Concert #660 - Kinky Friedman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 7, 2012)

This was my third time to see Kinky Friedman live on stage and the experience only made me want for more. Kinky's formula works great for me. He takes one part storytelling and one part music which then he mixes for about 90 minutes and what comes out is far greater than the sum of its parts. Of course, humor is the foundation of most everything he does, yet he can be serious as well and when he is, he's dead serious.

The show started even before we got to our seats, with Kinky standing right there in the middle of the store, greeting everyone, shaking hands and asking for our names. What a classy thing to do!

Kinky Friedman greeting my friend Steve, as we were walking in

With an acoustic guitar hanging from his neck, a glass of tequila in his hand and a cigar in his mouth, Kinky started the show with his traditional toast for honor: "Here's to honor - get on 'er and stay on 'er". Kinky stuff indeed, yet everyone laughed real hard.

The musical portion of the set started with "Before All Hell Breaks Loose", an old gem whose opening line is "Time to resign from the human race" and things never slowed down from there. 

 Partial Set List

They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore

Sold American

Gets Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In The Bed

Nashville Casualty And Life

The Ballad Of Kevin Barry (a song Kinky learned from Paul Robeson)

Ol' Ben Lucas (this turned into a hilarious sing-along)

Autograph (dedicated to the late Levon Helm)

Ride'm Jewboy (the one-song encore of the evening)

Kinky Friedman at McCabe's

There's something truly magic about Kinky's personality. Whether he talks or sings, he sucks you right in and keeps you there under his mesmerazing influence until the lights go back on. It's true that he reuses some of his best lines, yet they sound good every time one hears them. But there was plenty of funny new material as well: just before leaving Hamburg for his next stop in Paris, Kinky asked his German guide how far Paris was from Hamburg. The guide thought for a few seconds and replied "About a five-day march".

Kinky's humor is out there, seemingly made to offend people and peoples, with absolutely no reverence to political correctness or anything that's "proper" when it comes to sexual or ethnic topics. He has and probably will run again for the governorship of the State of Texas and I'm pretty sure that, while on the campaign trail, he will not be the same Kinky The Entertainer we saw Friday night at McCabe's.

No Kinky Friedman show is complete without the reading of a chapter from one of his newly published books. This time we heard "Tom Friedman - The Navigator", where Tom is a World War II veteran and, you guessed it right, Kinky's father. The chapter appears in "Heroes Of A Texas Childhood", a book currently at its fourth printing. I went home happily carrying an autographed copy of the book.

Kinky Friedman's autograph on my new book

A couple of times during the show, Kinky acknowledged Danny Hutton's presence in the room. That's Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night fame, of course.

Two bottles of Kinky's own brand of Man In Black tequila were auctioned off to support Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, an animal shelter founded by Kinky himself. The two bottles, along with a few small items, fetched a grand total of $800. 

Musician and writer Michael Simmons opened the show with a three-song set. The one I liked the best was "Bubbles In My Beer", originally recorded by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. I had no idea who Michael was, but now I know. To find out more about Michael Simmons and his association with the Kinkster, click on the link below which will take you to an exceptionally well-written post authored by Michael himself.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-simmons/kinky-friedman-texas-jewboys_b_2247353.html

Michael Simmons at McCabe's

Immediately following Michael and introduced as the "Mad Hungarian", Brian Molnar delivered an exceptionally good set that, at only four songs, was a bit too short. His melodic sense and mine were in perfect alignment and I loved his voice and phrasing, too. I will definitely keep an eye out for this deserving young musician.

Brian Molnar at McCabe's

Kinky Friedman and Brian Molnar at the merch table

Kinky Friedman and Yours Truly

Concert poster

Concert #659 - Barry McGuire - Gelencser House Concerts (December 1, 2012)

Last night marked my first-time ever to attend a show in a house-concert setting. The event took place at the Gelencser residence in Claremont, California, so now their living room is listed in my concert database alongside the Hollywood Bowl, Greek Theatre, House Of Blues and other famed venues. The hosts, Andy and Janice Gelencser, deserve a lot of praise for opening up their home to larger groups of people, putting in time and effort to organize the concert and accepting a great deal of inconvenience without any financial benefit, all done for the love of music. Again, kudos to them.

This was my fifth time to see Barry live in concert and the fourth time to attend his "Trippin' the Sixties" show. He is seventy-seven now, an age when most of his singing peers from the sixties are either retired or dead. Barry, on the other hand, keeps pressing on and well he should, as he is still perfectly capable of putting on an entertaining show that is heart-warming, humorous and informative.

Barry McGuire sharing stories with the audience

Masterfully intertwining stories with music, Barry's show kept moving along at a fast pace. I particularly enjoyed the story-telling part of the show, with Barry paying his respects to many musical heroes from decades ago, among them Tim Hardin, John Denver, John Sebastian, Scott McKenzie, Steve Goodman, Zal Yanovski, The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas, Arlo Guthrie, PF Sloan, Lou Adler and Fred Neil. Barry also made frequent references to the "herbal medicines" used by many of the top musicians of the era.

I was impressed by Barry's overall shape. He performed the entire concert with full intensity, lots of self-confidence and it appeared to me that he enjoyed the show as much as the rest of us. His voice did not falter, he never looked for words and came up with funny quips whenever needed.

Compared to earlier shows, last night's "Trippin' the Sixties" set included a few new additions, such as Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", CCR's "Proud Mary" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" from the repertoire of John Denver. Funny thing though, the latter song was actually released in the early seventies.

SET LIST

Green Green

Eve Of Destruction

Everybody's Talkin'
Hair

Johnny B. Goode

Daydream

Turn Turn Turn

California Dreamin'

San Francisco

Creeque Alley

Tambourine Man

City Of New Orleans

If I Were A Carpenter

Proud Mary

Woodstock

Get Together

Dancing In The Street

Take Me Home, Country Roads

For me, the highlight of the show was Tim Hardin’s “If I Were A Carpenter”.

Barry's shows just wouldn't be the same without the competent support provided by John York, a musician whose credentials include a stint with the Byrds. To these eyes and ears, John is an outstanding support musician who adds value without ever attempting to outshine the headliner. His guitar solos were great and his singing was subdued, just the way a backup-vocalist is supposed to sing. And he's got a sense of humor, too: when a spectator asked Barry about how he hooked up with John, the answer came fast and short from the latter: "Internet dating service"!

  

Barry McGuire (left) and John York

After the show, I had once again the good fortune of shaking hands with Barry and chatting with him for a couple of minutes. His humility, warmth and friendship are something to behold.

From left to right: My friend Steve, Barry McGuire and Yours Truly

Barry's autograph on my newly purchased CD

Overall, my first-ever exposure to house concerts was a success. I liked the intimacy of the place and enjoyed meeting the hosts. Oh yeah, the brownies were great, too.

The stage

Barry McGuire and John York (both seated) after the show

Barry McGuire (right) and John York with a fan

Intermission

The merch table