November 4, 2012

Concert #441 - Sara Hickman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 1, 2007)


In my case, a trip to McCabe's means a round trip of one-hundred-and-two miles, so quite often I pay more for gas than for the concert ticket itself. Wasting money is not my thing, so I choose my concerts carefully - in most cases, when I buy my tickets, I pretty much know what to expect from the performer. Sara Hickman's appearance at McCabe's in 2007 was a rare exception - I remember driving to McCabe's and questioning the wisdom of my choice.

Three hours later, as I was driving home, I was congratulating myself for having discovered such a wonderful singer-songwriter, who  - as far as I was concerned - came out of nowhere. Typically, I don't fall for the "peace and universal love" schtick, but in Sara's case, had she asked the audience to hold hands, sway and sing, God knows I would have done it, that's how genuine and strong her message was.

Sara's set list drew heavily from "Motherlode", her then-current album. The song that hit me the hardest was "Comfort's Sigh", one of the finest mid-tempo ballads I have ever heard. Kristin de Witt, one of Sara's friends and musical collaborators, sang backup vocals on a few songs.

Sara's set was exceptionally pleasant, even though I did not know any of her songs. After the show, I went straight to her merch table and bought "Motherlode", which turned out to be a double CD.

The cover of Sara Hickman's "Motherlode" album
I can't wait to see Sara again, but sadly, Southern California is not a common stop on her touring itinerary.

McCabe's Guitar Shop - The concert room

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