Not unexpectedly, Jackshit's annual Christmas concerts at McCabe's sold out in about ten minutes and I'm happy to say that I was able to get a ticket for each of the two shows. Here are some of my impressions, as they spring to mind one week after the event.
- The set list was pretty much in line with their previous shows. A few new songs were included, such as David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes", Bob Dylan's "Well, Well, Well" and "Goddamn Lonely Love" from the repertoire of the Drive-By Truckers.
- Unannounced guests: Jackson Browne on the first night and Shelby Lynne on Day 2.
- Introduced as Browne Shit, Jackson sang "The King Is Gone", "A Child In These Hills", "Call It A Loan", "Running On Empty", "Take It Easy" and "Our Lady Of The Well"
- Shelby Lynne sang "Leaving", "Wall In Your Heart" and "Silver Bells". She sounded great.
- Showing great composure and quite a bit of talent, Stella McCallum delivered a surprisingly good rendition of Priscilla Ahn's "All You've Got To Do Is Fall In Love". Stella is guitarist Val McCallum's daughter. My guess is that she can't be older than five, maybe six.
- It seems that "Ugly And Slouchy" and its delightful rock & roll medley has once again become a permanent fixture of the band's set list. The Christmas version of the medley included "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", sung by Val with a deep voice.
- There were a few songs that got played on one night only: Randy Newman's "Louisiana", "Bull Rider", "Goddamn Lonely Love", "Ghost Riders In The Sky" and Johnny Cash's "Big River".
- Of all the encores played by the band over the years, "Pretty Polly" is the absolute best.
- All band members, Val in particular, were on fire.
- These two shows brought my Jackshit concert count to thirty-seven. The first time I saw them was in November 2005, when they knocked me out and made a fan-for-life out of me.
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| Val McCallum at McCabe's |
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| Dave Faragher at McCabe's |
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| Pete Thomas at McCabe's |
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| Val McCallum & Jackson Browne at McCabe's |
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| Val McCallum & Jackson Browne at McCabe's |
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| Val McCallum & Shelby Lynne at McCabe's |
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| Shelby Lynne at McCabe's |
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| Shelby Lynne at McCabe's |
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| Jackshit at McCabe's |
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| The concert room |
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| Val McCallum's guitars |
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| The set list (December 2) |
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| The set list (December 3) |
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| Val McCallum chatting with friends after the show |
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| Pete Thomas after the show |
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| Dave Faragher after the show |
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| Jackshit, with Jackson Browne and Stella McCallum after the show |
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