollar each

Concert #616 - Shannon McNally & Greg Leisz at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 4, 2011)

Most people don't know who Shannon McNally is, so here's a primer: singer, songwriter, guitarist, gorgeous, talented, engaging, funny, worth seeing live in concert.

This was Shannon's first appearance ever at McCabe's and she did it alongside string-wizard Greg Leisz, a veteran of the local music scene. According to my religiously-kept concert database, this was my 12th time to see Greg in action, but his first time to be billed as a headliner. Well, a co-headliner, actually.

Shannon also brought along drummer/percussionist Don Heffington and guitarist Will Sexton, brother of Charlie Sexton, and together they put on an entertaining show consisting of her own compositions, including some from "Western Ballad", her latest release, plus a handful of covers.

The songs I liked the best were "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City", a Bobby "Blue" Bland cover, and Shannon's own "The Hard Way". Kate Wolf's "Brother Warrior" was good, too.

Greg Leisz played the pedal steel guitar, dobro, electric and acoustic guitar and sang backup vocals as well. Everything he touched sounded great, but what excited me the most was his electric guitar.

Shannon McNally & Greg Leisz wrapping up their concert

Shannon McNally & Greg Leisz seconds before leaving the stage

The setlist

Talented singer-songwriter Jarrod Dickenson kicked off the evening with a forty-minute set that wasn't bad, but suffered from a problem that seems to afflict many of the younger acts I have seen in recent years: his compositions weren't edgy enough and he lacked the power and intensity one would normally associate with the younger generation of musicians.

Jarrod Dickenson

Concert poster

The stage

Concert #614 - Emanuel Ax at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (November 27, 2011)

I practically never attend concerts of classical music, most certainly the result of the actions of my overly eager parents, who decades ago used to regularly drag my reluctant self to the concert hall while my buddies were having fun chasing soccer balls. Then I suffered more psychological trauma at the opera house, where, as a defenseless preteen child, I had to endure endless operatic spectacles that were akin to child abuse.

Fast forward a few decades ... three weeks ago I was offered a free ticket to hear Emanuel Ax at the gorgeous Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles. So I went. Actually I was quite curious to see how I would respond to a performance of classical music after so many years of having stayed away.

Here's the main page from the concert programme:

I enjoyed Beethoven's "Leonore Overture", which I knew decently well, but the whole thing was over in thirteen minutes. Then Emanuel Ax came out to play Beethoven's Piano Concerto #2, accompanied by a stripped-down orchestra. I was hoping that I would recognize at least a few parts of it, but somewhat surprisingly, that wasn't the case. Sure, Emanuel Ax can play, but at no time did the music grab me. Likewise, the encore delivered by Emanuel Ax solo did not sound particularly great to these ears and, by the way, there was no announcement as to the piece selected by the artist for his encore.

The intermission was fun, as I had time to explore the venue, from top to bottom.

The Disney Concert Hall during intermission

The second part of the program featured a horrific piece of music titled "Sirens", composed by Anders Hillborg and involving the full-blown symphony orchestra, Grammy-winning soprano Hila Plitmann, mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Maybe I just need more training in order to get along with this genre called "contemporary classical music", but one thing is for sure: there were enough dissonant sounds in this piece of work to last for a lifetime. The question is "Was it only me"? I don't think so. The three ladies whom I accompanied to the concert had unfavorable comments that were strikingly similar to mine.

The end of the concert

The three fine ladies whom I accompanied to the concert

Hila Plitmann

Anne Sofie von Otter

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen

Pre-concert event at the Disney Concert Hall

So was it worth the effort of going to an event I normally don't feel at all compelled to attend? The answer is yes, although the whole experience wasn't nearly as powerful as I had hoped it would be. I would certainly return to the Disney Concert Hall, preferably with another free ticket in my pocket, but in my case, spending over a hundred dollars for a single ticket just doesn't make much sense.

Concert #615 - Peter Case at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 3, 2011)

Great show last Saturday at McCabe's. Almost three years after his unexpected open heart surgery in January 2009, Peter Case appeared to be in great shape in all respects - showing no signs of slowing down, he played two sets of decent length, gave an encore and spent time with his fans not only before and after the show, but also during the intermission.
 
Peter's stage decoration was the most elaborate I've ever seen at McCabe's, and I've seen close to three hundred concerts there. In addition to the routine stuff - guitars, piano, amps, wiring and the like - there were flowers, candles, a coat hanger, hats, a miniature Christmas tree, books, more flowers, a hand painting and a vintage American flag with forty-eight stars.

Stage - Front view

Stage - Side view

The show was recorded for a long-overdue "Peter Case Live At McCabe's" album, yet I did not get the impression that there was a predetermined set list. Peter talked a lot between songs and I don't mean it as a negative - everything he said was captivating, informative and quite often funny. In terms of the song selection, the main focus was on his own songs, both old and new, but there were plenty of covers, mostly classic blues numbers from the masters of the genre (Sleepy John Estes, Sony Boy Williamson, Jimmy Smith, Leadbelly and others).

Peter switched frequently between his electric and acoustic guitars and played a few numbers at the piano as well. There was an "anything and everything goes" feeling on the stage, which is exactly the opposite of what one would think a recording session is like.

Peter Case - Electric

Peter Case - Acoustic

For me, the highlights of the show were "Beyond The Blues", "Words In Red" and "Ain't Gonna Worry No More". "Put Down The Gun" was good as well.

There was a three-song encore that included "Which Side Are You On", the old labor anthem, and his own "Hidden Love". He performed the entire encore from the floor, standing right in front of the stage. For the labor song he was joined by folkies Cindy Lee Berryhill and Phranc, but their contributions were minimal.

All in all, this was the best Peter Case concert I have ever seen.

The final bow

Some of the stuff brought along by Peter

Peter Case chatting with fans after the show

Peter Case with fellow musician Matt Cartsonis

Concert #472 - The Who's Tommy at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre (June 28, 2008)

Inexplicably, it took me about seventeen years after Tommy's initial release in 1969 to finally "get the music", "get the heat" and "get the excitement" of what I now believe is the Who's best piece of work. My belated interest in Tommy was sparked by an all-star recording of the rock opera that came out in 1975, featuring an incredible line-up that included Pete Townshend, Sandy Denny, Steve Winwood, Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Maggie Bell, Richard Harris and Merry Clayton, with the powerful accompaniment of the London Symphony Orchestra and Chambre Choir. I discovered this album in 1986 and today I still feel its impact.

In 1994, when the original Broadway production came to Los Angeles, I went to see Tommy at the Universal Amphitheater not once, but twice, and each time it was pure bliss. Fourteen years later, Tommy came back for a three week engagement at Hollywood's Ricardo Montalban Theater and when I bought my tickets I pretty much knew that Tommy's latest incarnation would not measure up favorably against the 1994 production. Not that it mattered to me.

I went to the show with Ryan, my younger son, a huge Tommy fan himself. We had great seats in the fourth row, slightly off-center.

Tommy's 2008 line-up

Tommy - Aleks Pevec

Mrs. Walker - Alice Ripley

Acid Queen - Nona Hendryx

Sally Simpson - Jenna Leigh Green

Captain Walker - Tom Schmid

Cousin Kevin - PJ Griffith

Uncle Ernie - Hank Adams

The Hawker - Ronny Drayton

I was right with my initial assessment - Tommy 2008 wasn't quite as spectacular as Tommy 1994, but it still managed to be very enjoyable and not for a second did I regret spending the money. Aleks Pevec, who played the grown-up version of Tommy, was definitely the star of the show. Nona Hendryx, the former partner of Patti LaBelle, stood out as the Acid Queen. I also liked the Hawker, convincingly played by Ronny Drayton. After the show I learned that Alice Ripley (Mrs. Walker), had played the very same role as part of the original Broadway production in 1994.

Aleks Pevec as Tommy

The much-advertised high-definition 3D Sound, the new "revolutionary" audio system that came to us via Bose headsets placed at every seat, was not as earth-shattering as advertised. Still, I enjoyed the show very much and so did Ryan, we both went home happy. For a while I even considered going back for seconds, but eventually decided not to.

Tommy at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre (2008)

Tommy at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre (2008)

Alice Ripley as Mrs. Walker with the young version of Tommy

Tommy & Sally (Aleks Pevec & Jenna Leigh Green)

Tommy poster, photographed in the theater's loby

Sign photographed in the theater's loby

Hollywood's Ricardo Montalban Theater

Hollywood's Ricardo Montalban Theatre