CONCERT OVERLOAD

November 22, 2015

Concert #762 - Rhett Miller at McCabe's Guitar Shop (November 20, 2015)

This was Rhett Miller's first-ever gig at the famous McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. It was also my first time to see Rhett in action, at any venue. Things did not start well for me - his first few songs did not connect with me at all. There was nothing wrong with Rhett's intensity and pace, but it appeared to me that there were some irreconcilable differences between his melodic sense and mine - the gap was so big that I started contemplating an early exit, something that rarely crosses my mind at McCabe's. Needless to say, I did not leave and little by little, things started to get better for me - about thirty minutes into the show, Rhett started to win me over not only with his diabolical pace, boundless energy and pleasant personality, but also with songs that started to sound better and better to these ears, as the show progressed.

Rhett Miller at McCabe's

Rhett was not particularly talkative, although he did squeeze in a few stories that typically involved persons of the female persuasion. His concert can be summed up as a fast-paced race with the goal of performing as many songs as possible, even if it meant starting a new number while the crowd was still applauding the previous one. Clearly, Rhett was not saving his energy for the late show and he must be commended for that.

I suppose we heard nothing but self-penned songs, with one notable exception, Tom Petty's "American Girl", which turned out to be the evening's only song I knew. After only one listen, three numbers caught my ears and, with Google's help, I was able to find their titles: "Most In The Summertime", "Barrier Reef" and "Open Road", the latter two being the undisputed highlights of the evening.

The set list

Rhett Miller at McCabe's

I can't say that I went home as a totally satisfied customer. It is true, I did get introduced to a dynamic performer whose live show had good moments, but the bottom line is that one listen just wasn't enough for most of his songs to knock me out. Having said that, I have no choice but admit that the ball is in my court: I must give Rhett Miller's music more attention than I did in the past.

The final bow

Rhett's guitar case

Concert #761 - Suzy Bogguss at McCabe's Guitar Shop (November 14, 2015)

Suzy Bogguss at McCabe's? Now that's something that was inconceivable in the 80s and 90s, when she was playing much larger venues, while selling millions of albums. Things have changed a bit since then, but in some respects, they remained the same: Suzy still records new music and she's quite often on the road.

Accompanied by my Better Half and two good friends, Joe and Deborah, I went to McCabe's last week with high expectations, that - as it turned out - were fully met. Suzy Bogguss delighted us with an exceptionally well-paced show that included some of her older hits as well as a good handful of numbers culled from her most recent albums, "American Folk Songbook" (2011) and "Lucky", her 2014 tribute to Merle Haggard's songwriting.

Suzy Bogguss at McCabe's

The Set List

Drive South (John Hiatt)

Shenandoah

Today I Started Loving You Again (Merle Haggard)

Someday Soon (Ian Tyson)

Outbound Plane

Letting Go

Hey Cinderella

Wayfaring Stranger

I Want To Be A Cowboy Sweetheart (Patsy Montana)

Let's Chase Each Other Around The Room (Merle Haggard)

Eat At Joe's (Matraca Berg)

I Always Get Lucky With You (Merle Haggard)

Just Like The Weather

Aces (Cheryl Wheeler)

Night Rider's Lament (Garth Brooks)

The Running Kind (Merle Haggard)

Red River Valley

Suzy came out with guitarist Craig Smith and bassist Charlie Chadwick, who accompanied her throughout the show. Both were outstanding, especially Craig Smith whose tasteful guitar solos were very well received by the crowd and I absolutely adored his delightfully thick Scottish accent.

Suzy Bogguss, with Charlie Chadwick and Craig Smith

Suzy Bogguss and Craig Smith at McCabe's

Overall, it was a fabulous evening. It was obvious to all that Suzy enjoyed herself and so did we. I liked her voice, her yodeling was top-notch and I don't think I could have come up with a better set list.

While the show was consistently good from start to finish, I'd say the most moving moment was Suzy's encore, her heartfelt rendition of "Red River Valley", the traditional song I first heard decades ago as "Red River Rock", an uptempo instrumental performed by Johnny & The Hurricanes.

The end of the show

The concert's sound was handled by Doug Criner, Suzy's husband, assissted by Wayne Griffith, McCabe's' regular sound engineer.

The stage

Concert poster

November 15, 2015

Concert #760 - Mary Fahl at McCabe's Guitar Shop (November 13, 2015)

I first saw Mary Fahl's name in print a couple of months ago, when her concert was added to the calendar of my favorite venue. My instant reaction was Mary Who?, and I probably wasn't the only one to say that. Still, I bought my tickets almost immediately, after watching no more than one or two persuasive YouTube videos.

Friday night I witnessed one the finest shows one could ever catch at McCabe's: Mary's performance left me mesmerized and in awe of an artists who supplements her incredible vocal prowess with a pleasant personality, humility, good looks and a sense of humor. The timbre of Mary's voice is something to behold and I do disagree with author Ann Rice, one of Mary's best fans, who feels that Mary's voice has an androgynous quality to it - to these ears, Mary's vocals are decidedly female, but of a unique nature.

Mary Fahl at McCabe's

A self-proclaimed "unabashed francophile", Mary Fahl opened her show with a few words about the day's tragic events in Paris, followed by a heartwrenching rendition of "La Vie En Rose", the world-famous French song first recorded by Edith Piaf in the 1940s. The show continued with a mix of numbers culled from Mary's solo repertoire, her days as the front-woman of the October Project and a handful of outstanding covers. I loved everything I heard, so I won't even try to single out any highlights.

The hand-written set list does not show Nina Simone's "Wild Is The Wind", Mary's own "Like Johnny Loved June" and "Exiles (The Wolves of Midwinter)" and Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now", which were performed by Mary at various points during the show. We also heard a short snippet from Blind Willie Johnson's "The Soul Of A Man".

The set list

The show ended with Mary summarizing her own appearance at McCabe's as "pure delight", which happen to be precisely the words I would use to describe the time I had watching Mary Fahl perform.

Mary Fahl at the end of her show

Mary Fahl getting ready to meet fans and sign autographs

The stage

The merch table

November 14, 2015

Concert #759 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (October 30, 2015)

We are spoiled rotten out here in Los Angeles. When unannounced guest Jackson Browne took the stage two Fridays ago at McCabe's, most of us rolled our eyes and said "Oh no, not him again!". Then we sat back, relaxed a bit and witnessed yet another thoroughly enjoyable performance of a musical legend who quite often shows up at McCabe's to play with Jackshit, the phenomenal band (actually a side project), that is much loved by everyone lucky enough to have been exposed to their live shows. Jackson was supposed to sing only three songs, but he felt good and, at guitarist Val McCallum's urging, he stayed on for three additional song and they all sounded great: "Yabba Dabba Do", "Shakey Town", "Redneck Friend", "Call It A Loan", "Take It Easy" and "Our Lady Of The Well".

Val McCallum (left) and Jackson Browne having fun at McCabe's

Val McCallum (left) and Jackson Browne at McCabe's

Jackson Browne was not the evening's only guest - introduced as the Soul Shake, Pammy Armstrong and Jimmy Faragher delivered an exceptionally dynamic mini-set consisting of "Shame, Shame, Shame" and "Soul Shake", complete with great vocals and provocative dance moves, it was a blast. The former song was an international hit for Shirley & Company in the mid seventies, while the latter was a US hit for Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson in the late sixties. By the way, Pammy and Jimmy are Shorty Shit's siblings.

The Soul Shake, a.k.a. Pammy Armstrong and Jimmy Faragher

The band's set list was a fluid affair, with quite a few detours from the printed list. The band tried out a few new songs, the one I liked the best was Lee Hazlewood's gorgeous "Sundown, Sundown", where the Boys from Cochtotan took some poetic license with the lyrics and sang "Beau Shit, I love you Beau Shit" in lieu of Lee's original "Sundown, I miss you sundown".

The set list

The Shit Horns also made an appearance, this time as a trio. It took me some time to get the information, but finally I can post the names of two of these fine trumpet players who always add color to Jackshit's concerts: Sarah Kramer, who can play the trumpet and laugh her head off all at the same time, and Darrell Leonard, who played with a mask on his face.

The Shit Horns

For their encore, the band played their version of "Ugly And Slouchy", which of course turned into an exhilarating rock & roll medley that brought everyone to their feet - what a way to cap a fabulous evening! The band played for over two hours, it was one of their longest sets and we all went home completely satisfied. Can't wait to see them again.

Jackshit with guest Jackson Browne at McCabe's

Davey Faragher, a.k.a. Shorty Shit

Concert Director Lincoln Myerson announcing the band's Halloween show

Davey Faragher and Val Mc Callum after the show

Pete Thomas with my friend Steve

Val's guitars and Pete's drums

My autographed CD

November 6, 2015

Concert #760 - Renaud Capucon at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (November 1, 2015)

I seldom attend concerts of classical music, and when I do, the concert is either free, or a free ticket is involved. It's not that I don't appreciate classical music, but I just don't appreciate it enough to justify shelling out the kind of money such tickets cost. Long story short, last Sunday I showed up at the gorgeous Walt Disney Concert Hall with a ticket that had been gifted to me by a season ticket holder who couldn't attend, namely My Better Half.

The program consisted of two pieces of music, and - just like I expected - I liked one of them very much, while the other left me cold. I knew Mendelssohn's Violin Concert almost in its entirety, which goes back to my classical-music-filled childhood. French violinist Renaud Capucon was quite impressive, as he breezed flawlessly through the concert's most difficult parts.

While Strauss' Alpine Symphony was not a hit with me, nor was it with my friends Joe and Deborah, I still had some fun checking out LA Phil's 100-piece orchestra and some of the unusual instruments it featured, such as the industrial-looking wind machine.

The concert's conductor was Semyon Bychkov, a naturalized American citizen with an impressive resume.

LA Phil playing Strauss' An Alpine Symphony

The Walt Disney Concert Hall

October 11, 2015

Concert #758 - Peter Asher & Albert Lee at McCabe's Guitar Shop (October 10, 2015)

Last night I caught not one, but two legendary musicians, Peter Asher and Albert Lee, performing together as a duo in the intimate backroom of my favorite venue. The evening turned out to be pretty much as I expected. On the musical front, we heard a few landmark songs from the 50s and 60s, a handful of Peter & Gordon hits, plus a few unexpected numbers, such as Cliff Richard's "With A Girl Like You", Glen Campbell's recent "Better Place" and Green Day's "Good Riddance". The music was fine, but to me, the evening was carried by the many captivating and often humorous stories shared by Peter and Albert, two artists whose undisputed credibility gives them the license to drop as many names as they want, without sounding pretentious at all. Lots of names were mentioned, some in passing, others in more detail - Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Del Shannon, Buddy Holly, Emmylou Harris, James Taylor, the Everly Brothers, Brian Epstein, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Webb, Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, the Crickets, Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra, Dave Edmunds, James Burton, Hank B. Marvin, Nelson Riddle, Natalie Merchant, the Searchers ... the list goes on and on.

Peter Asher & Albert Lee at McCabe's

Peter named Linda Ronstadt as his all-time favorite female singer. Also spoke with admiration about Carole King's talents as a songwriter, singer and piano player. Albert talked about the fortunate circumstances that made him a long-time associate of Emmylou Harris and the Everly Brothers. Also spoke about one of his earlier bands, Heads Hands And Feet.

When it came to singing, Peter and Albert both had their solo moments, but most of the time they performed as a duo. There were no other musicians on the stage, as Peter played his acoustic guitar, bass guitar and the banjolele, which, you guessed it just right, is a cross between a banjo and a ukulele. Albert played the keyboards and acoustic guitar. None of their vocals were thunderous, and they did not have to be.

Overall, the show was heartwarming, thoroughly enjoyable and most certainly unforgettable. With a combined age of 142 years, Peter and Albert still have what it takes to entertain.