Concert #733 - Cat Stevens at the Nokia Theatre (December 14, 2014)

Last week's Cat Stevens concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles is likely to be the last time I set foot in a large venue to attend a concert. Simply put, I can no longer put up with the loud morons who, time and time again, kill everyone else's chance of enjoying live music. What was supposed to be the Concert Of The Decade, turned out to be an utterly frustrating evening that I will remember not for the quality of the performance, but for the unruliness of the beer-drinking a-holes sitting behind me.

Those of you who follow this blog may have noticed how, over the years, I have gravitated more and more toward smaller venues, where no alcohol is served. Such places attract the true music fans, the ones who treat artists and the other spectators with civility and respect. That is where you will find me.

Cat Stevens took the stage at 8:30 PM, half and hour after the announced show time. His set list included most of his well-known gems from the sixties and seventies, as well as a few numbers from "An Other Cup" and "Tel 'Em I'm Gone", his recent come-back albums. Cat's voice sounded pretty much like it did years ago.

SET LIST

The Wind

Don't Be Shy

Blackness of the Night

The First Cut Is the Deepest

Here Comes My Baby 

Miles from Nowhere

Sitting

Thinking 'Bout You

Where Do the Children Play?

Roadsinger

        People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)

Maybe There's a World

        All You Need Is Love (The Beatles) 

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

INTERMISSION

Big Boss Man (Jimmy Reed)

Trouble

Oh Very Young

Heaven/Where True Love Goes (Foreigner Suite)

(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard

Dying to Live (Edgar Winter)

Bitterblue

Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke)

You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis) 

Moonshadow 

Editing Floor Blues

The Devil Came From Kansas (Procol Harum)

Wild World

Father and Son

ENCORE

Gold Digger

Peace Train 

Sad Lisa

Morning Has Broken

The set list included more covers than expected, the biggest surprise to me was the inclusion of "All You Need Is Love".

The support musicians were outstanding. I was familiar with two of them: long-time collaborator Alun Davies and guitarist Matt Sweeney, who joined Cat's band after the intermission for the playing of a few songs.

By the way, with this Nokia Theatre event, I have now attended concerts at one hundred different venues.

The stage

Cat Stevens at the Nokia Theatre

Cat Stevens at the Nokia Theatre

Cat Stevens at the Nokia Theatre

Cat Stevens T-shirts for sale

The Nokia Theatre

The Nokia Theatre

Concerts #731 & 732 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 5-6, 2014)

Announced as The Fifth Annual Have A Shitty Christmas Spectacular, these two shows did not need a lot of time to sell out - five hours after the announcement went out, all tickets for the Saturday show were gone and a few days later, the Friday show sold out as well.

This blog contains many other write-ups that focus on Jackshit, the band, so I won't repeat the real names of the band members, nor their assumed  monikers.

The band was in their usual great form, both in terms of music and humor, with Rock & Roll Hall-Of-Famer Pete Thomas being more talkative than ever before.

As a tribute to the recently passed-on Jack Bruce, Jackshit played a great version of "White Room", featuring Shorty's outstanding vocals. Beau stayed away from the guitar lines of Cream's original recorded and came up with his own tasty riffs.

As always, the band's Christmas shows generated a certain buzz, as we were all wondering who the surprise guests might be. This year we must declare ourselves happy with the crop of guests who popped in for a few songs each. Here are their names:

Friday: Jackson Browne, Tammy Faye Starlite, Larry Goldings, Charlie Faragher, Nick Vuckovich
Saturday: Dave Alvin, Vonda Shepard, Charlie Faragher, Nick Vuckovich, Pammy & Jimmy Faragher

Unannounced guest Jackson Browne at McCabe's

Let me first say that Jackson Browne can no longer be described as a "surprise"guest, as he comes out to play with the band more often than not. As always, Jackson delivered his songs in a low-profile kind of way that was well received by the crowd. After his Friday night's set of four-songs, he came out again for the encore to play "Take It Easy", which transitioned seamlessly into "Our Lady Of The Well". By the way, the song abbreviated as ROE on Friday night's set list is "Running On Empty", as you might have guessed.

Guest Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Dave Alvin's appearance during the Saturday show was truly special. Adding outstanding storytelling and good humor to his stellar guitar playing and songwriting, Dave, a.k.a. No Shit, brought the house down like only he can. His musical chemistry with Val McCallum came in evidence as they were trading guitar licks while exchanging humorous looks. Watching the two feeding off of each other was definitely one of the highlights of the evening.

Guests Larry Goldings and Tammy Faye Starlite

Introduced as Tammy Chick Shit, Hoboken singer Tammy Lang introduced us to her Tammy Faye Starlite character and what an introduction that was: with her coarse language, faux-anti-semitism and excessive facial make-up, Tammy Faye stood in sharp contrast with your typical McCabe's female performer. Supported by Grammy-nominee Larry Goldings, Tammy Faye sang Willie Nelson's "Crazy" and Loretta Lynn's "Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year".

Youngsters Charlie Faragher (drums) and Nick Vuckovich (vocals), both members of a pre-teen band named Bang, joined Val McCallum and Davey Faragher to deliver "Nobody's Fault But Mine", from the repertoire of Led Zeppelin. In spite of their young age, Charlie and Nick did exceptionally well.

Guest Nick Vuckovich

Introduced as Sassy Shit and Soul Shit, Davey Faragher's siblings Pammy and Jimmy took the stage to deliver two up-tempo classic soul numbers. I knew one of them - "Lovey Dovey", recorded by Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - but I had to look up the other one, a late sixties hidden gem titled "Soulshake", recorded among others by Delaney & Bonnie and Peggy Scott & JoJo Benson. I was very impressed with Pammy and Jimmy's vocal prowess and I know that I will remember Pammy's unconventional dance moves for a long, long time.

Guests Pammy & Jimmy

Saturday night was my first time ever to see Vonda Shepard in action. Looking and sounding great, Vonda delivered her own version of Willie Nelson's "Crazy". There were few parallel's between Vonda's rendition and the one performed the night before by Tammy Faye Starlite.

Guest Vonda Shepard

Here are the set lists of the two shows:

Set list - December 5

Set list - December 6

Overall, I enjoyed both shows very much, especially the second night, when we got to hear "Ugly And Slouchy", the band's "country-oldie-cum-rock & roll-medley" that, to these ears, was pure delight.

Val McCallum at McCabe's

Val and Pammy

Davey Faragher at McCabe's

Val McCallum and Jackson Browne at McCabe's

Pete Thomas at McCabe's

Concert Director Lincoln Myerson announcing the show

The stage

Concert posters

Concerts #249 & 730 - P.F. Sloan at various venues (2001 & 2014)

This post covers the following two concerts:

• P.F. Sloan at McCabe's Guitar Shop - May 12, 2001
• P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage - November 22, 2014

Both events were quite special, as they gave me the opportunity to be under the same roof with one of my all-time favorite musicians - not only that I absolutely adore his compositions, but I'm a huge fan of his singing as well. 

Last night's proceedings kicked off with writer S.E Feinberg, whose ten-minute-long introduction included the playing of P.F. Sloan's first hit, "Kick That Little Foot, Sally Ann", recorded in 1964 by a singer named Round Robin. No, the original singer did not show up - Mr. Feinberg played the song directly off of his Apple laptop, by holding it up against his microphone. By the way, S.E. Feinberg is P.F. Sloan's co-writer on Phil's newly-released memoirs titled "What's Exactly The Matter With Me".

Taking the stage to a rousing reception, P.F. Sloan started out with "Whatever God Wants" and "This Love", two outstanding songs from "My Beethoven", his brand new album.

P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

What followed was a veritable smorgasbord of great songs, interspersed with equally great stories that involved some of P.F. Sloan's contemporaries, such as Bob Dylan, Fred Neil, Donovan, Barry McGuire, the Mamas & the Papas, Lou Adler, the Grass Roots, Jim Webb, Van Morrison and others. 

The Set List 

Whatever God Wants

This Love

What's Exactly The Matter With Me

The Sins Of The Family

Take Me For What I'm Worth

I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth

Eve Of Destruction

Let's Live For Today

Where Were You When I Needed You

Hold On

A Must To Avoid

(Here They Come) From All Over The World

Tell 'em I'm Surfin'

California Dreamin'

Upon A Painted Ocean

New Design

From A Distance

My Baby Left Me

Secret Agent Man (encore)

Somewhat surprisingly, Phil's set included two numbers he did not write, namely "California Dreamin'" and "My Baby Left Me", the song made famous by Elvis Presley. And speaking of "California Dreamin'": Phil shared with us that, even though the song's lyrics were penned by Michelle Phillips, the full writing credits went to hubby John Phillips, with Michelle's consent, in an attempt to market him as the "next John Lennon".

P.F. Sloan delivering "Secret Agent Man"

During the intermission, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of conversing with the master for a couple of minutes. Barry McGuire's name came up and, referring to his strong belief in Christianity, I told Phil that Barry could have written a Christian song by simply changing the name of his best-known hit into "The Destruction Of Eve". Phil saw the humor in this word-play, laughed and then autographed my newly-purchased book.

P.F. Sloan's autograph

Phil went on singing and telling stories for almost two full hours and I loved every minute of it. A well-deserved standing ovation kept Phil on the stage for one final number, "Secret Agent Man", which got everyone standing up yet once again.

Phil's singing voice sounded pretty much like on his more recent studio recordings. Throughout the show, he accompanied himself on an acoustic guitar. The whole event felt more like a gathering of friends taking place in someone's living room. There were only three songs I did not know, and one of them, "New Design", was among the highlights of the evening. There were no musical guests and no opening act.

P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

S.E. Feinberg at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

P.F. Sloan interview after the concert

P.F. Sloan chatting with a fan at the Coffee Gallery

The Coffee Gallery stage

A few words about P.F. Sloan's appearance at McCabe's in 2001. The place was only half full, which surprised me very much. Phil took the stage and announced that the first half of the show would consist of nothing but new material, with the hit songs scheduled to come later, after the intermission. Initially, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to sit through a bunch of new songs, but - as it turned out - my fears were totally unfounded. Phil's new music, while having little in common with his hit songs, still sounded great to these ears.

As promised, the second part of the show brought us many of his well-known hits, as well as an unannounced guest, Creed Bratton of the Grass Roots fame. It was also goose-bumps time: Phil's delivery of his always-relevant gem, "Eve Of Destruction", was one of the most emotional moments I have ever experienced during a live concert. Phil closed his set with "Secret Agent Man", a song that, as he told us, brought him more pride than any other of his songs.

Tom Freund was the opening act.

Concerts #291 & 729 - Ellis Paul at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 15, 2002 & October 25, 2014)

Last night was my second time to see Ellis Paul live in concert, both times at McCabe's. There's not a whole lot I remember about the 2002 concert, but I'm pretty sure that the memories from last night's show will stay with me for a long time.

I walked away from my first encounter with Ellis with neutral feelings. At that time - in my book, at least - he was nothing but one of the many singer-songwriters who deserved to be heard, but remained a notch or two below the level of the musicians who were closest to my heart. Something changed since then. "He's right up there with the very best" was the first thought that crossed my mind last night, as I was leaving the concert room. Indeed, Ellis excelled in every category, from songwriting and singing to intensity and sincerity. Great sense of humor, too. One could tell that he was very comfortable up there on the stage and he certainly knows the right balance between music and spoken word.

Ellis Paul at McCabe's

Ellis kicked off his set with "Chasing Beauty", the title track from his current album, followed by "Drive-in Movie", also from the same album. Next, Ellis brought out Radoslav Lorkovic, an accomplished  multi-instrumentalist whom I have seen before playing keyboards for the late Odetta, also at McCabe's. Switching from piano to accordion and back, Radoslav was a great addition to the show.

Except for two covers, Ellis performed his own songs and they all sounded good. The two cover songs, each given Ellis' own treatment, turned out to be among the evening's many highlights. Accompanying himself on the piano, Ellis first sang Pete Seeger's "If I Had A Hammer" and I absolutely loved the piano chords which bore little resemblance to the more traditional arrangements of the song. Not unexpectedly, Ellis' second cover - Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" - quickly turned into a sing-along.

Ellis Paul at McCabe's

Radoslav Lorkovic at McCabe's

A few Ellis-Paul-penned songs stood out to these ears: "Kick Out The Lights", "Drive-in Movie" and "Wasted" were exceptionally good. Equally remarkable was "Love Is A Curious Thing", delivered from the seating area's center aisle, together with Radoslav and backup singer Rebecca Loebe.

Partial set list

Rose tattoo

Take all the sky you need

Alice's Champagne Palace

Wasted

Kick out the lights (Johnny Cash)

Chasing beauty

Love is a curious thing

If I had a hammer

The circle game

Drive-in movie

Maria's beautiful mess

Hurricane angel

Never want to lose you

Home (encore)

The spoken word portion of the show was as good as the music. Ellis' humorous story about his love affair with two old acoustic guitars was one of the best I've ever heard and I've never seen anyone plugging their product as tastefully as Ellis - his use of a real turntable to play snippets from "Chasing Beauty" was pure genius. He also read a short fragment from "The Hero In You", his newly released children's book.

Ellis Paul plugging his most recent album

The evening's opening act, Austin's Rebecca Loebe, provided backup vocals for many of the songs performed by Ellis. She was quite good in her supporting role. I was less taken by her own solo set.

Rebecca Loebe at McCabe's

Ellis Paul merchandise

The right side of the stage

Concert #728 - Parker Millsap at McCabe's Guitar Shop (October 5, 2014)

Q:  Did the show sell out?

A:  No, only about seventy inspired people showed up. Come to think of it, that's not bad for a relative newcomer scheduled to perform at 8 PM on a Sunday.

Q:  Did you get your money's worth?

A:  Absolutely, and then some.

Q:  How can you best describe Parker's performance?

A:  Unique. Youthful. Refreshing. Full of energy. Humorous. Innovative. Multifaceted. Consistently good, from start to finish. Not afraid to go out on a musical limb. Many singer-songwriters out there fall under the "you've heard one song, you've heard them all" category, but Parker's music places him at the opposite end of the spectrum. His vocals are something special and he can play the guitar, too.

Parker Millsap at McCabe's

Q:  What kind of music does he play, anyway?

A:  That's not easy to answer, but let me try. I'd say it's a modern mix of gospel, folk, blues and country that somehow still manages to sound old-schoolish. 

Q:  Is he following someone else's wake?

A:  Not at all. Parker is not copying anyone. Nor is his style easily imitable. 

Q:  How's his songwriting?

A:  He wrote most of the songs he sang for us and they were all outstanding, both in terms of     

tunefulness and variety. He sang two covers, namely Robert Johnson's "Hot Tamales (They're Red Hot)" 

and the traditional "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out".

 Q:  Did he perform solo?

A:  No. He was accompanied by Daniel Foulks on fiddle and Michael Rose on upright bass. They were both outstanding, especially Daniel, who impressed me not only with his beard and hair, but also with his musicianship. His fiddle sounded rich and warm, without any trace of the strident whine often produced by fiddlers.

Parker Millsap and Michael Rose at McCabe's

Parker Millsap and Daniel Foulks at McCabe's

Q:  The evening's highlights?

A: Tough question. Everything Parker did was great, but I particularly loved "Old Time Religion" and the very intense "Land Of  The Red Man", the evening's one-song encore. Among the small handful of slower numbers that he played, the one I liked the most was "Forgive Me".

Q:  Did he have a predetermined set list?

A:  There was no written set list. He picked his songs as he went along. Here's a nearly-complete list of the songs we heard Sunday night:

You Gotta Move

Palisade

Homeless

Heaven Sent

The Villain

The Morning Blues

Hot Tamales

Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out

Land Of The Red Man

Old Time Religion

Quite Contrary

Truck Stop Gospel

I Hope I Die

Mansion Over The Hilltop

When I Leave

At The Bar

Forgive Me

Q:  His personality?

A:  Parker is an exceptionally likeable young man who possesses a disarming smile and projects the image of the proverbial "boy next door". 

Q: Anything else to add?

A: In recent years, I've seen quite a few younger singer-songwriters, but no one has affected me as much as Parker. This guy is truly special and I can't wait to see him again.

Parker Millsap at McCabe's

The stage

Merch table note

Daniel Foulks' fiddle

Parker Millsap T-shirts for sale