Concert #684 - Ernest Troost & Ray Bonneville at McCabe's Guitar Shop (August 24, 2013)

Ernest Troost (right) & Ray Bonneville at McCabe's

Here's a winning formula: bring together two outstanding singer-songwriters and present them to an educated audience in an intimate room on a Saturday night.

Last night's doubleheader at McCabe's kicked off with a one-hour-long set delivered by Ray Bonneville, a Canadian-born, US-based veteran singer-songwriter who had never performed in the Los Angeles area before. Armed with two electric guitars, a mouth harmonica and keeping the beat with his shoes gently stomping on his wooden footpads, Ray captured the audience from the very first song. If I was asked to described Ray's set in one word, I would say "consistency". Indeed, we heard nothing but good songs, no fillers at all, sung with the voice of an experienced storyteller. I liked Ray's idiosyncratic bass-heavy guitar playing - simple, not flashy, but quite effective.

I suppose Ray wrote all the songs he played, except of course for "I'm So Lonely I Could Cry", the old Hank Williams gem. "I'm The Big Easy" is the song that touched me the most.

Ray Bonneville at McCabe's

After an intermission, it was Ernest Troost's turn to show what he could do, and show he did. The crowd's response went beyond polite applause - I heard folks around me whisper words like "sweet", "beautiful" and "wow" and I felt the same way. This was my third time to see Ernest in a live performance, I knew exactly what to expect, yet he still managed to thoroughly impress me with his stellar songwriting and outstanding finger-picking. Good songs came one after the other and once again the word "consistent" comes to mind, as in consistently top-notch. No doubt, Ernest is one of the very few singer-songwriters out there who can deliver full sets that don't include a single dud.

Ernest Troost at McCabe's

With fabulous songs such as "Resurrection Blues", "Oh Love", "The Last To Leave" and "Close", Ernest made me forget that "Travelin' Shoes", the song that initially made a fan out of me, wasn't even on the set list.

Unlike in January of this year, Ernest's show last night had no electric interludes. For most of the songs, he was accompanied by seasoned veteran Dave Stone on upright bass. For the singing of "Evangeline", his one-song encore, Ernest brought out Ray Bonneville, whose harmonica playing was a great addition to the song.

Ernest Troost's set list

Ray Bonneville's set list

Ernest Troost after the show

Ray Bonneville (left) after the show

Ernest Troost's stage setup

Ray Bonneville's stage setup

Ernest Troost's merch table

Concert #663 - Ernest Troost at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 13, 2013)

Ernest Troost (right), with Nicole Gordon and Mark Goldberg

Midway through Sunday night's Ernest Troost concert at McCabe's I started asking myself whether the guy can write a bad song. Or at least an average one. By the time the show ended, I knew the answer: he absolutely cannot.

As much as I liked Ernest's singing and guitar playing, what impressed me the most was his songwriting. He may not have the name recognition of a Richard Thompson or a John Hiatt, but when it comes to musical output, I truly believe that Ernest's songwriting is right up there with the very best. There aren't too many singer-songwriters out there who can play a full set without including a musical blunder or two. Well, there weren't any blunders in Ernest's set last Sunday, a truly amazing accomplishment.

The show started with a short set delivered by Nicole Gordon, a vocalist with a long history of collaboration with Ernest. She was accompanied by Johnny Hawthorn, an accomplished player of string instruments and a back up singer named Laurie LeGore. Nicole sounded good, but the best was yet to come.

After a short intermission, Ernest Troost came out with an acoustic guitar and without saying a word he launched into "Resurrection Blues", an exceptionally good song. He followed up with another good song, then another one, and that was pretty much the way the whole evening went.

What initially started out as an "Ernest solo" evening, gradually grew into something bigger, with an equally increasing decibel level. First, Ernest was joined by Nicole, whose backup vocals sounded more soulful than her own opening set. Later in the show, Ernest invited drummer/percussionist Debra Dobkin and upright bassist Mark "Pocket" Goldberg to join him on stage. Their percussive presence made an immediate impact and those were the moments I probably enjoyed the most. Soon thereafter, Ernest "went electric", but not before having to overcome a few technical hiccups involving pedals, amps and plugs. The ensuing moments of interruption were handled with great humor by sound engineer Wayne Griffith, Ernest himself and the audience.

For the grand finale, the band grew by yet two more souls, namely Johnny Hawthorn and Laurie LeGore. They sounded fabulous together.

Picking favorite songs is no easy feat, considering the consistently high level of Ernest's songwriting. I loved "Close" with its clever lyrics, "Travellin" Shoes" and its moving story, "O Love" and practically everything else I heard.

Ernest Troost's set list

Mark Goldberg at McCabe's

Nicole Gordon at the end of her set (with Johnny Hawthorn)

Nicole Gordon's set list

A final thought: exactly one year ago, I had no clue who Ernest Troost was. I went to see him for the first time in January 2012, mostly because I needed a McCabe's fix. I did get my fix, plus I discovered an exceptionally talented artist, someone who since then has given me many hours of listening pleasure. Shaking hands with Ernest after his Sunday night show and having the opportunity to tell him how much I loved his music was a great ending to an equally great evening.

The stage

Sign in the window at McCabe's

Concert #618 - Ernest Troost at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 6, 2012)

While most of the world's population is going gaga over Lady-You-Know-Who, I prefer to focus my attention on deserving musicians whose names don't ring nearly as many bells. Or no bells at all, as was recently the case with singer-songwriter Ernest Troost.

I'm always eager to discover new music, so whenever McCabe's announces names that I'm not familiar with, I immediately turn to the Internet as part of my due diligence effort. At first, I wasn't particularly impressed with Ernest Troost's music, so my initial plan was to stay home. But an email from my friend Steve made me gave Ernest a second listen and that's when his "Travelin' Shoes" song hit me pretty hard. Without delay, I logged into McCabe's' web site and bought myself a ticket.

Usually I mention the opening act only after I'm done writing about the headliner, but show opener Shaun Cromwell was just too good to be relegated to the end of this write-up. His thirty-minute set was actually too short - I could have gone on and on listening to his songs and voice. Good guitar and banjo picker, too. I know how hard it is to stand out in the overcrowded field of singer-songwriters, but Shaun has a future, as I found him to be more exciting than many other nationally-known musicians of the same genre.

Shaun Cromwell

Then out came Ernest Troost, whose resume lists an Emmy award received in 1996 for the music he wrote for "The Canterville Ghost". Ernest played a fairly long set that left me shaking my head in disbelief: there wasn't a single weak song the whole evening - now how often does one get to say that? 

One after the other, Ernest's songs kept me fully engaged and my brain never had a chance to wander away from the stage. The whole show was exceptionally well paced and I'm yet to mention Ernest's great supporting cast. Looking and sounding great, Nicole Gordon provided outstanding back-up vocals and sang two solos as well. Mark Goldberg played the upright bass and the often-seen Debra Dobkin took care of the drumming duties.

The funny thing is that sitting in the front row at McCabe's by no means guarantees the best viewing angles. From where I sat, Debra Dobkin was totally, entirely and completely hidden behind her drum set. Likewise, the most I could see of Mark Goldberg was the lower half of his right leg, everything else was covered by his humongous bass. But no complaints at all about the sound.

Ernest Troost and Nicole Gordon at McCabe's

Shaun Cromwell came out to join Ernest's band for the playing of "By And By", then he popped in once again for "Harlan County Boy", the concert's encore.

Ernest Troost (left) and Shaun Cromwell during the encore

Ernest played many of the songs appearing on his "Live At McCabe's" CD, recorded in January 2011. Sadly and ironically, the song that first caught my ear, "Travelin' Shoes", was left out of his set, but that was nothing but a minor blemish on an otherwise unforgettable evening of stellar songwriting and great musicianship.

Ernest Troost's setlist

Shaun Cromwell's setlist

It's tough to pick a highlight when all songs had quality written all over them, but I would list "O Love", "Resurrection Blues" and "By And By" as some of the best. And one thing is for sure: the next time Ernest Troost plays McCabe's, I will be there without anyone needing to nudge me.

Shaun Cromwell during his opening set

McCabe's webmaster Zachariah Love in action