Concert #779 - Sarah Jarosz at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 17, 2016)

Friday night at McCabe's, Sarah Jarosz put on a show that ranks right up there with the finest I've ever seen at McCabe's, or anywhere else, for that matter. My concert-buddy Steve cringes whenever I throw in one superlative too many, but how can one describe Sarah Jarosz without a massive helping of superlatives?

Accompanied by two great players - Jedd Hughes on acoustic and electric guitar and Jeff Picker on upright bass - Sarah delivered a set that borrowed heavily from "Undercurrent", her just-released new album that she either wrote or co-wrote in its entirety. Her focus was firmly on music, not chatter, and that allowed her to play seventeen or eighteen songs during her blissful ninety-minute set. Kicking off her show with two of her "oldies" - "Annabelle Lee" and "Build Me Up From Bones" - Sarah treated us to her own compositions, plus a few outstanding covers, such as Tom Waits' "Come On Up To The House" and Bob Dylan's "Ring Them Bells".

Sarah Jarosz at McCabe's

Accompanists Jedd and Jeff deserve extra praise for their outstanding musicianship and the way they supported Sarah - there was plenty of eye contact between the three, with Sarah sending out frequent smiles of approval to her musical cohorts.

Sarah Jarosz & Jedd Hughes at McCabe's

Sarah Jarosz & Jeff Picker at McCabe's

The star of the show was Sarah's golden voice, but I was equally impressed with her skills as an instrumentalist, as she alternated between acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and even electric guitar - her masterful rendition of Tim O'Brien's two-song instrumental medley, "Land's End" and "Chasin' Talon", was one of the highlights of an evening that did not suffer from a lack of highlights. And speaking of highlights: I enjoyed very much the self-penned "Early Morning Light" and also "Comin' Undone", a song Sarah co-wrote with the young and talented Parker Millsap. And one more thing: not too many artists have Sarah's disarming smile and humble-yet-confident stage presence.

Overall, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time at McCabe's. Experiencing Sarah's music in a live setting is something I definitely want repeated. 

The set list

Sarah Jarosz tuning her guitar

Sarah Jarosz at McCabe's

Curtis McMurtry opened the show with a thirty-minute set that, at first blush, sounded a bit uneven, yet it still managed to impress me with two outstanding songs, "Sparks In The Wind" and especially the haunting "Foxhole". By the way, Curtis is James McMurtry's son.

Curtis McMurtry at McCabe's

Sarah's instruments

The stage

Concert #778 - Tim O'Brien at McCabe's Guitar Shop (May 22, 2016)

As much as I love McCabe's, a venue where I have attended over four-hundred concerts, I must admit that I'm not happy about their recent decision to start their Sunday night shows at 8 PM, in lieu of 7 PM. Getting home just before midnight is no fun when my alarm clock is set to go off at 5:30 AM on weekdays. As a result, I have skipped quite a few Sunday shows that I would have otherwise attended, but staying away from a Tim O'Brien gig at McCabe's was something I just couldn't do. 

I've been following Tim O'Brien's music for close to thirty years now. I own most of his albums and I frequently find myself listening to his recordings. Inexplicably, though, Tim's performance last Sunday night did not draw me in ... Was it him? ... Was it me? ... I simply don't know, but what I do know is that at 9 PM, when Tim announced an intermission, I decided that it was time for me to head home after only fifty minutes of music. I got home at 10 PM and was sleeping soon thereafter. 

I can't say that the music was bad and I can't say that Tim wasn't in good form. Accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, fiddle and banjo, he played mostly songs that were new to me - I only knew "Pompadour", from his latest album, and Bob Dylan's "Senor". Jan Fabricius, Tim's partner, provided backup vocals on a couple of songs. 

Hard to believe ... I attended a Tim O'Brien concert without having heard the sound of his mandolin, but then again, it was only half a concert ...

Tim O'Brien at McCabe's

Tim O'Brien at McCabe's

The set list

Tim & Jan at McCabe's

The stage

Concert #777 - Dustbowl Revival at McCabe's Guitar Shop (May 20, 2016)

This was my eleventh time to see the revivalists in concert, yet this seemingly excessive exposure to their live appearances has not dampened my enthusiasm for what they do and even though I know precisely what to expect from the band, I still end up shaking my head in disbelief - it's hard to believe, but these guys, as good as they are, keep getting better every time I see them.

Every time I catch a Dustbowl Revival show, I try to bring someone new along. This time it was Bill & Sue's turn to be introduced to the music of this wonderful ensemble and they both had a blast. 

The Dustbowl Revival at McCabe's

 BAND LINEUP

Zach Lupetin (vocals, guitar)

Liz Beebe (vocals, washboard)

Daniel Mark (mandolin)

Connor Vance (violin)

Matt Rubin (trumpet)

Ulf Bjorlin (trombone)

James Klopfleisch (upright bass)

Josh Heffernan (drums)

 

A few random thoughts triggered by Friday night's concert:

*** The band's repertoire is an ever-evolving affair, with new material frequently finding its way into their set list *** Trombonist Ulf Bjorlin seems to have become the band's Comedian-In-Chief, a job he is definitely good at *** Drummer Josh Heffernan, who typically keeps a relatively low profile, delivered a rousing drum solo of the highest quality *** Showcasing the individual skills of all players, the protracted intro to "Western Passage" was one of the evening's most enjoyable parts, as it brought together Ennio Morricone, Hava Nagila and countless other sounds *** The band must be commended for having played two generous sets that clocked in at over sixty minutes each.

The Dustbowl Revival at McCabe's

The Dustbowl Revival at McCabe's

 PARTIAL SET LIST

So far away
Fire
Cherokee Shuffle
Doubling Down On You
John The Revelator
Dan's Jam
Western Passage
Drop In The Bucket
Drinking
Never Had To Go

No One Knows My Name 

Ain't My Fault
Without You

Only one

The stage

Liz Beebe's washboard

Zach Lupetin's guitar case

The merch table

Concert #398 - Jon Langford at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 8, 2006)

 

This was my first-ever encounter with Jon Langford, the supremely talented Brit who first impressed me in the mid-eighties, when he was with the Mekons. I went to the show with my friends Michael and Nicole.

To our surprise, Jon came out with a band that included not one, but two alumni of his former band: Sally Timms, the outstanding female voice of the Mekons and Rico Bell, an accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist in his own right. 

BAND

Jon Langford - guitar, vocals
Sally Timms - vocals, ukulele
Jean Cook - violin, vocals
Rico Bell - accordion, vocals
Dan Massey - cardboard box
Tony Maimone - bass

SETLIST

Anything Can Happen

Tom Jones Levitation

I Picked Up The Pieces

Hell's Roof

Buy It Now

Broken Bottle

Gold Brick

All Roads Lead Back To Me

Drunk By Noon & Dreams Of Leaving

The Rose From Your Garden

Pill Sailor

It's Not Enough

Mersey Song

Nashville Radio

Sentimental Marching Song

Homburg

Wild And Blue

Memphis, Egypt 

The evening's best songs were "Nashville Radio" and "Pill Sailor". Jean Cook's contribution must also be mentioned.

 

Concert #774 - Stephen Hough at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (April 10, 2016)

Another classical music event attended by Yours Truly. Once again, I filled in for someone who couldn't go and once again I had a moderately good time at best. Pianist Stephen Hough and the orchestra conducted by James Gaffigan delivered a powerful rendition of Liszt's Piano Concerto no. 1, a piece of music that I knew very well. This turned out to be the high point of the concert, as the other two pieces, Brahms and Strauss, did not manage to grab me.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic

The program

The Disney Concert Hall

Concert #773 - Chris Smither at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 9, 2016)

Last night I caught yet another fabulous performance by Chris Smither, who, in his seventy-second year of existence and just a few short months after having undergone some sort of a heart surgery, is yet to show any signs of slowing down. As I was watching him last night, all I could do was shake my head in disbelief - everything about his performance was absolutely superb: the way he held his audience captive, the songwriting, the delivery, the humor and, most of all, his guitar playing. The fluidity of his playing is out of this world and once again he proved to me that he has no equal when it comes to bending those guitar strings.

Chris Smither at McCabe's

Playing without a pre-determined set list, Chris performed songs from various stages of his prolific career. There were plenty of uptempo songs and his voice sounded stronger than the last time I saw him, a couple of years back. The show had quite a few highlights - the songs I liked the best were "Can't Shake These Blues", "Surprise, Surprise" and "Statesboro Blues", the evening's one-song encore.

Partial Set List

Open Up

Leave The Light On

Surprise, Surprise

Link Of Chain

Can't Shake These Blues

Lola

Get A Better One

No Love Today

Love You Like A Man

Train Home

Never Needed It More

Small Revelations

Make Room For Me

Don't Call Me Stranger

Time Stands Still

Statesboro Blues (Encore)

Chris Smither at the end of the show

The stage

The merch table