Concert #550 - Michelle Shocked at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 3, 2010)

What stands out the most in my mind when I think about this concert is that the undisputed highlight of the show happened during the intermission. Strange, but totally true. At the end of her first set, Michelle did not leave the stage. Instead, together with Jim Chayka (banjo) and fiddler Katy Rexford (if I'm not mistaken), they formed a tight circle and played a long version of "Arkansas Traveler", pretty much in the vein of her recorded version. During this unforgettable musical interlude, the lights were on and many people left the concert room. But not me - I just stood there mesmerized by the quality of the performance and the immense joy exhibited by the three musicians.

The show proper started with great promise, as Michelle announced that she would sing many of her older songs. So we all got to hear acoustic versions of "Anchorage", "Memories Of East Texas", "Graffiti Limbo" and a few others, but I would have preferred if she had stuck to the original vocal and instrumental arrangements. But you know Michelle: she is not bound by any rules and regulations, so she pumped new life into these old gems.

Otherwise it was a typical Michelle Shocked concert, with the usual excessive chatter, but with great vocals and good guitar playing. The band that backed her up, the Jim Chayka Trio, was top-notch, I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

 Watch the original "Anchorage"video - her newer music is not bad, but her earlier stuff is still the best.

Concert #551 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 10, 2010)

In order to maintain my sanity, I require a minimum of two Jackshit concerts a year, which may puzzle those who don't know Jackshit (the band). Seriously now, Jackshit is a trio that puts on phenomenally good shows, both musically and otherwise. You may call them a side-project, as Jackshit brings together three top-tier musicians with well-established separate careers:

- Pete Thomas (Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer who has drummed for countless big names)
- Dave Faragher (one of Elvis Costello's Imposters and coveted session bassist)
- Val McCallum (lead guitarist for Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, Gregg Allman and many others)

As you can tell, they earn their living by playing supporting roles and it's not hard to imagine the huge amount of frustration that builds up inside them while working for all those superstars. Now imagine all that frustration being unleashed when the stage is theirs and only theirs.

Once again I campaigned hard and managed to bring with me twenty-four friends. Everyone went home 100% happy.

The highlight of the evening actually came after the show, when I got to chat a little bit with Val:

Val McCallum (right) with yours truly

Here are a few more photos:

The set list (Pretty Polly made the list but wasn't played ...)

Jackshit gear

The Novaks

Rodica and Nick, first in line at McCabe's

Tony and Marcel

Canadian singer Tara Holloway was the guest of the evening, she sang "Ways To Be Wicked", one of her own songs, and the Beatles' "She's So Heavy". Tara is a decent singer, but had a bit too much fun on the stage - come to think of it, that was OK, as the whole show, like any other Jackshit show, had a casual air about it, more like buddies getting together to have a good time.

Watch this YouTube video showing Jackshit with guest Tara Holloway at McCabe's:

 

Concert #552 - Tracy Grammer at the Coffee Gallery Backstage (April 16, 2010}

Tracy Grammer is a talented, intelligent and accomplished artist who is right up my alley. So why did I walk away from her concert during the intermission? Let me explain.

The concert was advertised as "Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry". I can't claim that I was intimately familiar with their work, but in my case, the main attraction was Jim Henry, thanks to his outstanding rendition of Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", a version I had discovered by accident, while surfing the Internet. Many others had tried to cover this masterpiece, but other than Jim's version, nothing really worked for me. As far as Tracy was concerned, I was totally open to seeing her for the first time and discover, hopefully, great new music.

Here's Jim Henry's version of "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", with Tracy Grammer helping out:

As soon as I walked into the tiny venue, I sensed that something was wrong - there was only one mike on the stage. Bob Stane, the concert organizer, told me that there would be no Jim Henry, only Tracy. Then Tracy took the stage, and started talking and talking and talking, but said nothing about Jim's absence. Then she talked some more, with an occasional song thrown in - well, it was a concert after all. The intermission came after only six songs and at that point it was time for me to get up and go home. Needless to say, I was very unhappy with the whole affair.

The funny thing is that I walked away from a truly talented folk singer, who writes good songs and has the gift of storytelling as well. But she definitely needs help when it comes to the right balance between talking and singing.

Concerts #553, 455, 412, 402, 346 - Steve Forbert at McCabe's Guitar Shop and The Getty (October 9, 2004 - April 17, 2010)

Look up "underrated" in any dictionary and chances are you will find Steve Forbert's portrait there. Not too many people know of him. Radio doesn't play him, TV likewise. He even went under my own radar for many years, until October 2004, when pushed by an irresistible "McCabe's itch", I went to my favorite venue to see Steve Forbert for the first time. Being a latecomer to Steve's music, I only knew "Romeo's Tune" at that time and that was one of the two songs I remember he played that night, the other one was "The Oil Song", complete with crowd participation. The concert was good, but Steve Forbert's talent was yet to hit me full blast.

On May 5, 2006, I went with my better half to the Getty Center's Harold M. Williams Auditorium, where Steve appeared in a concert that was free for the public. Once again, I liked his songs very much and at that point I started to actively look for more and more of his music - www.allofmp3.com was a good source, which at that time was Russia's best known and rather questionable download site. One after the other, I discovered dozens of incredibly good songs that, at least in my mind, placed Steve Forbert in the highest class of American singer-songwriters. Occasionally, I even called him a musical genius, possibly an exaggeration, but maybe no

Here's a true gem: Steve Forbert's "On The Streets Of This Town":

I went back to McCabe's to catch Steve in action a few more times, first on July 22, 2006, then on December 1, 2007 and again on April 17, 2010. Each of these shows were totally satisfying. Steve appeared solo every time, he never had a guest or even a back-up musician, it was always just him, with his acoustic guitar and a mouth harmonica. He delivered his songs with passion and abandonment and never forgot to thank the crowd for the applause.

A typical set had a few newer songs mixed with older gems, as well as requests shouted out by his fans - I don't recall Steve ever having had a predetermined song list.

Some of the songs I heard Steve sing live

Good Planets Are Hard To Find
Goin' Down To Laurel
Baghdad Dream
Miss the Mississippi and You
Baby Don't
The American In Me
What Kinda Guy
Romeo's Tune

There's Everybody Else (And Then There's You)
It Sure Was Better Back Then

The Oil Song

You Cannot Win (If You Do Not Play) 

In The Jailhouse Now

Steve mingles with his fans after every show, at least that's what he always does at McCabe's. After his December 2007 concert, I got to shake his hand and get his autograph as well.

Steve Forbert's autograph (McCabe's Guitar Shop, December 1, 2007)

Here's Steve Forbert in an HD video of "Thirty More Years":

Concert #554 - Joey Ryan & Kenneth Pattengale at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 24, 2010)

Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale are two LA-based singer-songwriters who gained some credibility in my eyes simply because they got booked to play McCabe's. I went to the show without having done my homework, i.e. I couldn't hum any of their tunes, nor could I name a single song of theirs.

The show was OK for about fifteen minutes, after which it became monotonous and quite boring. Maybe I was expecting something else, maybe I was in the wrong mood - the bottom line was that I left the venue unimpressed. Their songs seemed to lack any punch, there was nothing there to grab me and keep my mind from wandering away. Individually taken, their songs were not bad, but if you put them all together, all you get is more and more of the same.

Here's a sample, recorded at the very same show I attended:

Concert #555 - Peter Himmelman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 25, 2010)

This was my 20th time to see Peter Himmelman in concert - you may say that I'm a fan. My friend Steve, whom I had talked into giving Peter a try, was there too. At his very first exposure to Peter's music, Steve became an instant fan and all Peter had to do was to perform his usual schtick. Peter was not in top vocal shape, he had a hard time hitting some high notes and later in the show he even avoided the high notes. Did he just have an off-night? Probably. On the other hand, there was nothing lacking on the intensity front - as always, Peter gave it all, and he did it with humor and great songs, among them "Mission Of My Soul" and "Seven Circles".

Here's a live in-studio version of "Seven Circles", one of the most powerful love songs you'll ever hear:

Peter received a helping hand from three musicians who had been working with him for decades: vocalist Kristin Mooney, bassist Al Wolovitch and drummer Andy Kamman.