Concerts #217, 363, 371, 424, 431, 458 - Dave Alvin at Various Venues (2000-2008)

In my book, Dave Alvin is one of the great ones, but my appreciation for his music can't be called love-at-first-sight. On the contrary.

I first saw Dave as John Wesley Harding's guest in 1990. Nothing special.

On January 15, 2000, accompanied by our friends Ron & Bobbie, my Better Half and I went to the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena to catch Tom Russell and Dave in a co-headlining event and it was Tom who impressed us the most. Dave played "King of California", "New Highway", "From A Kitchen Table" and "Blackjack David", among others. Maybe it was my unfamiliarity with his songs, but fact is that, on that occasion, Dave did not become an instant favorite of mine. That night was also my introduction to Greg Leisz, who played the dobro in Dave's backing band that also included Rick Shea on mandolin and electric guitar and Brantley Kearns on fiddle.

What followed was a series of unannounced appearances as the guest of other performers, a clear proof of Dave's popularity with his fellow musicians as well as his willingness to provide support, even though money was not involved. In 2002, Dave popped in for a song or two at Tom Russell's concert at McCabe's. A year later, he guested on Syd Straw's show also at McCabe's. Such appearances have kept Dave Alvin on my radar and validated his status as a musician worth keeping on eye on.

Dave's music hit me real hard for the first time on May 28, 2005, at McCabe's, where else? His then-current album, "Ashgrove", had just been released. With able support from Greg Leisz and the late Amy Farris, Dave delivered one superb song after another. Great vocals, great guitar playing, but what really knocked my socks off was the quality of his compositions. One doesn't often hear songs as good as "Ashgrove", "Rio Grande" and especially "Out Of Control", with its movie-like imagery and absorbing lyrics. To this day, this remains one of the most memorable concerts I have ever attended.

The Ditty Bops opened the show, and even though their retro-style light music had little in common with Dave's heavy-weight subjects, they were fun to watch.

The Ditty Bops

In August 2005, Dave played a benefit show in Claremont, at Ben Harper's Folk Music Center. Needless to say, my Better Half and I were there, together with our friends Bob and Lynne, soon to become Dave Alvin fans themselves. Seeing Dave perform at such an intimate venue was something special. Once again Dave received support from Chris Gaffney and Amy Farris and once again I had the pleasure of hearing my favorite gems from "Ashgrove", plus some of Dave's oldies.

The Folk Music Center in Claremont, California

On November 3, 2006, my Better Half and I went to catch Dave Alvin's free show at the Getty Center, part of the "Friday Nights at the Getty" concert series. Dave focused on his newly released album titled "West Of The West", his tribute to California songwriters, some well-known, others obscure. Accompanied by a band that included the ever-present Amy Farris on fiddle and Chris Miller on guitar, Dave sang Jackson Browne's "Redneck Friend" and his own "Ashgrove". One of the highlights was the appearance of the Calvanes, an old do-wop group that helped Dave deliver  Richard Berry's "I'm Bewildered" and Brian Wilson's "Surfer Girl". The audience responded with giggles when Dave launched into the latter.

I caught Dave a few more times as someone's guest. In 2006, he was one of Peter's "friends" at the "Peter Case & Friends" concert at McCabe's, then in 2007 he closed the Leonard Cohen tribute concert at UCLA with a rendition of "Democracy" that brought the house down.

Dave plays McCabe's about once a year, and typically I find it hard to stay away. On February 17, 2007, and then again on January 19, 2008, I attended his concerts there. Sadly, these shows turned out to be the last times I saw Amy Farris and Chris Gaffney alive. They are both gone now, but not forgotten, certainly not by Dave. Amy's memory has been immortalized in Dave's gorgeous "Black Rose Of Texas", while "Run Conejo Run" is dedicated to Chris. Both songs appear on "Eleven Eleven", an album released by Dave in 2011.

Amy Farris

Chris Gaffney

My interest in Dave's music remains intact. I will keep up with his new releases and live shows, especially those at McCabe's.

Concert #481 - McCabe's 50th Anniversary Concert at UCLA's Royce Hall (October 2, 2008)

I caught wind about this concert many months before it actually took place and from the very beginning, all I wanted was to lay my hands on a pair of great tickets, even if I had to pay a little extra to get them  - after all, this was supposed to be the Concert Of The Year. Well, in the end, "the little extra" turned out to be $550 for a pair of third row seats, bought from a scalper operating legally as a "ticket agency". Bastards!

I had never paid as much for two tickets and I hope I never will, but in this case, I just had to do it, as my other attempts to get good seats via UCLA Live and directly from McCabe's yielded sub-par results. And there was yet another reason for my insane spending: I went to the concert with a European guest, a huge music connoisseur himself, and I just had to offer him the best possible experience and indeed, I also wanted the very best for myself.

And what an experience it was ... for about four hours we watched a parade of many different musicians who had one thing in common: sometime during their careers, they had all performed at McCabe's. With one notable exception, that is. I'm not talking about Los Lobos, as they had actually played there decades earlier, before anyone knew who they were, opening for Flaco Jimenez. The exception was Chrissie Hynde, who somehow managed to talk herself into the line-up, and I'm glad she did. Accompanied by virtuoso guitarist James Walbourne, Chrissie-the-Intruder performed two songs from her then-new album "Break Up The Concrete" and she was definitely one of the highlights of the evening.

And speaking of highlights: Odetta's powerful rendition of "House Of The Rising Sun" did not seem to be coming from a seventy-eight year old wheelchair-bound woman who was only two months away from the end of her life, then later, during the evening's grand finale, she once again impressed us with her strong vocals on "This Land Is Your Land".

Odetta, with Lincoln Myerson, Jackson Browne and Jennifer Warnes (photo by Sherry Rayn Barnett)

For an outstanding photo gallery showing most of the evening's protagonists, please visit Sherry Rayn Barnett's page at http://www.myspace.com/sherrybarnettphotography/photos

LIST OF PERFORMERS

Richard Thompson

Jennifer Warnes

Odetta

Los Lobos

Blind Boys Of Alabama

Loudon Wainwright

Peter Rowan

David Lindley

Peter Case

Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney

Ditty Bops

Dan Hicks

Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band

Ricky Jay

Chrissie Hynde

Jackson Browne

Rosanne Lindley

Van Dyke Parks

Kami Thompson

Michael Jerome (drums)

Debra Dobkin (percussion)

David Keyes (keyboards, with Odetta)

Taras Prodaniuk (bass)

James Walbourne (guitar, with Chrissie Hynde)

Eric Andersen (grand finale only)

Richard Thompson led the house band that also included drummer Michael Jerome, bassist Taras Prodaniuk, and percussionist Debra Dobkin. Throughout the evening, Richard kept a relatively low profile, but at one point he did step up to deliver a great version of "1952 Vincent Black Lightning". I  would have liked to hear more from RT, but it wasn't to be.

LIST OF MC's

Nancy Covey

Lincoln Myerson

John Chelew 

Bobby Kimmel

Most of the MC'ing was handled by Nancy Covey and she did a good job. Surprisingly, the current Concert Director at McCabe's, Lincoln Myerson, was given only a secondary role.

McCabe's is a rather modest venue and, appropriately, there were no fancy stage decorations at UCLA's Royce Hall, only a few guitars and folding chairs hanging on the back wall of the stage, all of them borrowed from McCabe's, of course. It wasn't particularly pretty, but it did bring to UCLA the "look and feel" of McCabe's, and when I say "feel", I mean the pain experienced by anyone who has ever sat on those metal chairs for more than 30 minutes!

Folding chairs and acoustic guitars hanging on the back wall of the stage

The Ditty Bops sang two songs of their own, then later they turned into Dan Hicks' Hot Licks. Together, they sang Dan's "I Scare Myself".

The Blind Boys Of Alabama performed "Amazing Grace", but with a twist: they sang it to the tune of "House Of The Rising Sun".

Peter Rowan sang his gorgeous "Midnight Moonlight". 

After having been introduced by Lincoln Myerson, Bonnie "Prince" Billy surprised me with an excellent performance that made me want to see him as a headliner.

Jennifer Warnes sang Arlo Guthrie’s “When a  Soldier Makes It Home" and one other song.

Playing a slide guitar, David Lindley duetted with his daughter Rosanne. They were OK. Later in the evening, David came out once again to play with Jackson Browne.

Jackson Browne (left), with David Lindley

Kudos go to Loudon Wainwright, who showed up after his own headlining gig in Santa Barbara. He managed to reach UCLA shortly after 11 PM, sang one song, then joined everyone else for the grand finale.

A touch of nepotism was in the air, as Richard Thompson and David Lindley brought along their singing daughters, Kami and Rosanne, respectively. They were OK, but I would have preferred to see some of the quintessential McCabe's artists who had delighted me over the years, such as Peter Himmelman, Dave Alvin, Michelle Shocked, Chris Smither or John Hammond. I guess whoever said "You can't have it all" was right ...

The grand finale was grand, indeed. Most performers came out for their final salute to McCabe's and they all had they brief solo moments, as they sang, "Hard Times (Come Again No More)" and "This Land Is Your Land". Van Dyke Parks went down into the crowd with his accordion. Jennifer Warnes asked for Eric Anderson to join the celebration and he did. A beaming Odetta was there as well, and so were all of the evening's emcees. Modestly, Richard Thompson remained in the background with his outstanding house band. The crowd was on its feet and I immediately knew that I was part of something special, something one would normally see on TV but rarely get to experience in person.

The Grand Finale, as it began

The Grand Finale, with everyone on stage

The Grand Finale

The Grand Finale - Jackson Browne, Jennifer Warnes & Loudon Wainwright (far right)

The Grand Finale - Eric Anderson, Jennifer Warnes, etc.

The Grand Finale - Van Dyke Parks

And now for a few negatives and there weren't many of those. I was less impressed with the sets delivered by the Savoy-Doucet Band (not my style) and Peter Case, who chose to perform two long songs that I don't believe were among his best. Jackson Browne sang three songs that sounded quite boring to me. Magician Ricky Jay's card-throwing act was nothing special and definitely out of place.

But it's not right to end my write-up on a negative note. Without a doubt, the show was one of the very best I have ever witnessed, and I did witness a few.

Backstage: Taras Prodaniuk, Jennifer Warnes & Jackson Browne

Backstage: McCabe's founder Gerald McCabe, with Nancy Covey

Backstage: McCabe's founder Gerald McCabe, with Jennifer Warnes