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