Concert #543 - Randy Newman at the Royce Hall (February 19, 2010)

Would you believe that I went home from Randy Newman's concert at the Royce Hall with a distinct sense of disappointment? Hard to believe, but absolutely true. First, the Friday night traffic was atrocious. Second, I only had a so-so seat, about fourteen rows back. But the main reason for my unhappiness was Randy Newman himself - he messed up a few piano chords and forgot some lyrics as well, even though he was playing his best known-songs, the ones he had been playing for decades.

Toward the end of the show, Randy apologized for his slip-ups. He explained that he had been working all day on music for the not-yet-released "Toy Story 3", all this while nursing a bad cold. Still, the crowd seemed to be in a forgiving mood and rewarded him with a standing ovation at the end of the show - this prompted Randy to quip "I must have built up some good-will over the years"

Otherwise, it was a typical Randy Newman concert, with the stage holding nothing but Randy's piano and stool and plenty of intellectual types in the audience. He played most of his "greatest hits", with some emphasis on "Harps And Angels", his most recent album. His voice was maybe a tiny bit weaker than before, but that was to be expected and I don't think it bothered anyone, certainly not me.

Would I want to see him again? Absolutely!

Partial setlist

Louisiana 1927

Political Science

I Love LA

Short People

My Life Is Good

Marie

I Think It's Gonna Rain Today

I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It)

A Few Words In Defense Of Our Country

Down In New Orleans

Mama Told Me Not To Come

Birmingham

Dixie Flyer

Living Without You

Last Night I Had A Dream

Feels Like Home

You Can Keep Your Hat On

 Laugh And Be Happy

Rednecks

You've Got A Friend In Me

Concerts #536 & 544 - Suburban Skies at the Whisky A Go-Go & Java Joe's (January 2, 2010 & February 26, 2010)

Suburban Skies is a semi-professional cover band specializing in the solo material of the four ex-Beatles. The heart and soul of the band is Nick Sherwin, a friend of mine whom I first met through my friend and former coworker Joe Novak. Joe also happened to be the band's guitarist at the time.

It is hard to judge a band that has two friends in its lineup. These guys have day jobs and limited production means, so a direct comparison with full-fledged professional bands is unfair. But I did not go to see them "for comparison purposes". I went to see them to show them my support and have a good time in the process.

Suburban Skies is not trying to duplicate the original arrangements - that would be silly. Also unachievable. They simply play the songs the way they want to play them, while making sure that John, Paul, George and Ringo are equally represented, more or less. Some songs sound better than others and a few sound very good. My favorite was "No Other Baby", an obscure number first sung by Dickie Bishop in the fifties, then picked up by Paul McCartney in 1999. John Lennon's "Cold Turkey" was good, too.

Their Whisky A Go Go show, in January 2010, took me there for only the second time in my concert-going career. It was an interesting night, with multiple unsigned bands playing relatively short sets in quick succession. There's a lot of unknown talent out there. Also a lot of competition.

Concert #545 - Phranc at McCabe's Guitar Shop (February 27, 2010)

I can't say that it was a great concert. I can't say it was bad either, just a bit different and it wasn't because my gender was in the minority there. That I expected.

Phranc introduced herself, redundantly, as the All-American Jewish Lesbian Folksinger, then went on to celebrate her sexual orientation in words and music, much to the enthusiastic approval of the crowd. She was in "OK" vocal shape, sang a few good songs, but overall, her show was uni-dimensional and by the time the proceedings ended, I was ready to head home.

I can recall only a few songs: "Bulldagger Swagger" and "M-A-R-T-I-N-A", dedicated to Martina Navratilova, of course.

The evening started with a big surprise: there was no opening act on the bill, yet - out of the blue - Exene Cervenka showed up and played a good set of decent length, with vocal accompaniment by Cindy Wasserman. Exene sang songs from her then-current album, titled "Somewhere Gone".

Exene Cervenka

Concerts #546 & 463 - Carrie Newcomer at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 29, 2008 & March 12, 2010)

Carrie Newcomer is yet another low-profile singer-songwriter who managed to make a return-customer out of me. I first saw her in  2008, shortly after her "The Geography of Light" album came out. At that time, I was rather unfamiliar with her music, but the songs she played then - "Don't Push Send", "There is a Tree", "Geode", "Leaves Don't Drop, They Just Let Go" and especially "Where You Been" - made me want to dig deeper into her catalog, starting with her "Best Of" CD, which I bought right there and then. 

The second time I saw Carrie was in 2010, also at McCabe's, and - just like in 2008 - I went home feeling good, feeling satisfied, and that's what Carrie's gentle, warm and intelligent music will do to you every time. The show was the "CD Release Party" for her "Before And After" album. Carrie played the acoustic guitar and was accompanied on piano by Gary Walters.

The highlights of the show were "If Not Now", from her new album, and the older "The Gathering Of Spirits", from her 2002 album of the same name. Very nice.

Concerts #547, 498, 257, 245, 233, 225, 205 - Lucy Kaplansky at the Neighborhood Church (Pasadena) and McCabe's Guitar Shop (May 22, 1999 - March 13, 2010)

 

On May 22, 1999, I went out on a limb and took a few friends - Mark, Joann, Bill & Lynda, along with my wife - to see a singer-songwriter I knew very little about: Lucy Kaplansky. The concert took place at the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena, the home of the now-defunct "Acoustic  Music Series". The show started a bit slow and I felt guilty about having troubled some of my best friends. But things started to improve when Lucy sat down at the piano and delivered a wonderful version of "I Still Miss Someone". A few songs later, she was joined by a funny and versatile musician by the name of Matt Cartsonis, and together they managed to keep our attention for the rest of the evening. She sang a funny number titled "Song About Pi", written by her father, a mathematician and amateur songwriter - the song was received enthusiastically by the crowd. All-in-all, I liked her show very much and decided that I had to see her again.

Following my successful introduction to Lucy's music in May 1999, I caught her two more times in 2000, then yet two more times in 2001, at McCabe's and the Neighborhood Church. That was clearly excessive and in November 2001 I reached the inevitable saturation point. The fact that Lucy was not coming up fast enough with brand new stories for her gigs did not help matters and I can't even blame her for that. Long story short, it took me eight years and some apprehension before I went back to see her again. 

However, the same first shows that brought me to the saturation point also had many great moments. I liked Lucy's choice of covers, among them Loudon Wainwright's "Swimming Song". Her gospel songs were always great. I also liked "By Way Of Sorrow", a song recorded by Cry, Cry, Cry. A couple of times Lucy was helped out by Nina Gerber, an outstanding guitarist. 

The most unforgettable moment took place in 2000, when eighty-year-old Irving Kaplansky, Lucy's father, joined her on stage at the Neighborhood Church for a couple of his great math-themed songs, which he performed with great enthusiasm and joy. 

Irving Kaplansky

Here's an autograph Lucy signed for me in April 2000:

Two setlists from the McCabe's concerts that I've attended:

McCabe's Guitar Shop - October 28, 2000
Opening act:  Brian Joseph

 1. He Thinks I Still Care

 2. One Good Reason

 3. End of the Day

 4. Guilty As Sin

 5. Speaking With the Angel

 6. Ten Year Night

 7. Crazy Dreams

 8. Don't Mind Me

 9. Time To Go (new)

10. Just You Tonight

11. That's Mathematics

12. A Song About Pi

13. Nowhere

14. You're Still Standing There

15. Turn The Lights Back On

16. Swimming Song

17. By Way Of Sorrow

------------------

18. Scorpion

19. The Return of the Grievous Angel

McCabe's Guitar Shop - November 2, 2001

Opening act: Alice Peacock

 1. Wayfairing Stranger

 2. Written On The Back Of His Hand

 3. One Good Reason

 4. Don't Mind Me

 5. Ten Year Night

 6. Scorpion

 7. No More Excuses

 8. (What's So Funny About) Peace, Love, And Understanding

 9. It Never Rains In Southern California (excerpt)

10. All I Wanna Do (excerpt)

11. More Than This

12. Just You Tonight

13. The Alphabet Song

14. A Song About Pi

15. End Of The Day

16. Hole In My Head

17. Turn The Lights Back On

    -----

18. The Return Of The Grievous Angel

19. By Way Of Sorrow

    -----

20. Broken Things

21. Guinevere

In February 2009, after having skipped eight-year's worth of Lucy concerts in the LA area, I finally went back to McCabe's to see her again and I'm glad I did. Naturally, she looked a bit older, but her voice had become warmer and richer. I liked her new songs and I was happy to see that old favorites, such as "Ten Year Night", a.k.a. "The Kitchen Floor Song", were still on her list. Her stories about Molly, her adopted daughter, were fun to listen to.

The highlight of the show was Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", complete with Lucy's own piano accompaniment.

On March 13, 2010, I went back yet again to see her at McCabe's - where else? This time I talked my friends S & C into joining me. It was their first time to see Lucy and they both liked her very much. Once again, she played "Hallelujah" and it was great.

Concert #548 - The Swell Season at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 14, 2010)

Picking the best McCabe's concert I've ever seen is mission impossible, but one thing is for sure: no other show was better than what I saw on March 14, 2010.

The concert sold out in minutes, it was a miracle that I managed to get two tickets. Initially, my better half was supposed to go with me, but a bad cold got in the way. Enter my young friend Ralph, a ticketless Swell Season fan, who could not hide his joy for his bit of good luck. 

The McCabe's show was the first of two small-venue benefit concerts for Kenya's Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, a cause Glen Hansard had taken an interest in. Tickets cost $40, a real bargain.

I reached McCabe's at 5:30 PM, which - it turned out - wasn't early enough to be first in line: seven or eight people, obviously crazier than me, had already lined up for the privilege of getting in first. I was soon joined by Ralph and we had a great time chatting out there in the street.

McCabe's window display - Swell Season poster

Ralph and I sat in the front row, right at Glen's feet, and from there we witnessed a performance that is hard to describe in words. Glen Hansard is a force of nature. I can't think of anyone more intense or more soulful than him, and all this while maintaining total humility and a down-to-earthness that is rarely seen. His facial expressions and the passion in his voice are unforgettable. In contrast, Marketa Irglova's personality was far less powerful. She appeared to be fragile and vulnerable, an impression that was reinforced by her low-profile stage presence as well as her somewhat weak singing voice. But maybe it's the Glen-Marketa contrast that makes the Swell Season such an electrifying act.

Glen & Marketa at McCabe's (March 14, 2010)

 The show had many high points. "Low Rising" was one of them. "Into The Mystic" was an absolute knock-out and so was "No Woman, No Cry".

Here's a live-in-studio version of "Into The Mystic", performed exactly the way we saw it at McCabe's: 

A few songs in, Glen invited to the stage an acoustic guitar player from Spain, by the name of Javier Mas, who had toured the world with Leonard Cohen. Javier's virtuosity was a great addition to the show. All the while, Glen Hansard used one of the most beat-up guitars I had ever seen.

They played many songs from "Strict Joy", as well as their first, self-titled album. I liked "Paper Cup", "Falling Slowly" and most everything else they sang.

Watch the Swell Season in a powerful performance of "Low Rising", live on Dave Letterman:

Glen Hansard's beat-up guitar

 Overall, it was one of the best concerts one could ever see and hear. Would I ever have the good fortune of seeing them again at McCabe's? Unlikely.

Concert #549 - Noel Paul Stookey at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 19, 2010)

Exactly twenty five years after I saw Peter, Paul & Mary at the Universal Amphitheater, and six months after Mary's passing, I went to McCabe's to see Paul Stookey solo. I wasn't expecting a high-energy, fast-paced show. On the contrary, I was in the mood for nostalgia, for something relaxing and heart-warming, I wanted to hear something intelligent and humorous, and that is exactly what I got.

The show took place on a Friday night, with the usual bad traffic. By the time I got there, there were at least 60-70 people in line ahead of me, yet I still managed to sit in the front row (thanks, Mikki, for your help).

From the get-go, Paul told us that he would not be singing the "greatest hits of his old group", and he didn't. With one notable exception, the show consisted of nothing but Paul's solo material, with plenty of good songs, most of them unknown to me. But it didn't matter - his music was very accessible and definitely enjoyable. Paul spoke about and sang his best-known solo piece, "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)", written for Peter Yarrow shortly before Peter's wedding.

The encore brought us "Blowing In The Wind", the evening's only song from Peter, Paul & Mary's repertoire. Of course, the song quickly became a sing-along, in which I was an active participant. Great moment!

Peter spoke with love and warmth about Mary Travers and he did it with a chocking voice and tears in his eyes.