Concert #768 - Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 23, 2016)

This was only my second time to see Dave and Phil Alvin perform together. Two years ago, at the Claremont Folk Festival, they impressed me with a strong performance, yet last night at McCabe's they did even better. "Absolutely superb" were the first words that came out of my mouth at the end of the concert and I wasn't exaggerating. It is harder for me to assess Phil, who has mostly eluded me over the years, but I can state with confidence that Dave is one of those few top-tier musicians who just get better with age.

Dave & Phil Alvin at McCabe's

The evening started with a seven-song set performed by Dave, with support from Chris Miller, his long-time collaborator and frequent member of the Guilty Men. Chris's electric guitar complemented Dave's acoustic playing to perfection. As musicians often do, Dave took a small detour from his hand-written set list, so instead of "King Of California" we heard "California Snow", a powerful song he wrote two decades ago with Tom Russell. The evening's first set ended with a great rendition of the self-penned "Abilene", whose extended instrumental coda featured some amazing interplay between Dave and Chris.

Dave Alvin's first set

Phil Alvin joined Dave and Chris for the evening's second set and what a set that was! Drawing heavily from the repertoire of some of America's finest classic blues artists, the Alvin Brothers put on a stunning display of singing and guitar playing, with Chris Miller providing outstanding support. Phil may have looked a bit frail, but his vocals showed no signs of weakness whatsoever, not even when he did the yodelling part on Jimmie Rodgers' "Never No Mo' Blues".

Dave & Phil Alvin at McCabe's

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Phil Alvin at McCabe's

Everything we heard last night sounded great, yet a few songs still managed to stand out: Big Bill Broonzy's "All By Myself", Big Joe Turner's "Cherry Red Blues', Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey's "If You See My Savior" and the unattributed "World's In A Bad Condition". The show ending "What's Up With Your Brother", with its super-epic electric guitar playing delivered by Dave and Chris, will be hard to forget. The crowd brought them back for an encore, which consisted of "Johnny Ace Is Dead" and a rousing rendition of "Marie, Marie". We all went home happy.

Dave & Phil's set list

Chris Miller at McCabe's

The stage

Concert #680 - Dave Alvin at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 22, 2013)

If you are like me, you have seen Dave Alvin countless times, you know exactly what his live show is like, you don't expect anything different the next time, yet you still can't stop yourself from clicking on the "Buy" button whenever he's announced to play McCabe's.

This time around, Dave brought along two of his long-time musical collaborators, singer Christy McWilson of the Guilty Women fame and guitarist Chris Miller. Together, they put on an entertaining show, not very different from Dave's earlier appearances there, but just as enjoyable.

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Dave came out with an acoustic guitar and a bottle of Miller Lite that lasted for the entire duration of the show. I was hoping for at least a few electric interludes, but no luck in that respect. No matter, though, as his acoustic playing was as good as ever. The electric duties were ably filled by Chris Miller, a perfect support musician, whose nuanced playing covered many different tempos, loudness levels and styles. His blistering solos, backed by Dave's frantic acoustic guitar rhythms, were some of the high points of the evening. Chris remained on the stage for most of the evening. 

Chris Miller at McCabe's

Christy McWilson took the stage on two separate occasions, first before, then once again after the intermission. As one would expect from two good friends, there was a lot of interaction between Dave and Christy. Their duet on "Manzanita", a song they co-wrote, was a delight. Christy sounded good and I enjoyed watching her dance moves and overall relaxed stage demeanor.

Dave Alvin and Christy McWilson at McCabe's

Dave is exceptionally good at paying tributes and acknowledging his friends and family via the songs he chooses to play: "Black Rose Of Texas" and "Frank's Tavern" were dedicated, in that order, to Amy Farris and Chris Gaffney, two of Dave's departed friends, while the outstanding self-penned "Long White Cadillac" went out to his brother Phil.

Dave took a small detour from his own handwritten set list. Instead of "What Am I Worth" we got to hear Bo Carter's "Who's Been Here" and "Rio Grande", a song Dave co-wrote with Tom Russell.

The set list

The three-song encore, not shown on the set list, consisted of Kate Wolf's "Here In California", Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" and Dave's own "Marie Marie".

To these ears, the best numbers of the evening were "Ashgrove" and "Dry River", two songs that combine great lyrics with equally great melodies. And there were no weak songs, everything we heard was top notch.

So will I show up for Dave Alvin's next appearance at McCabe's? The answer is probably yes.

The merch table

The concert room just before show time

Concerts #217, 363, 371, 424, 431, 458 - Dave Alvin at Various Venues (2000-2008)

In my book, Dave Alvin is one of the great ones, but my appreciation for his music can't be called love-at-first-sight. On the contrary.

I first saw Dave as John Wesley Harding's guest in 1990. Nothing special.

On January 15, 2000, accompanied by our friends Ron & Bobbie, my Better Half and I went to the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena to catch Tom Russell and Dave in a co-headlining event and it was Tom who impressed us the most. Dave played "King of California", "New Highway", "From A Kitchen Table" and "Blackjack David", among others. Maybe it was my unfamiliarity with his songs, but fact is that, on that occasion, Dave did not become an instant favorite of mine. That night was also my introduction to Greg Leisz, who played the dobro in Dave's backing band that also included Rick Shea on mandolin and electric guitar and Brantley Kearns on fiddle.

What followed was a series of unannounced appearances as the guest of other performers, a clear proof of Dave's popularity with his fellow musicians as well as his willingness to provide support, even though money was not involved. In 2002, Dave popped in for a song or two at Tom Russell's concert at McCabe's. A year later, he guested on Syd Straw's show also at McCabe's. Such appearances have kept Dave Alvin on my radar and validated his status as a musician worth keeping on eye on.

Dave's music hit me real hard for the first time on May 28, 2005, at McCabe's, where else? His then-current album, "Ashgrove", had just been released. With able support from Greg Leisz and the late Amy Farris, Dave delivered one superb song after another. Great vocals, great guitar playing, but what really knocked my socks off was the quality of his compositions. One doesn't often hear songs as good as "Ashgrove", "Rio Grande" and especially "Out Of Control", with its movie-like imagery and absorbing lyrics. To this day, this remains one of the most memorable concerts I have ever attended.

The Ditty Bops opened the show, and even though their retro-style light music had little in common with Dave's heavy-weight subjects, they were fun to watch.

The Ditty Bops

In August 2005, Dave played a benefit show in Claremont, at Ben Harper's Folk Music Center. Needless to say, my Better Half and I were there, together with our friends Bob and Lynne, soon to become Dave Alvin fans themselves. Seeing Dave perform at such an intimate venue was something special. Once again Dave received support from Chris Gaffney and Amy Farris and once again I had the pleasure of hearing my favorite gems from "Ashgrove", plus some of Dave's oldies.

The Folk Music Center in Claremont, California

On November 3, 2006, my Better Half and I went to catch Dave Alvin's free show at the Getty Center, part of the "Friday Nights at the Getty" concert series. Dave focused on his newly released album titled "West Of The West", his tribute to California songwriters, some well-known, others obscure. Accompanied by a band that included the ever-present Amy Farris on fiddle and Chris Miller on guitar, Dave sang Jackson Browne's "Redneck Friend" and his own "Ashgrove". One of the highlights was the appearance of the Calvanes, an old do-wop group that helped Dave deliver  Richard Berry's "I'm Bewildered" and Brian Wilson's "Surfer Girl". The audience responded with giggles when Dave launched into the latter.

I caught Dave a few more times as someone's guest. In 2006, he was one of Peter's "friends" at the "Peter Case & Friends" concert at McCabe's, then in 2007 he closed the Leonard Cohen tribute concert at UCLA with a rendition of "Democracy" that brought the house down.

Dave plays McCabe's about once a year, and typically I find it hard to stay away. On February 17, 2007, and then again on January 19, 2008, I attended his concerts there. Sadly, these shows turned out to be the last times I saw Amy Farris and Chris Gaffney alive. They are both gone now, but not forgotten, certainly not by Dave. Amy's memory has been immortalized in Dave's gorgeous "Black Rose Of Texas", while "Run Conejo Run" is dedicated to Chris. Both songs appear on "Eleven Eleven", an album released by Dave in 2011.

Amy Farris

Chris Gaffney

My interest in Dave's music remains intact. I will keep up with his new releases and live shows, especially those at McCabe's.

Concert #620 - Dave Alvin at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 14, 2012)

Even after having seen Dave Alvin many, many times, I still can't resist the temptation of buying myself a ticket to see him yet again, especially when McCabe's is the venue. This happens in spite of my knowing precisely what to expect from Dave.

Last night at McCabe's I got exactly what I expected. Dave played for an hour and fifteen minutes, which is pretty much the norm when there is a 10 PM late show as well. OK, so the set wasn't a super-long one, but the song selection was top-notch.

Carrying an acoustic guitar in one hand and a bottle of Bud Light in the other, Dave came out dressed in a black suit, white shirt, cowboy hat and his trademark scarf around his neck. He kicked off the proceedings with a great acoustic version of "Ashgrove", one of my favorites.

After his third solo song, Dave brought out Chris Miller, his long time musical partner and member of the Guilty Men. Chris and his Telecaster were great additions to the show - I enjoyed very much the interplay between the two guitars. Chris' solos were all low key, thus perfectly complementing Dave's sound.

Chris Miller

There wasn't much chatter between songs, but there was some and it was all funny and informative. Dave spoke and sang lovingly about three of his departed musician friends - Amy Farris, Chris Gaffney and Bill Morissey. I have seen Dave perform together with Amy and Chris more than once, so I'm aware of their closeness. "Black Rose Of Texas" and "Run Conejo Run", the songs written by Dave for Amy and Chris, respectively, were some of the best of the concert. The first of last night's two-song encore was Bill Morissey's "Inside", the show's only song not written or co-written by Dave.

Dave Alvin (left) and Chris Miller at McCabe's

The highlight of the show was "Mary Brown", brilliantly delivered by Dave. I also liked "Dry River", the old Blasters gem, and "Harlan County Line", from "Eleven Eleven", Dave's current album.

Dave Alvin remains one of my favorite singer-songwriters. I've been seeing him regularly since 1990 and I can state with 100% certainty that today he sounds better than ever and likewise, his songwriting is stronger than ever. Just my opinion.

The set list (not fully followed)

The stage, before the show

The merch table

Concert poster in the window at McCabe's