Concert #282 - Brian Wilson & Friends at UCLA's Royce Hall (October 6, 2002)

Announced as "Brian Wilson & Friends", this was the fifth annual Carl Wilson Foundation benefit concert, organized at UCLA's Royce Hall. From the moment I saw the concert announcement I knew that a few notable "friends" would show up, and they did.

Over the years, I have had relatively good luck getting decent seats at UCLA. For this concert I sat about seven or eight rows back from the stage, dead center. Not bad.

The most notable friend turned out to be Eric Clapton. He was featured extensively in the second half of the show. First, accompanied by Brian Wilson's band, Eric played  "Stormy Monday" and "Layla", then a bit later he took the stage during Brian's headlining set and once again for the encore.

Brian Wilson (left) & Eric Clapton at UCLA (photo by Adrees Latif)

Led by Mark McGrath, Sugar Ray, the band, delivered a short set that included "Every Morning" and "Fly", their catchy radio hit. They ended the set with "Do It Again", the old Beach Boys song, performed with the participation of Carnie and Wendy Wilson (Brian's daughters and two-thirds of the successful trio appropriately named Wilson Phillips).

Earlier in the evening, In Bloom, a three-piece band that included Justyn Wilson and Carl B. Wilson, the sons of Carl and Dennis Wilson, respectively, delivered a short set that wasn't bad, but did not stand out either. They were followed by their cousins Carnie and Wendy Wilson, who sang "Til I Die" and "This Whole World", but they weren't done - they came back after the intermission to provide back-up vocals for Brian and some of the guest stars.

Brian Wilson's band consisted of the Wondermints, an LA-based power-pop band, reinforced with a few musicians among whom the talented Jeff Foskett stood out. Jeff played the guitar and sang lead as well as back-up vocals on a number of Beach Boys covers. Jeff's singing, especially his falsetto voice, was remarkably good. The band did a great job recreating the many different sounds of the Beach Boys.

Brian's headlining set benefited from the participation of a number of guests: Eric Clapton helped out on "Good Vibrations" and "Warmth Of The Sun", while daughters Carnie and Wendy provided harmony vocals on "God Only Knows". Matthew Sweet and Billy Hinsche sang the lead vocals on "Sail On Sailor", with Brian singing back-up and I was quite impressed with Matthew's singing. The three members of In Bloom came back to sing lead on "Time To Get Alone" and "Forever", the latter being Dennis Wilson's best-known song. Brian's set also included "Help Me, Rhonda", "Wonderful" and "Heroes And Villains".

Other contributors included Van Dyke Parks, who, together with Matthew Sweet, performed "Ride", a tune written by the Wondermints, the accompanying band. Van Dyke also performed a couple of songs from "Orange Crate Art", an album released jointly by Brian and Van Dyke in 1995.

The encore brought together all of the earlier performers, plus Bill Medley, Jackson Browne and America's Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, who apparently couldn't just sit idle and watch. Seeing these legendary artists on stage alongside Eric Clapton, Brian Wilson and all the others gave me a massive thrill. Together, they played "Barbara Ann", "Surfin' USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun", with Eric looking the happiest of them all.

After all the guests left the stage, Brian and Jeff Foskett played Carl Wilson's "Heaven" in what turned out to be the final song of an evening that was both unforgettable and exhausting.

Concert T-shirt

 Brian Wilson's band 

Jeff Foskett (guitar, vocals)

Darian Sahanaja (keyboard, vibraphone, vocals)

Nick "Nicky Wonder" Waluska (guitar, vocals)

Probyn Gregory (guitar, French horn, trumpet, vocals)

Scott Bennett (keyboards, vibes, percussion, vocals)

Paul Mertens (saxophone, flutes, harmonicas)

Mike D'Amico (percussion)

Taylor Mills (vocals)

Bob Lizik (bass)

Jim Hines (drums)

The following photos are taken from:

http://www.carlwilsonfoundation.org/walk02/concert02b.htm

(copyright holders: M. Dowdle Head and Rene Diaz)

If requested, I will remove all photos without delay.

Brian Wilson with daughters Wendy (left) and Carnie at UCLA

Carnie Wilson (left) and Wendy Wilson at UCLA

Eric Clapton (left) & Jeff Foskett at UCLA

In Bloom at UCLA

Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath at UCLA

Darian Sahanaja of the Wondermints at UCLA

Matthew Sweet (left) and Billy Hinsche at UCLA

Van Dyke Parks at UCLA

 

Concert #700 - The Dustbowl Revival at Boulevard Music (February 8, 2014)

Last night was my sixth time to see the Dustbowl Revival in concert in slightly less than two years, a clear sign that I can't stay away from their seated shows in the Los Angeles area. This time I caught them at Culver City's Boulevard Music, a venue located a mere fifty-one miles from my home.

The band came out as an octet that included Zach Lupetin (vocals, guitar), Liz Beebe (vocals, washboard), Daniel Mark (mandolin), Connor Vance (violin), Matt Rubin (trumpet), Ulf Bjorlin (trombone), Josiah Mory (upright bass) and Josh Heffernan (drums). 

Overall, last night's show was not different from the previous ones, and that is not a negative. Once again, the band put on a quality show in all respects: great pace from beginning to end, excellent song selection, soulful vocals, good humor, outstanding musicianship, a smorgasbord of different styles of music and full democracy, with each band member given sufficient time to strut their stuff. The band was given a well-deserved standing ovation by the one-hundred-strong crowd. 

The Dustbowl Revival live at Boulevard Music

The show kicked-off with one of my favorite songs, Western Passage, with violinist Connor Vance playing the part of the acoustic guitar handled so well in the past by Ray Bergstrom. Good songs kept coming one after the other. As always, they threw in a couple of new ones, something I always welcome, even though that is typically done at the expense of songs I would have loved to hear. Last night we didn't get the hear "Dan's Jam", nor "Swing Low", but we were treated to great renditions of  the seldom-played "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "The Ballad Of Judas Iscariot".

Partial Set List

Whiskey In The Well

Lampshade On

Soldier's Joy

Western Passage

Lowdown Blues

John The Revelator

Nobody's fault But Mine

Ain't My Fault

New Cherokee Shuffle

No Anchor Fag

Double Down

The Ballad Of Judas Iscariot

Before The Train Rolls Away

Falling Down

Down By The Riverside

Daniel, Liz, Josh and Zach at Boulevard Music

Bassist Josiah Mory

Just like in my earlier blog entries, I must say that I admire Zach Lupetin for what he has achieved with his band. I've seen a few concerts in my life, but I can't think of too many acts capable of being as entertaining as the revivalists, as well as cover as wide a musical territory as they do. I'm also amazed by how well the band has survived the inevitable changes of personnel.

Zach Lupetin during the intermission

The Boulevard Music is not a bad place to see a live show. The place is intimate, the sound is good and the crowd is there for the music and nothing else.

Concert organizer Gary Mandell

The concert room

The stage

Concert #289 - Marianne Faithfull at UCLA's Royce Hall (December 1, 2002)

Lady Luck was definitely on my side when I managed to grab a front row center seat to see the great Marianne Faithfull in concert. I showed up at the venue expecting a world-class performance and Marianne did not disappoint.

Yes, her voice will never be mistaken for that of a coloratura soprano, but few voices are as credible and as expressive as Marianne's. Throw in her mesmerizing stage presence, and what you get is a unique artist with an irresistible draw that one can physically feel, no exaggeration.

Partial set list

(songs marked * are from "Kissin' Time", her then-current album)

I'm Into Something Good*

I'm On Fire*

Like Being Born*

Song For Nico*

Kissin' Time* 

The King At Night

Why Do Ya Do It?

Falling From Grace

Working Class Hero

Broken English

Sliding Through Life On Charm*

Strange Weather (with Bill Frisell on guitar)

The Eyes Of Lucy Jordan

The songs from "Kissin' Time" were good,  but the evenings biggest thrills came from the cabaret-style delivery of her older songs, among which "The Eyes Of Lucy Jordan" stood out.

Band Line-up

Brian McFie (guitar)

Andy May (keyboard)

John Boyle (drums)

Garry John Kane (bass)

All-in-all, I had a great time, and how could I have not? From my dream seat, just a few feet away from Marianne, the whole concert felt like a private performance that was staged just for me. The whole time I did not see, nor hear anything but Marianne. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

Concert #435 - David Broza & Badi Assad at the Royce Hall (March 17, 2007)

This was a rare world-music outing for me. The event took place at UCLA's Royce Hall, in front of about one thousand fans.

The proceedings were kicked off by Brazil's Badi Assad, known equally for her guitar playing and singing ability. She completed her entire set solo, without any support musicians. Among the many songs I did not know, she also performed a few that I was familiar with, such as "Sweet Dreams", the mega-hit of the Eurythmics, and Tori Amos' "Black Dove". She also played the self-penned  "Improvisation", a song that combined guitar playing, eerie shrieks and percussive sounds produced by different parts of her body. I found Badi's performance to be exotic and innovative, but not thoroughly engaging.

Just like Badi Assad, David Broza came out all by himself. A veteran Israeli singer-songwriter, David sang in  Hebrew, English and Spanish and impressed us with his boundless energy, powerful guitar playing and outstanding vocals. His songs were good, too, but none was better than "Ihiye Tov", his first big hit in Israel. Overall, David's music was much closer to my taste.

As expected, the grand finale brought together the evening's two protagonists.

Concert #699 - The Doyle & Debbie Show at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 31, 2014)

Friday night's concert at McCabe's was yet another proof that YouTube videos and the real world are two different things. The videos I checked out before buying my ticket may have been convincing enough to make me click on the "Buy" button, but they didn't nearly prepare me for the full experience of watching the Doyle and Debbie Show in a live setting. Bruce Arntson and Jenny Littleton, aka Doyle & Debbie, put on an outstanding performance that brought everyone to their feet at the end of the show.

Introduced by Concert Director Lincoln Myerson as a theatrical production, the show was just that, as it came complete with colorful stage decoration, a plot (sort of) and lots of role playing, all built around Bruce Arntson's original country & western compositions. This may all sound like something that could get old pretty fast, but it didn't. The show was very well paced from start to finish and everything about it - the songs, the humor, the delivery - was top notch.

Bruce Arntson and Jenny Littleton, aka Doyle & Debbie, at McCabe's

Bruce Arntson's songwriting is remarkable - everything I heard Friday night sounded as good as anything one would hear on country radio, but don't expect to find Bruce's "When You're Screwing Other Women (Think Of Me)" and "I Ain't No Homo" in any radio station's heavy rotation. Or any other rotation, for that matter. Indeed, the show had plenty of sexual themes and situations, but there was nothing cheap and vulgar there, just lots of fun.

PARTIAL SET LIST

Blue Stretch Pants

I Ain't No Homo

Barefoot And Pregnant

For The Children

When You're Screwing Other Women (Think Of Me)

ABCs Of Love

Fat Women In Trailers

Snowbanks Of Life

Whine Whine Twang Twang

God Loves America Best

Daddy's Hair

If you're like me, you are amused in a loving way by the country music's many clichés. Friday night's show featured a veritable smorgasbord of C&W clichés, cleverly built into each and every song to good comedic effect, with Doyle and Debbie's blatantly over-the-top outfits just adding to the fun.

Jenny Littleton singing "ABCs Of Love" at McCabe's

As I was watching the show, the music of a number of country artists sprang to mind, among them George Jones, Mel Tillis, Jerry Reed and Lee Greenwood, whose "God Bless The USA" was the obvious inspiration behind Doyle and Debbie's utterly funny "God Loves America Best".

The show had many memorable moments. It will be hard to forget Bruce Arntson's frenetic delivery of "Fat Women In Trailers" and especially "Daddy's Hair", which came complete with faux-blood and gun shots. Likewise, Jenny Littleton performance of the witty "ABCs Of Love" will be hard to erase from my memory.

Doyle & Debbie saying goodbye

The stage

Concert Director Lincoln Myerson announcing the show

Concert #698 - Willy Mason at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 17, 2014)

Friday night I went to McCabe's to see and hear Willy Mason and Tom Brosseau, two younger artists I knew little about. Unfortunately, the evening did not start well for me. Being bothered by a bad cough and not wanting to disturb the other spectators, I left the room very early during Tom's opening set and from that point on, I watched the show from the side, from where I could easily step away in case of another cough attack.

No doubt, Willy Mason has got talent. I liked his guitar playing - not flashy, yet effective  - and I liked his singing as well. At times, his vocals reminded me of Mark Knopfler, sort of. Willy's songwriting is also good, even very good - I can't say I heard a single bad song during his entire set. But taken as a whole, Willy's show was a bit deficient in the "variety" department, with most songs delivered in the same vocal style and pretty much the same tempo.

A few songs stood out at the first listen, among them "I Got Gold", "Restless Fugitive" and "Tic Tac Toe", a funny little ditty written by Willy's father.

Willy Mason at McCabe's

Critically acclaimed  singer Jesca Hoop joined Willy for the singing of four songs. I would have liked for Jesca to take the vocal reigns for at least one song, maybe perform one of her own numbers, but her role was limited strictly to harmonizing. Of the four songs they sang together, I liked "Talk Me Down" the best.

Willy Mason and Jesca Hoop at McCabe's

Tom Brosseau's opening set revealed a talented and highly likeable performer, whose seemingly effortless singing style appealed to me very much. What a pitty that, while he was delivering most of his fine set, I was coughing my heart out in the venue's restroom ...

Tom Brosseau at McCabe's

The stage

Concert poster

Sign in the window at McCabe's (showing an incorrect date)