Welcome to CONCERT OVERLOAD, a place for sharing my concert-going experiences. My goal is to say a few words about each and every concert I've ever attended.
CURRENT CONCERT COUNT: 868 (most of them in the Los Angeles area)
As I write this, a year and a half after the concert, I'm struggling to remember anything of substance about the show. Well, I remember that Catie had a full-time helper in the person of Meghan Toohey, a multi-instrumentalist who also sang backup vocals. I'm almost sure that Catie sang Richard Thompson's "Walking On A Wire", but that's about all I can surmise.
Catie's show was OK, but nothing more. There wasn't much variety there, nor anything truly powerful that would stick with you for a long time. After the show, I remember telling Steve M. that I wasn't sorry for having driven 102 miles to see Catie, but as far as I was concerned, a repeat performance was unlikely.
In September 1990, only three months after I first saw him at McCabe's, John Wesley Harding came back for yet another show at the very same venue and, needless to say, I was there. I also caught his January 30, 1993 show, also at McCabe's. Both times, Wes put on great shows, full of humor, spontaneity, powerful guitar playing and excellent songs.
Partial list of the songs he played in 1990-1993 at McCabe's, as I recall them:
"You're No Good"
"Here Comes The Groom"
"July 13, 1985"
"Save A Little Room For Me"
"Kiss / Lover's Society"
"Bastard Son"
"Like A Prayer"
"Things Snowball"
"Cathy's New Clown"
"Spaced Cowgirl"
"Things Snowball"
"Scared Of Guns"
"When The Beatles Hit America"
"Kill The Messenger"
"Hitler's Tears"
"The Original Miss Jesus"
Wes' frequent musical guests always added an element of surprise to his shows. The Paley Brothers and Elizabeth Barraclough joined him in September 1990. Elizabeth's performance was particularly impressive: with her powerful voice she sang her own "Covered Up In Aces", assisted by Wes, of course. Steve Wynn was Wes' guest in 1993.
After having attended three John Wesley Harding concerts in less than three years, I decided to skip his next gig at McCabe's. Terrible decision, it turned out: as my luck would have it, I managed to miss Bruce Springsteen's appearance as John Wesley Harding's guest, on June 18, 1994. Bummer ...
The show I missed: John Wesley Harding with Bruce Springsteen at McCabe's (June 18, 1994)
I saw JWH again on March 29, 1996, also at McCabe's. Well, Bruce was not in the building, but Peter Case played a couple of songs with Wes. At that time, my interest in Wes' music was in decline, so it took me eleven years before I reconnected with him again in 2007. Where? At McCabe's, where else?
In September 2009, Chris Smither released a new album, "Time Stands Still" and kicked off a national tour that brought him back to McCabe's in late October, for two shows. I caught the early show. This was my seventh Chris Smither concert in nine years. He had just turned 65 and quite understandably, his energy level was one notch lower that before. But he still managed to delight me and amaze me. Gone were many of his power-numbers, such as "Dust My Broom" and "High Heel Sneakers", but "Love You Like A Man" and "Lola" were still there, and so was his unique guitar sound, sense of humor and humility.
The stage, just before the show - Note the piece of plywood serving as Chris' miked-up foot-tapping board
Chris performed his entire set seated on a piano bench. There was no opening act and no intermission. After the show, as usual, Chris signed autographs and chatted with his fans.
My musical radar works quite well at low elevations, but nonetheless, every so often someone big manages to fly under it and pass undetected for a long time. Chris Smither is a perfect example. He's a brilliant songwriter and a virtuoso guitar player, delivers songs like few others, so how come it took me decades to discover him? I don't know, you may want to ask the clowns in charge of radio and TV programming.
I'm not sure I know what made me buy a ticket to see Chris at McCabe's, but once I had the ticket in hand, I had to start researching his music - I went to the now-sadly-defunct Aaron's Records in Hollywood, bought Chris' just-released CD titled "Live As I'll Ever Be" and gave it a listen or two before showing up at McCabe's. Trouble is I focused too much on Chris' voice, so at that time I certainly couldn't call myself a fan. Obviously, I wasn't prepared for what followed - Chris knocked my socks off, to put it mildly.
My jaw dropped when he played "Dust My Broom" and "High Heel Sneakers", but his own songs were equally good. I loved everything about his performance: his ballads and power songs, his humor and humble demeanor, but most of all, his unique style of guitar playing. Even his less-than-stellar voice became in no time "music to my ears", just like it had happened years earlier with Richard Thompson's vocals.
This video shows Chris Smither bending his strings to produce a sound that is uniquely his:
I went back to see him again in February 2002, also at McCabe's, but this time I took two friends with me, Ken and Marilyn - there's no better feeling than surprising my music-loving friends with someone as good as Chris Smither.
There was an opening act, Louise Taylor, a singer-songwriter who did not leave a lasting impression.
Chris started his set with "Link Of Chain", followed by, in no particular order, "No Love Today", "Get A Better One", "Hold On", "Drive You Home Again", J.J. Cale's "Magnolia", "Frankie and Albert", "Dust My Broom", the "High Heel Sneakers- Big Boss Man Medley", "Duncan And Brady", "Love You Like A Man", "Can’t Shake These Blues", "Winsome Smile", "I Am The Ride", "Drive You Home Again" and maybe a few more. Wow, what a set list.
With these two shows, Chris Smither established himself as one of my most beloved musicians.
