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 #432 - Perla Batalla Presents The Gospel Of Leonard Cohen at the Royce Hall (February 24, 2007)

Five years after the show, I still get the goosebumps just thinking about the unbelievable array of performers and the beauty of the music they delivered on February 24, 2007, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Having the opportunity to witness shows like this is one of the perks of living in Los Angeles, never mind the earthquakes, floods, fires, smog, traffic and the occasional riot.

LA's own Perla Batalla, Leonard Cohen's longtime backup singer, acted as the evening's MC. It was my introduction to a singer whose great voice and confident stage presence gave her instant musical credibility in my eyes.

Musicians kept coming and going, yet one thing remained constant: the beauty of Leonard Cohen's music. I knew most of the songs and it was great fun listening to all those different renditions coming from artists whose musical directions had little to do with one another. Here's the set list:

Suzanne - Perla Batalla

Dance Me To The End Of Love - Bill Gable & Perla Batalla

The Land Of Plenty - Howard Tate

Chelsea Hotel No. 2 - Bill Frisell (instrumental)

Ain't No Cure For Love - Julie Christensen

Waiting For The Miracle - Jackson Browne

First We Take Manhattan - Jill Sobule

Coming Back To You - Michael McDonald

Sisters Of Mercy - Martha Gonzalez

Intermission

Tacoma Trailer - Bill Frisell (instrumental)

Bird On The Wire - Perla Batalla

Tower Of Song - Howard Tate

Famous Blue Raincoat - Martha Gonzalez

A Thousand Kisses Deep - Jackson Browne

If It Be Your Will - Julie Christensen

Ballad Of The Absent Mare - Javier Colis / Perla Batalla

El Carnicero (The Butcher ) - Javier Colis

Who By Fire - Jill Sobule

Anthem - Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla

Democrazy - Dave Alvin

Encore

Hallelujah - Michael McDonald & John Adams Middle School Madrigal Singers

Three songs in particular are hard to forget. "The Land Of Plenty", delivered by the great Howard Tate in the true fashion of an old-school soul singer, remains to this day one of the best live moments I have ever witnessed. Just as electrifying was "Anthem", stunningly sung by Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla. Closing the show and thoroughly exciting the crowd, Dave Alvin performed "Democracy" in a style that is hard to describe in words.

Howard Tate

Jill Sobule turned out to be the revelation of the evening - she sang "First We Take Manhattan" and "Who By Fire", and both interpretations were top-notch. Surprisingly, I also liked Michael McDonald, a singer whose vocal style has never been my cup of tea. Particularly good was his rendition of "Hallelujah", performed together with a children's choir.

Jill Sobule

Michael McDonald

Spain's Javier Colis and Southern-Californian Martha Gonzalez added an enjoyable Latin twist to Cohen's music, as both sang their songs in Spanish. Martha also sang in English. Howard Tate's other song of the evening, "Tower Of Song", was another highlight - I absolutely loved his soulful falsettos. I did not know any of the two songs chosen by Jackson Browne, and maybe that is why I was less impressed with those.

Prior to their brilliant pairing on "Anthem", Julie and Perla had their equally great solo moments. I particularly liked Perla's "Bird On A Wire".

Perla Batalla

Julie Christensen

The house band was lead by guitar maestro Bill Frisell. Additional instrumental backup was provided string wizard Greg Leisz, percussionist Debra Dobkin, drummer Don Heffington, bassists Kevin McCormick and Don Was, pianist Karen Hammack, among others.

Bill Frisell

My secret hope of having Leonard Cohen himself make an unannounced appearance did not materialize, but even so, it was an unforgettable evening.

UCLA's Royce Hall

Concert #616 - Shannon McNally & Greg Leisz at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 4, 2011)

Most people don't know who Shannon McNally is, so here's a primer: singer, songwriter, guitarist, gorgeous, talented, engaging, funny, worth seeing live in concert.

This was Shannon's first appearance ever at McCabe's and she did it alongside string-wizard Greg Leisz, a veteran of the local music scene. According to my religiously-kept concert database, this was my 12th time to see Greg in action, but his first time to be billed as a headliner. Well, a co-headliner, actually.

Shannon also brought along drummer/percussionist Don Heffington and guitarist Will Sexton, brother of Charlie Sexton, and together they put on an entertaining show consisting of her own compositions, including some from "Western Ballad", her latest release, plus a handful of covers.

The songs I liked the best were "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City", a Bobby "Blue" Bland cover, and Shannon's own "The Hard Way". Kate Wolf's "Brother Warrior" was good, too.

Greg Leisz played the pedal steel guitar, dobro, electric and acoustic guitar and sang backup vocals as well. Everything he touched sounded great, but what excited me the most was his electric guitar.

Shannon McNally & Greg Leisz wrapping up their concert

Shannon McNally & Greg Leisz seconds before leaving the stage

The setlist

Talented singer-songwriter Jarrod Dickenson kicked off the evening with a forty-minute set that wasn't bad, but suffered from a problem that seems to afflict many of the younger acts I have seen in recent years: his compositions weren't edgy enough and he lacked the power and intensity one would normally associate with the younger generation of musicians.

Jarrod Dickenson

Concert poster

The stage

Concerts #454, 497 - Smokey Hormel at McCabe's Guitar Shop (November 17, 2007 - February 21, 2009)

I first saw Smokey Hormel in April 2001 at UCLA's Royce Hall, where he was playing a supporting role in Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project, a large scale event that brought together many big names. It was his outstanding guitar playing that made me take note of his name, so five years later, when McCabe's announced Smokey's headlining gig, I knew exactly who he was.

The two shows I saw at McCabe's were quite similar, as in similarly short. Inexplicably, neither of Smokey's two sets went beyond the 75 minute mark, and as such, they remain to this day some of the shortest shows I've ever seen there. And it's not that he had to do it all by himself - on both occasions, Smokey brought along a few outstanding musicians, some of them with well-established national reputation:

November 17, 2007

Greg Leisz

Richard Greene

Larry Taylor

Joey Waronker

Laura Kass

February 21, 2009

John Doe

Charlie Burnham

David Ralicke

Joey Waronker

My expectations of blistering guitar solos did not materialize. Instead, Smokey featured extensively his own vocals, which were OK, but not stellar. The band members were top-notch, they all had their solo moments.

In spite of the overall negative tone of this write-up, the two shows were not bad - there was plenty of good music and good musicianship, so we went home not unhappy, but definitely wanting more.

Richard Greene

Greg Leisz

Concert #588 - Tish Hinojosa at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 8, 2011)

Now that she is happily married in Hamburg, Germany, Tish Hinojosa is seldom seen in Southern California ... our loss, Germany's gain. About 125 folks showed up at McCabe's to reconnect with Tish, who had not played in the area for quite some time. I sat in the first row, directly in front of her.

As always, her bilingual show was nothing short of heartwarming. Most of the songs she sang were self-penned and when they were not, Tish never failed to announce and even talk about the respective authors, a very nice touch. Although I don't speak Spanish, I found her Spanish songs to be as moving as the English ones, go figure.

The stage, a few minutes before show time

Tish came out by herself with an acoustic guitar and played four songs: "Tu Que Puedes, Vuélvete", James McMurtry's "Crazy Wind And Flashing Yellows", her own "Las Marias" and an old Mexican song by Augustin Lara, titled "Farolito". Interestingly enough, these were not exactly the songs appearing on Tish's own set list, which I managed to photograph during the intermission. After the fourth solo song, she was joined on stage by the ubiquitous Greg Leisz and Nelson Bragg, a member of Brian Wilson's studio and touring band. Together, they went on to sing the songs number 5 through 10 of the set list, from "Destiny's Gate" to "God's Open Road". Greg Leisz, who was in top form, played an acoustic guitar as well as his often-seen pedal steel guitar, while Nelson Bragg played the drums quite tastefully, without ever over-powering his fellow musicians. An intermission followed.

Tish Hinojosa's set list

After the break, Tish came out once again by herself and played three more of her own songs: "Donde Voy", "Something In The Rain" and "Noches Sin Estrellas". Once again, the songs she actually sang did not match her set list, which was pretty much in line with the relaxed and informal feel of the entire evening. After the return of Greg and Nelson, Tish did a much better job of sticking to the set list. At one point, she invited singer-songwriter Anny Chelsi to join her on stage and together they delivered one of Anny's songs, whose title sadly I don't have. For her encore, Tish played "Estrellita" and "By The Rio Grande".

Tish Hinojosa and Nelson Bragg at McCabe's

Late in the show, Tish acknowledged the presence of her husband, Andreas, who along with Tish, sold merchandise and chatted with the crowd after the show.

Tish Hinojosa signing autographs (husband Andreas in the background)

Overall, it was an exceptionally pleasant evening, and once again Tish reaffirmed herself to be one of my most-beloved female singer-songwriters, whom I will continue to follow for years to come.

Concert #527 - Chip Taylor at McCabe's Guitar Shop (October 30, 2009)

Initially announced as a Chip Taylor-Kendel Carson double-bill, the evening started with a huge disappointment: Kendel had fallen ill and was unable to appear. Bummer ... but in the end, things worked out fine, thanks to Chip and his outstanding supporting cast, which included John Platania, best known as Van Morrison's lead guitarist, session-man-extraordinaire Greg Leisz and, last but not least, brother Jon Voight.

Jon sat in the audience, just like the rest of us, and took the stage twice, at the invitation of little brother Chip. Together, they sang Chip's first-ever song, "Faded Blue", a sad puppy-love song. The highlight of the show was Jon's pompously declamatory delivery of "Wild Thing" - we all laughed at the contrast between the hollow lyrics of the song and Jon's over-the-top interpretation.

Brothers Chip Taylor and Jon Voight at McCabe's

Chip played many songs from his then-current album, "Yonkers, NY". Most of these songs came with a story, and that may have been the show's only fault: there were too many long stories. But the songs were good, especially "Bastard Brothers", "Charcoal Sky" and "Hey Johnny, Did You Feel That Movie".

Chip's band was top-notch. I absolutely adored John Platania's guitar and Greg Leisz was great, too. I can't wait to see them again, hopefully with Kendel Carson.

John Platania

Chip Taylor on the stage, after the show

Right there at McCabe's, I bought Chip's "Yonkers, NY" CD, a beautifully designed small book that came with two CDs, selling for a paltry $10. The first CD has all the songs, complete with the aforementioned stories, narrated by Chip himself. The second CD has nothing but the songs, no narratives, and is a good one. John Platania, Greg Leisz and Kendel Carson are playing on all tracks,

Watch this HD video that, in addition to Chip Taylor, features John Platania and Kendel Carson as well: