CONCERT OVERLOAD: 4/29/18

April 29, 2018

Concert #827 - Benmont Tench at the Largo (April 28, 2018)

This was my second time to see Benmont Tench in a headlining role. Announced as "Benmont Tench and (hopefully!) Friends", the show did not disappoint, not in terms of Benmont's own performance, nor the number and caliber of the "friends" who supported him last night at the Largo.

Benmont, the solo musician, has little to do with Benmont the Heartbreaker, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. That just shows the wide range of his musicianship, and while I count myself as a fan of Tom Petty's work, I can also fully appreciate Benmont's alter ego, the sensitive and occasionally sentimental balladeer that he undoubtedly is.

As expected, Benmont played quite a few songs from "You Should Be So Lucky", his first and, until now, his only solo album. I know his music quite well, so I enjoyed very much listening to live renditions of "Hannah", "Veronica Said", "Wobbles", "Today I Took Your Picture Down" as well as the album's title track. We also heard lots of newer tunes, but sadly, I don't know their titles.

The only semi-nod to Benmon't work with Tom Petty, was "Welcome To Hell", a song from Mudcrutch's second album. It sounded great.

A few words about Benmont's unannounced guests. While Mike Campbell's appearance was not only anticipated, but almost expected, we all got a thrill when he took the stage along with England's Hattie Webb, who is best known as one half of the Webb Sisters - you may remember them from Leonard Cohen's world tour that kicked off in 2008. Accompanied by Benmont and Mike, Hattie sang "The House Of The Rising Sun", followed by her own number, "River", culled from her 2017 solo album. For the latter, Hattie accompanied herself on harp. Very nice.

Hattie Webb

Mike Campbell

The evening's other guest was Regina Spektor, who was received by the crowd with great enthusiasm. She opened her mini-set with a gorgeous rendition of "Over The Rainbow", the well-known tune from "The Wizard Of Oz". Next, Regina sat down at the piano to perform "The Flowers", a self-penned tune whose coda had elements of Russian folkloric music, or so I thought.

Regina Spektor

Throughout most of the evening, Benmont and his guests benefited from the exceptionally good accompaniment provided by Sebastian Steinberg on upright bass.

Sebastian Steinberg

Benmont ended his set with a free-for-all, as he called it. Together with Mike and Sebastian, he unleashed a rousing rendition of Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat".

The entire concert was great, but to these ears, Benmont saved his best for last - his two-song encore, first the traditional "Corrina, Corrina", followed by "Why Don't You Quit Leavin' Me Alone", also from his solo album, were absolutely superb.

I went to the concert with two dear friends, Scott and Odette, who both had a great time, particularly Odette.

My friends Scott and Odette (center), checking in at the Largo

The stage (right side)

The stage (left side)

The stage (left side, different angle)

Concert #825 - Martha Redbone at the Richard & Karen Carpenter Center (April 26, 2018)

Martha Redbone is one of the few performers who can make me attend a concert at a venue other than McCabe's Guitar Shop, so there I was last Thursday at the Richard & Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center on the campus of California State University in Long Beach, to catch a singer that I truly admire. I'm glad I went.

This was not your typical concert. Titled "Bone Hill - The Concert" and weaving together spoken word and music, Martha and her ensemble recreated for us the eventful history of her multi-ethnic family, starting with her Appalachian Cherokee ancestors, a few generations ago, and continuing to her present life. Whether speaking or singing, Martha's delivery was something to behold - even though she was surrounded by a number of musicians who all contributed to the success of the show, it almost felt like I was attending a one-woman show, that's how strong Martha's stage presence was.

Covering multiple genres, the songs Martha sang for us were all thoroughly enjoyable, even though they were all new to me. The ones that instantly stood out were "Caught My Eye" and "Mamah Mason". By the way, all songs were written by Martha and her piano-playing husband and frequent musical collaborator, Aaron Whitby.

The Carpenter Center is a great place to catch a show, but sadly, only about three hundred people showed up for Martha's performance. As far as I am concerned, I will continue to follow her itinerary and whenever she's within driving distance from my place, I'll be in attendance.

Martha Redbone (left) & Soni Moreno at the Carpenter Center

Martha Redbone (center) and her cast
(Aaron Whitby is second from right)

Excerpts from the evening's program

The stage

The Richard & Karen Carpenter Center

On display in the lobby of the venue

Concert #826 - The Deer at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 27, 2018)

This was my first time to see the Deer in concert. While listening to the band, I tried in vain to come up with the genre that best described their music, so when I got home, I surfed to their web site and here's the wording I found there: "Described as transcendental Texas folk, Cosmic Americana, and stargaze surf-western, the Deer weave psychotropic soundscapes and tranquil, vivid dream-pop". I could not have said it better myself.

The band came out as a quartet consisting of Grace Rowland Park (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Michael McLeod (guitar), Alan Eckert (drums, vocals) and Jesse Dalton (upright bass, vocals). They played mostly their own material, none of which I knew, and as it's always the case with new music, I liked some songs better than others. The inclusion of "Head Over Heals", the song made famous by Tears For Fears in the eighties, was a welcome digression from their own numbers. They also played "Walking In Space", a lesser-known song from Hair, the musical.

Fronting the band, Grace impressed me with her beautiful singing voice and pleasant personality. With their understated playing, the band gave her outstanding support. Some of the evening's best moments came during the band's instrumental interludes, which - with their sometime jazzy and sometime psychedelic tones - had little to do with any traditional genres one could frequently hear at McCabe's.

The evening kicked off with an opening set delivered by Josiah and The Bonnevilles, which turned out to be Josiah without any Bonnevilles. "The Bonnevilles are very small, you can't see them", quipped Josiah soon after he took the stage. Accompanying himself on electric guitar, he sang six or seven songs that did not instantly connect with me, except for his set-ending "Six Dollar Check".