Concert #707 - Zucchero at Club Nokia (April 2, 2014)

Zucchero ... I love the guy. He's the Italian mega-star whose music first reached me here on the West Coast in 1995. Since then, I've been his slave, listening to his music virtually non-stop, with an ever-increasing appetite and passion. Major European acts hit the East Coast with decent frequency, but sadly, few make it to the West Coast, with Zucchero being a rare and welcome exception. I first saw him live in 1996, at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard, and it was divine.  Who would have thought, back in 1996, that I would get to see him in concert five more times? Well, it happened. His Wednesday night appearance at Club Nokia marked his sixth concert in LA since 1996, and I'm ecstatic to say that I caught each and every one of them. All of these shows took place in medium-size venues, which gave me the privilege of watching him in action from just a few steps away, a luxury not available to most of his European fans.

Zucchero at Club Nokia

Announced for 8:00 PM, the concert started half an hour late and went on for a generous two hours and five minutes. Seated at center stage with a bright light shining behind him, Zucchero opened his set with three gems from Chocabeck, his 2010 album. Throughout the evening, his voice was in top shape, sounding just like in his studio recordings. As expected, we got to hear many of his crowd-pleasing rockers and up-tempo dance numbers, such as "Diavolo In Me", "Il Mare Impetuoso", "L'Urlo" and "Baila Morena". To these ears, though, the finest moments of the concert were his gorgeous mid-tempo ballads, especially "Diamante" and "Il Volo", which were performed one after the other.

SET LIST
(songs listed in the order played)
Il Suono Della Domenica

Alla Fine

Un Soffio Caldo

Love Is All Around

Con Le Mani

Vedo Nero

Never Is A Moment

God Bless The Child

Blu

Guantanamera

Baila Morena

Overdose d'Amore

Il Mare Impetuoso Al Tramonto Sali Sulla Luna

Dune Mosse

Diamante

Il Volo

Un Kilo (with Don Was on bass)

L'Urlo

Solo Una sana

Diavolo In Me

 ENCORE #1

Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime (with Zucchero on piano)
Bacco Perbacco (with Randy Jackson on bass)
Senza Una Donna

     ENCORE #2

Miserere
Per Colpa De Chi

Zucchero and Kat Dyson at Club Nokia

Not unexpectedly, the crowd's behavior served as an unnecessary reminder as to why I seldom go anymore to larger concert venues, especially where alcohol is served. While most people were there to hear the music and respect all others in the process, there were also way too many party animals (by which I mean animals), incapable of distinguishing between public concert halls and their own living rooms. I found their incessant loud talking and mindless screaming highly distracting.

The crowd remained seated until the band launched into "Guantanamera", at which point the space directly in front of the stage became an instant dance floor, occupied by happy people of all ages. The security staff's efforts to restore order produced no results.

Toward the end of the show, Zucchero brought out two guests with somewhat similar backgrounds. First, producer and bassist Don Was joined the band for the playing of "Un Kilo", followed a bit later by Randy Jackson, a producer and bass player himself. Randy played bass on the infectious "Bacco Perbacco", an up-tempo number that whipped the crowd into a dancing frenzy.

Don Was at Club Nokia

Randy Jackson and Zucchero at Club Nokia

Zucchero came back for two encores. I could not have picked better songs for the second one: first the operatic "Miserere", featuring the voice of Luciano Pavarotti, followed by my favorite Zucchero rocker, the ultra-dynamic "Per Colpa Di Chi". It was a fitting end to an evening that was both exhilarating (Zucchero's incredible performance) and annoying (the crowd).

Zucchero's band was top notch. I particularly liked Kat Dyson, whose raw and soulful backup vocals were very special.

 Band line-up (incomplete)

Kat Dyson - Guitar, vocals

Elmer Ferrer Tres - Guitar

Adriano Molinari - Drums

Nicola Peruch - Keyboards

Polo Jones - Bass

Zucchero and members of his band at Club Nokia

Zucchero at the end of the concert

Zucchero addressed the crowd a few times during the show, but unlike in his earlier Los Angeles concerts, this time he did it in good English. He came across as a friendly and approachable person.

Zucchero playing "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime"

Zucchero at Club Nokia

The venue's soundboard

Zucchero merchandise

Club Nokia

Concert #432 - Perla Batalla Presents The Gospel Of Leonard Cohen at the Royce Hall (February 24, 2007)

Five years after the show, I still get the goosebumps just thinking about the unbelievable array of performers and the beauty of the music they delivered on February 24, 2007, at UCLA's Royce Hall. Having the opportunity to witness shows like this is one of the perks of living in Los Angeles, never mind the earthquakes, floods, fires, smog, traffic and the occasional riot.

LA's own Perla Batalla, Leonard Cohen's longtime backup singer, acted as the evening's MC. It was my introduction to a singer whose great voice and confident stage presence gave her instant musical credibility in my eyes.

Musicians kept coming and going, yet one thing remained constant: the beauty of Leonard Cohen's music. I knew most of the songs and it was great fun listening to all those different renditions coming from artists whose musical directions had little to do with one another. Here's the set list:

Suzanne - Perla Batalla

Dance Me To The End Of Love - Bill Gable & Perla Batalla

The Land Of Plenty - Howard Tate

Chelsea Hotel No. 2 - Bill Frisell (instrumental)

Ain't No Cure For Love - Julie Christensen

Waiting For The Miracle - Jackson Browne

First We Take Manhattan - Jill Sobule

Coming Back To You - Michael McDonald

Sisters Of Mercy - Martha Gonzalez

Intermission

Tacoma Trailer - Bill Frisell (instrumental)

Bird On The Wire - Perla Batalla

Tower Of Song - Howard Tate

Famous Blue Raincoat - Martha Gonzalez

A Thousand Kisses Deep - Jackson Browne

If It Be Your Will - Julie Christensen

Ballad Of The Absent Mare - Javier Colis / Perla Batalla

El Carnicero (The Butcher ) - Javier Colis

Who By Fire - Jill Sobule

Anthem - Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla

Democrazy - Dave Alvin

Encore

Hallelujah - Michael McDonald & John Adams Middle School Madrigal Singers

Three songs in particular are hard to forget. "The Land Of Plenty", delivered by the great Howard Tate in the true fashion of an old-school soul singer, remains to this day one of the best live moments I have ever witnessed. Just as electrifying was "Anthem", stunningly sung by Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla. Closing the show and thoroughly exciting the crowd, Dave Alvin performed "Democracy" in a style that is hard to describe in words.

Howard Tate

Jill Sobule turned out to be the revelation of the evening - she sang "First We Take Manhattan" and "Who By Fire", and both interpretations were top-notch. Surprisingly, I also liked Michael McDonald, a singer whose vocal style has never been my cup of tea. Particularly good was his rendition of "Hallelujah", performed together with a children's choir.

Jill Sobule

Michael McDonald

Spain's Javier Colis and Southern-Californian Martha Gonzalez added an enjoyable Latin twist to Cohen's music, as both sang their songs in Spanish. Martha also sang in English. Howard Tate's other song of the evening, "Tower Of Song", was another highlight - I absolutely loved his soulful falsettos. I did not know any of the two songs chosen by Jackson Browne, and maybe that is why I was less impressed with those.

Prior to their brilliant pairing on "Anthem", Julie and Perla had their equally great solo moments. I particularly liked Perla's "Bird On A Wire".

Perla Batalla

Julie Christensen

The house band was lead by guitar maestro Bill Frisell. Additional instrumental backup was provided string wizard Greg Leisz, percussionist Debra Dobkin, drummer Don Heffington, bassists Kevin McCormick and Don Was, pianist Karen Hammack, among others.

Bill Frisell

My secret hope of having Leonard Cohen himself make an unannounced appearance did not materialize, but even so, it was an unforgettable evening.

UCLA's Royce Hall

Concert #501 - J.J. Cale at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 28, 2009)

This was the second of two sold-out shows at McCabe's, part of a small-scale national tour. Why I had skipped J.J. Cale's earlier appearances at McCabe's is a mystery to me, but I finally got the wake-up call in the form of his "Roll On" album, an exceptionally listenable release featuring J.J.'s trademark sound and rhythms. I got to McCabe's early, so I was among the first ones in line. Parked directly in front of the guitar shop was J.J. Cale's huge tour bus, an unusual sight for what primarily is a folk music venue. I managed to grab a seat in the front row. The best was yet to come.

Throughout the show, J.J.'s voice was somewhat weak, but his guitar work was superb, and so was his band, consisting of Bill Raffensperger on bass, Walt Richmond on keyboards, David Teegarden (electronic synth) and James Cruce on drums. Keyboardist Skip Knape joined them later for a song or two. The song selection could not have been better.

After the ninth song, J.J. told the crowd that two guests would be joining him. "I don't have to tell you their names, you'll know who they are", said J.J. and out came Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. The crowd responded accordingly.

J.J. Cale (center), flanked by Mike Campbell and Tom Petty

Tom kept a relatively low profile, playing guitar just like a regular band member would do. He sang only one song, J.J. Cale's "I'd Like to Love You Baby". Playing his electric guitar, Mike Campbell was far more visible, delivering a few out-of-this-world solos. Surprisingly, Tom and Mike stayed on to the end of the show, then they came out again for the three-song encore as well, to our collective delight.

COMPLETE SET LIST

 King City
Out Of Style
Low Down
Don't Cry Sister
Since You Said Goodbye
Magnolia
Walt's Boogie
Roll On
Instrumental by T-Bone Walker

Crazy Mama
After Midnight
I'd Like To Love You Baby (Petty - vocals)
Thirteen Days
Tijuana
Cocaine
Call Me The Breeze
I'll Make Love To You Anytime
Travelin' Light

L to R: J.J. Cale and Tom Petty at McCabe's

L to R: Mike Campbell, J.J. Cale and Tom Petty at McCabe's

Most songs featured extended laid-back instrumental jams of stunning beauty and being there, just one step away, was priceless. A bootleg recording of the concert is available on the Internet. 

The show was opened by Pieta Brown and husband Bo Ramsey, assisted by the legendary Don Was on upright bass. Their set was very good - I liked Pieta's songwriting, voice and singing style and I enjoyed Bo Ramsey's guitar playing.

Bo Ramsey, Pieta Brown and Don Was (photo by Roman Cho)

Bo Ramsey and Mike Campbell upstairs at McCabe's (photo by Roman Cho)

Pieta Brown & Don Was at McCabe's