CONCERT OVERLOAD: 3/30/14

In a typical case of "better late than never", I joined the legion of Oingo Boingo fans in 1989, mostly at the urging of my friend Scott. I was an avid KROQ listener during those times, and unavoidably, the band's often-played infectious songs were bound to hit me, sooner or later. Quite appropriately, I went to my first, and sadly last, Oingo Boingo concert with Scott, along with Odette, his Better Half.

Danny Elfman and his band managed the improbable feat of selling out four shows on four consecutive nights at the Universal Amphitheater. That's about 25,000 tickets sold in a city that offers plenty of other great things to do at any given time. I caught the first show.

Driven by the band's distinctive music, the fans responded with enthusiasm. With distinctive songs such as "Dead Man's Party", "Grey Matter" and "Only A Lad", Danny Elfman & Co kept the place rocking for two and a half hours. Overall, it was an interesting experience.

For me, last night's show at McCabe's was a blind date of sorts, as I went there to see a musician whose career had eluded me for decades. I showed up totally unprepared, without being able to name a single song from Dirk Hamilton's repertoire, but in the end I did not regret my decision to attend.

So what made me want to see someone whose music I did not know? Well, there were two reasons. First, a couple of folks voted Dirk Hamilton as the best McCabe’s concert in 2013 and those few votes did resonate with me. Then there's the Italian thing: I'm a connoisseur and collector of Italian music and the fact that Dirk is bigger in Italy than anywhere else has definitely made an impression on me. Long story short, I bought myself a ticket and went to the show not really knowing what to expect.

My first reaction after the show was "he's the complete package", by which I meant to praise his songwriting, singing, guitar-playing and personality. Dirk played two sets last night, I caught the first one, seventy minutes in all.

The concert coincided with the re-release of his 1996 album titled "Sufferupachuckle", so not surprisingly, he treated us with some of the album's best numbers, among them "Heroes Maybe", "Luck", "Dangerous" and "Black Dog Blues". I liked them all. One may say that "good songs" was the theme of the evening, as there weren't any weak numbers in Dirk's entire set, with the unreleased "Head On A Neck" being the best of the lot. Other stand-out songs: the set-opening "Lady", "Follow Your Bliss" and "Grow A Rose", which Dirk performed with vocal and instrumental support from Waldo Bliss, the evening's opening act.

Dirk Hamilton at McCabe's

Dirk Hamilton and Waldo Bliss at McCabe's

Dirk Hamilton's set list

Waldo Bliss, the evening's opening act, was a pleasant surprise. Except for two well-known cover songs, their relatively short set featured original songs that were not bad at all - the one that impressed me the most was "Freedom Now". The delicate harmonies of "In My Room", the Brian Wilson classic, received by far the loudest applause from the audience. Their overly mellow rendition of Carol King & Gerry Goffin's "Up On The Roof" was less of a hit with me. With three good singers (Dan, Mindy and Daniel), an outstanding lead guitarist (Randy Ray) and a quality leader (Dan), I'm pretty sure that I will hear from Waldo Bliss again sometime in the future.

Band line-up

Dan Carlson (vocals, acoustic guitar)

Mindy Jones (vocals)

Daniel Ahearn (vocals)

Randy Ray Mitchell (electric guitar)

Erik Eldenius (drums, percussion)

Brett Simons (bass)