Concert #837 - Bob Neuwirth at McCabe's Guitar Shop (July 14, 2018)

This was my first time to see Bob Neuwirth as a headliner, after having seen him a number of times as a participant in events featuring multiple artist. I went to the show hoping to see a few unannounced guests, hear some fun stories, listen to a few good songs and I'm happy to say that, in all respects, my expectations were met.

Anchored by multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield, Bob's band also included Steven Soles (guitar), Tony Gilkyson (guitar) and Bob Thiele, Jr. (piano, guitar). They provided great support throughout the evening. Later in the show, it was time for the band members to have their own solo moments: Tony sang "Rattlesnake Boy", Bob Thiele delivered "What A Wonderful World", a song written by his father and Steven sang a love song whose title I did not catch.

While affected by the passage of time, Bob Neuwirth's singing voice still sounded pretty good for someone in his eightieth year of existence. He played without a set list and even though I was unfamiliar with most of Bob's songs, I could easily tell that his songwriting was and still is top-notch.

The evening's surprise guest turned out to be the legendary T Bone Burnett who was in good spirits and seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit. I first saw him almost thirty years ago, also at McCabe's, and I must say that his voice has remained pretty much unchanged, in spite of the passage of time.

The evening kicked-off with an exceptionally good set delivered by Don Heffington and his small band. I had seen him many times before, but always as a percussionist, so I had no idea that he could write great songs and also deliver them as well as he did. I liked all of his songs and was knocked out by Timothy Young, Don's guitarist for the evening. I enjoyed tremendously watching Tim in action.

Bob Neuwirth at McCabe's

L to R: Steven Soles, T Bone Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, David Mansfield

T Bone Burnett at McCabe's

Tony Gilkyson at McCabe's

Bob Thiele, Jr. at McCabe's

David Mansfield at McCabe's

Bob Neuwirth thanking the crowd

Don Heffington at McCabe's

Timothy Young at McCabe's

Don Heffington's set list

The stage

Concert #800 - The Reluctant Apostles at McCabe's Guitar Shop (May 8, 2017)

Sunday night I got to enjoy yet another one of those relaxed concerts that felt just like being in someone's living room.

Few people have heard of the Reluctant Apostles, and until not too long ago, I was one of them. So what made me want to see them? That's easy to answer: to me, the main selling point was Katey Sagal's participation, even though actors-turned-singers don't get instant credit from me. I first witnessed Katey's talents as a singer at a Randy Newman tribute show in 2010 at the Mark Taper Forum, when she thoroughly impressed me with her soulful rendition of Randy's "Feels Like Home". Also, I was further enticed by the presence of bassist and singer Davey Faragher.

The band came out as a quintet consisting of Katey Sagal, Davey Faragher, guitarist and vocalist Bob Thiele Jr, keyboard player John Philip Shenale and Katey's son, Jackson White, on percussion. With three good singers, lots of humor and a repertoire consisting exclusively of covers of mostly well-known songs, the band put on an entertaining show that was well received by the crowd.

Bob, Katey & Davey at McCabe's

The band's set mirrored to a great extent their debut CD, appropriately titled "Introducing The Reluctant Apostles". To these ears, the evening's best songs were Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (sung by Bob), Solomon Burke's "Cry To Me" (with lead vocals by Davey) and the more obscure "Temptation Took Control Of Me" (featuring Katey's passionate singing). By the way, the "Temptation" song was written by a certain Eric Kaz, a prolific singer-songwriter whose entire career managed to elude me.

Katey Sagal at McCabe's

Davey Faragher at McCabe's

For the first song of the band's two-song encore, Bob Thiele sang "What A Wonderful World" and he made absolutely no attempt to even remotely follow Louis Armstrong's original recording. While listening to Bob's version, I remember thinking that I had no idea who wrote that famous song. The answer came a lot sooner than I thought, when Bob told the audience that it was his father who authored this true gem. I was impressed.

Bob Thiele Jr. at McCabe's

John Philip Shenale at McCabe's

The stage

Same stage, different angle

T-Shirts for sale

Autographed CD !!