Concert #749 - Kim Richey at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 27, 2015)

 

This was my first time to see Kim Richey in concert. Even though I own two of her albums, I went to the show with only a superficial familiarity with her music - somehow, her songs had failed to hook me, most likely because of my lack of trying. It turned out, though, that my lack of preparedness did not prevent me from enjoying Kim's performance.

The concert followed a formula that had worked for me before, namely a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar, with electric guitar accompaniment provided by a support musician. British guitarist Dean Tidey handled his supporting role with class - even though he played in a rather subdued manner, his solos clearly proved his worth.

Kim Richey and Dean Tidey at McCabe's

Playing in front of about one hundred people, Kim impressed me primarily with the quality of her songwriting. All the songs she sang for us were new to me, but a few of them caught my attention, especially "Thorn In My Heart", "Wreck Your Wheels", "Dear John" and "Just My Luck". As far as Kim's voice is concerned, I enjoyed the slower songs more than the uptempo ones.

Kim Richey at McCabe's

The set list

Kim Richey at McCabe's

Overall, the concert was good, but not earth-shattering. In my opinion, Kim Richey definitely belongs to a category of fine female singer-songwriters that also include Catie Curtis, Tift Merritt, Patty Larkin, Carrie Newcomer, Cheryl Wheeler and other artists whom I have enjoyed seeing, but without feeling compelled to catch them every time they come to town.

Concert #748 - Dan Penn at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 26, 2015)

Dan Penn's first-ever appearance at McCabe's turned out to be exactly as I hoped it would be. With his singing and story-telling, Dan took us back to the sixties and seventies, to the time when he wrote or co-wrote most of his best-known songs and, needless to say, I cannot think of a better backdrop for such a special event than the concert room of my favorite venue, Santa Monica's McCabe's Guitar Shop.

About 125 fans showed up for the event. Seated at the center of the stage and playing his acoustic guitar with no one else in tow, Dan delivered his music and stories with humility and occasional humor. Intentionally or otherwise, he played most of his big hits before the intermission, yet paradoxically, I found the second half of the show, with its many lesser-known songs, to be at least as enjoyable as the first.

Dan kicked-off the proceedings with four heavy-hitters (see set list below), but then he strayed away a bit from his hand-written list. Later in the show, he even threw in a few "unlisted" songs, such as "Junkyard Junky" and "Way Back". Both sounded great. A third "unlisted" song, Percy Sledge's "It Tears Me Up", served as the evening's one-song encore.

Dan Penn at McCabe's

The set list

To my ears, the best songs of the evening were "You Left The Water Running", "A Woman Left Lonely" and "Cry Like A Baby", three gorgeous songs I first heard decades ago with Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and the Box Tops, respectively.

Dan Penn at McCabe's

Dan Penn having fun at McCabe's

At the respectable age of seventy-four, Dan no longer sounds like he did on his incredible Muscle Shoals recordings from the mid-sixties, but he still has plenty of soul in his voice and can still hold an audience captive with nothing more than his vocals and an acoustic guitar. His story-telling was top-notch - with unquestionable credibility, Dan spoke about his work with Aretha Franklin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Otis Redding, Joe Simon and a few others. There were also frequent references to Spooner Oldham, his long-time songwriting partner.

At one point during the show, Dan acknowledge the presence in the room of a good friend, Mark James, the songwriter responsible for such mega-hits as "Suspicious Minds", "Always On My Mind" and "Hooked On A Feeling".

I went home totally happy, knowing that I had attended a truly special event.

Dan Penn at the end of the show

The stage

Fans lining up before the show

Concert poster