Concerts #855 & 856 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 14-15, 2018)

This year I caught two of the band's three Christmas shows and, just like all the other fans of this incredible trio, I did not mind shelling out the big bucks, just to make sure that I won't be left out. Reflecting the ever-growing popularity of the band in general and their Christmas shows in particular, ticket prices have been creeping up in recent years, so that their most recent price hike did not come as a total surprise.

Gone are the days when a $15 ticket would get you seated for a Jackshit concert. This time around, the cheapest tickets had a face value of $60, while the VIP tickets set us back by a whopping $100. By the way, the VIP ticket holders received priority seating.

VIP ticket (2018)

The shows were phenomenal. Val McCallum, Davey Faragher and Pete Thomas amazed us once again with their musical skills, intensity and humor. Their unannounced guests were equally good. On December 14 we got to see guitar legend Albert Lee and also mandolin virtuoso George Doering, along with his singing wife, Jo Ellen. It was pure joy watching how well Albert and Val played off of each other, with mutually admirative looks on their smiling faces. Albert played "I'm Ready", "Spellbound", "Tear It Up" and "Leave My Woman Alone", four songs associated with Fats Domino, Paul Kennerley, Johnny Burnette and Ray Charles, respectively.

Jackshit and unannounced guest Albert Lee (right)

Albert Lee at McCabe's

George & Jo Ellen Doering played Bo Diddley's "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", "The Letter" (the biggest hit of the Box Tops) and Ralph Stanley's "Gonna Paint The Town".

George & Jo Ellen Doering at McCabe's

Val McCallum at McCabe's

 

Davey Faragher having fun at McCabe's

Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famer Pete Thomas at McCabe's

On December 15, the band was joined by Grammy-winner Dave Alvin, whose all-electric set was exceptionally good. Surprisingly, his set included Joe South's "Games People Play", in addition to four of his own compositions, see set list below. The Doerings also appeared - they performed the same three songs we heard the night before.

Dave Alvin (right) & Davey Faragher at McCabe's

Dave Alvin's set list

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Set List - December 14, 2018

Stella McCallum, Val's daughter, delivered a gentle rendition of "Blackbird", the Beatles song. She was accompanied by her dad on acoustic guitar.

Val & Stella McCallum at McCabe's

Val McCallum & George Doering at McCabe's

Even though new songs do get added with some regularity, the repertoire of the band remains a somewhat slow-changing thing and that is quite understandable, considering Val, Davey and Pete's busy recording and touring schedules. I'm particularly happy that "Ugly And Slouchy" and its brilliant rock & roll medley is back in heavy rotation.

Let's just hope that this fantastic trio will continue to function for many more years.

 

The stage

Val McCallum's gear

Concert #822 - Dave Alvin, Syd Straw & Peter Case at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 24, 2018)

This was the second in a series of special shows celebrating the 60th anniversary of McCabe's, with a portion of the proceeds going to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. Featuring three of my favorite singer-songwriters - Dave Alvin, Syd Straw and Peter Case - the show did not disappoint.

Seated side-by-side, Dave, Syd and Peter delivered a round-robin set that included lots of storytelling  and yes, also an occasional song, here and there. Normally I would complain about shows where the spoken word outweighs the music, but last night the spoken word turned out to be hilariously funny, the music was great, as expected, so I went home totally happy.

The proceedings were kicked-off by Peter Case with an outstanding rendition of his "Try Me One More Time", followed in order by Syd, Dave, then Peter again and so on. Needless to say, this was an extremely casual affair, with no scripted lines and no set lists - at times it felt like I was in a living room and having a good time with a bunch of musician friends.

To these ears, the evening's best moments were Syd Straw's epic delivery of "Love And The Lack Of It", Dave's low-key "Downey Girl" and Peter's "Somebody Told The Truth". Another highlight was George Jones' "What Am I Worth", performed with intensity by Dave and Syd at the end of their set. And speaking of covers: their extended encore included a thoroughly funny interpretation of Chip Taylor's "Wild Thing" and also a sing-along, Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land". For the latter, our main protagonists were joined on stage by the exuberant Cindy Wasserman and Frank Drennen, collectively known as the Dead Rock West, and also by Cindy Lee Berryhill.

I can't wait for the third special anniversary show!

Dave Alvin, Syd Straw & Peter Case at McCabe's

Dave Alvin & Syd Straw at McCabe's

Peter Case at McCabe's

Syd Straw at McCabe's

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

The Grand Finale: This Land Is Your Land

Dave Alvin & Dead Rock West at McCabe's

The stage

Sign in the window at McCabe's

Concert #818 - Dave Alvin at McCabe's Guitar Shop (February 3, 2018)

 

Dave Alvin is one of those few artists who just get better with age and that is why, twenty-eight years after I first saw him in concert, I still can't stay away from his live appearances at my favorite venue.

Dave's show in early February ranks right up there among his very best. Here are a few random recollections, written three weeks after the show:

Dave played mostly electric, but also acoustic. Was in a humorous mood. Delivered just the right mix of music and spoken word.

The band: Rick Shea (guitar, mandolin), Steve Mugalian (drums), David Carpenter (bass) and Jack Rudy (harmonica). They were top-notch. At times they raised the decibel level to unexpectedly high levels and we all loved those moments.

The surprise of the evening was drummer Steve Mugalian, who provided outstanding support with nothing more than a snare drum. At times, Dave picked up the pace of his guitar playing and, with a "catch-me-if-you-can" look on his face, challenged Steve to keep up with him - Steve obliged, and those were some of the evening's most enjoyable moments.

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

About the set list: I could not have come up with a better one, as all my favorite songs were there. The evening's first set had California as its well-defined theme and there was no filler material there. The highlight of the first set was "Out Of Control", a song that always triggers movie-like imagery in my mind.

Song list - First set

After an intermission, Dave came back to deliver his generously long second set. Again, not a single second-rate song. The highlights of the second set were "Jubilee Train", a song from the repertoire of the Blasters, and "Ash Grove", from Dave's solo years.

Song list - Second set

Rick Shea & Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Steve Mugalian at McCabe's

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Jack Rudy (left) & David Carpenter at McCabe's

For the evening's closing song, Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", Dave brought out Frank Drennen of Dead Rock West and the Mastersons, the Los Angeles-based husband & wife duo. Needless to say, the entire audience joined in.

Frank Drennen singing "This Land Is Your Land"

Rick Shea & the Mastersons

The stage

Dave Alvin's gear

 

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