Concerts #473, 519 - Willie Nile at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 28, 2008 - September 12, 2009)

Willie Nile is yet another huge favorite of mine who, as far as I was concerned, came out of nowhere. It was Lincoln, the Concert Director at McCabe's, who suggested that I catch Willie's show, his first ever at McCabe's, so I did.

With his passionate singing, countless songs of superior quality and rock star moves, Willie blew me away. Although short of stature, he radiated power, energy and confidence, but then off-stage, after the show, he appeared to be just a regular guy, happy to chat with his fans.

His 2008 and 2009 shows were somewhat similar, and I don't mean it in a negative way - both shows were great. Drummer Frankie Lee and guest Creed Bratton, of the Grass Roots and The Office fame, provided able support on both occasions.

Creed Bratton

Naturally, the June 2008 gig focused primarily on Willie's then-current album, "Streets Of New York". My favorites were "Cell Phones Ringing (In The Pockets Of The Dead)" and "The Day I Saw Bo Diddley In Washington Square". His rousing rendition of "I Wanna Sedated", one of the signature songs of the Ramones, brought the house down. After the show, I had the chance to shake hands with Willie and tell him how much I enjoyed his show. He then autographed the live CD I bought right there.

CD autographed by Willie Nile

In September 2009, Willie played most of the songs from his outstanding just-released album "House Of A Thousand Guitars", but sadly skipped "Now That The War Is Over", arguably the best song of the album. But he did play most of my other favorites, "Magdalena", "The Midnight Rose", "House Of A Thousand Guitars" and "Give Me Tomorrow". There were also a few new numbers, among them "One Guitar" and "Innocent One". Just like in 2008, Willie played a few songs while accompanying himself on the piano.

Willie Nile at McCabe's (September 2009)

I went to the show with my friends Michael, Nicole, Sabine and her boyfriend, who all had a fabulous time.

Willie Nile autographing for Michael and Sabine

Concert #587 - Dave Alvin, Chris Smither & Peter Case at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 3, 2011)

Posters in the window at McCabe's

A rare triple-header at McCabe's, featuring three of the very best. I caught the 7 PM show. There was a late show as well, both had sold out much in advance. The show was great, but ... yes, there was a "but" ... after having seen the three protagonists perform separately countless times, I can say that in this case, the "whole" was smaller than the sum of its parts. Let me explain.

They all shared the stage and took turns at performing their numbers - when one of them went to work, the other two were simply watching. They sang four songs each, they all pitched in on a few more, then the show was over. In plain English, the concert was short, very short. I had seen many musicians delivering much longer sets all by themselves. Four songs from Dave, then four more from Chris and Peter left me wanting for much more.

From L to R: Rick Shea, Dave Alvin, Chris Smither, Peter Case

The concert started with an instrumental version of Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train", followed by Dave Alvin's "Down The Rio Grande", a song he co-wrote with Tom Russell. Dave's second song was "Black Rose Of Texas", a gorgeous ballad dedicated to the late Amy Ferris, one of his long-time musical collaborators. In response to a request, Dave followed up with "King Of California", then rounded up his set with the outstanding "Harlan County Line".

Dave Alvin

Chris Smither's first song was "Don't Call Me Stranger", followed by "I Don't Know", a funny song inspired by his adopted daughter, "Surprise, Surprise" and "Train Home". My impression was that he held back a bit - I had seen him displaying much more guitar virtuosity in earlier appearances.

Chris Smither

Peter Case was in excellent form, but sadly, I don't know the titles of any of his songs. One of them was a Ledbelly-written prison song, another one mentioned "Pig Nation", his band during his pre-Plimsouls years, but that's about all I remember.

Peter Case

The show ended with "Railroad Bill", a team effort, then for the encore they all sang "Casey Jones". There were plenty of fun stories between the songs. Rick Shea provided good support on guitar and mandolin throughout the show.

The day started with the sweet new sounds of Sara Lynn, my second grand-child, born just before 9 AM.

Sara Lynn, four-hours old

Todd and Lynn, Sara Lynn's other set of grand-parents, were my guests for the show. It was their first time at McCabe's and they loved it.

Lynn and Todd in line at McCabe's

Peter Case reporting to work at McCabe's