Concert #634 - Susanna Hoffs at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 28, 2012)

At the grandmotherly age of fifty-three, Susanna Hoffs looked and sounded last night at McCabe's as un-grandmotherly as it gets. Wearing a short dress, lots of smiles and no extra pounds, she delivered a pleasant set that included new songs, old Bangles gems, as well as a few well-chosen covers. The whole affair was quite casual, one might say exceedingly casual, which prompted my friend Bill to describe the show as a "paid rehearsal", a statement I suspect he made half in jest, half serious. I had no problem with the loose format of the evening, something that is not at all uncommon when a larger group of musicians assemble with little notice before a one-off event.

Susanna's band included guitarist-extraordinaire Val McCallum on acoustic and electric guitars, bassist Derrick Anderson, drummer Jim Laspesa, percussionist John Calacci and guitarist Andrew Brassell, her new Nashville-based musical collaborator. Guitarist Dennis Taylor joined the band toward the end of the show, he sounded great and so did everyone else.

I liked most of Susanna's new songs, which I believe will be on her soon-to-be-released third solo album titled "Someday". Mitchell Froom, the album producer, was also present last night, but did not take the stage.

Age has done little to change Susanna's vocal abilities. Her still-Banglesque voice was the unmistakable star of the evening and so was her cheerfulness and charm. Exceptionally good was her song selection, too. Unlike other artists, Susanna did not deliver her new songs all at once. Instead, she combined them with well-known oldies and old Bangles tunes - this added color to her show and kept everyone sprinting along. Here's one of the two set lists that were left on the stage floor after the show:

Note the presence of "All I've Got To Do" and "Rain", two Lennon-McCartney songs, the former sounding the best. I also liked the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning", Rockpile's catchy "Teacher, Teacher" and "All I Want", the semi-hit of the Lightning Seeds.

Susanna Hoffs at McCabe's

Susanna Hoffs & Andrew Brassell at McCabe's

Susanna Hoffs, with Derrick Anderson and Jim Laspesa

Quite predictably, longtime collaborator Matthew Sweet took the stage at the end of the show to lend his voice to the singing of "Rain" and Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl".

Matthew Sweet

 Here's the other set list I was able to photograph after the show:

An alternate set list left on stage after the show

The show was opened by Englishman John Wicks, formerly of the Records. Surprisingly, he did not sing "Starry Eyes", the song that brought the Records their only hit. John's five-song set was just right in terms of length. The song that I liked the best was the set-closing "Chasing Angels".

John Wicks at McCabe's

Autographed Susanna Hoffs posters ($25 each)

Hiroshi and Paul, frequent McCabe's concert goers

People lining up for Susanna's second show (10 PM)

Concert #613 - Al Stewart at McCabe's Guitar Shop (November 12, 2011)

This was my sixth time to see Al Stewart and he's still on my "Must be seen again" list. It all started exactly twenty years ago, when I went to McCabe's with my teenaged niece not because I thought much of Al, but only because there was nothing better being offered at McCabe's during her visit. As it turned out, the concert was a total knock-out. Al came out with Peter White and together they just blew me away.

Twenty years on, the self-proclaimed "King of Historical Folk Rock" is still a highly entertaining artist whose shows combine great songs, stellar guitar playing, good humor and British-accented intellectual talk, all delivered in a relaxed manner, without any pretensions. At 66, his voice is pretty much unchanged and so are his idiosyncratic vocal inflections. Everything about Al screams experience and professionalism and overall, I just can't think of an artist who's more likeable than he is.

In terms of guitar playing, Al is essentially a strummer, with rare and rather brief incursions into finger picking, so to a huge extent, his shows rely on the support he gets from guitar virtuosos such as Peter White and Laurence Juber. Trouble is, these folks have their own careers, so they are seldom available to play, let alone tour, with Al.

Enter Dave Nachmanoff, a lesser known guitar player, who in 2004 made me frown in disappointment when he was announced as Al Stewart's new accompanist. Dave was certainly good enough then, but at that time I could not have imagined what a phenomenally great guitar player he would soon become. Last night at McCabe's, Dave's intros, solos and outros were nothing short of masterful, to such an extent that he made me stop wishing for Peter or Laurence, and that's no small feat. And he's got humor, too, thus perfectly complementing the equally jocular Al.

Dave Nachmanoff, guitarist extraordinaire

Last night, Al and Dave came out with a predetermined set list, but they did take a few requests and initiated a few digressions of their own, such as "Running Man", from Al's "24 Carrots" album.

The set list (guess what Y.O.T.C. stands for)

As always, "On The Border" was among the concert highlights, and so were "A Child's View Of The Eisenhower Years" and "Night Train To Munich". I also liked "Flying Sorcery", a song that appears as "Flying Sauce" on Al's set list. 

While playing the most recognizable riff from Henry Mancini's "Theme From Peter Gunn", Al talked briefly about Duane Eddy, one of his early influences.

Dave Nachmanoff & Al Stewart at McCabe's (November 2011)

Part-time bassist Mike Lindauer provided a few moments of levity, as he was coming and going without fully knowing when exactly he was needed to be there - this actually fit quite well with the loose tone of the show.

Dave Nachmanoff was given the opportunity to showcase some of his own songs, among which "Sheila Won't Be Coming Home", with some lyrics by Al Stewart, was the best.

Dave Nachmanoff & Al Stewart (with John Wicks in the background)

 John Wicks, formerly of the Records, took the stage a couple of times to provide backup vocals, then together with Al and Dave, sang his own hit "Starry Eyes".

John Wicks (left), with Dave Nachmanoff and Al Stewart

Al Stewart & Dave Nachmanoff reviewing the set list before the show

Yours Truly & Al Stewart at McCabe's

Dave and Al's abandoned guitars, just before the encore

 

Concert #566 - Matthew Sweet at McCabe's Guitar Shop (August 28, 2010)

I went to the show with expectations that were left mostly unfulfilled. Matthew had impressed me quite a bit a few years earlier, when I first saw him at UCLA, but this time he was rather disappointing. He lacked the power and the energy one would expect from a rocker, possibly the result of the extra pounds he had added since the UCLA show. It's true, I was unfamiliar with his new material (my fault) but none of his new songs caught my ear (his fault, possibly).

I'd been hoping to see Susanna Hoffs as Matthew's guest, after all they had recorded and performed together more than once, but it wasn't to be. Instead, Matthew brought out Vicki Peterson, Susanna's fellow Bangle, but her performance was totally low-key.

Matthew Sweet & Vicki Peterson

Set list
Divine Intervention
Byrdgirl
Time Capsule
We're the Same
Feel Fear
Ugly Truth
You Don't Love Me
Time Machine
Girlfriend
If Time Permits
Someone to Pull the Trigger
Sick of Myself
I've Been Waiting (with John Wicks & Vicki Peterson)

Encore (with Vicki Peterson)
Cinnamon Girl
Hello, It's Me
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding

British artist John Wicks opened the show. His set was decent, but not truly memorable. "Starry Eyes", his hit from his days with the Records, happened to also be the best song of his set.