Concert #813 - Kinky Friedman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (November 18, 2017)

I have seen enough Kinky Friedman shows to know that the old adage of "you've seen one, you've seen them all" is mostly true, but occasionally false, and it's that "false" part that makes me show up every time the Kinkster plays my favorite venue. Well, as it turned out, last night's show deviated very little from Kinky's usual schtick and if you're a fan, you know exactly what I mean: the cigar, the glass of tequila, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Willie Nelson, the Germans and a slew of jokes that I found quite amusing, while others could called them tasteless. I would have loved to see an unannounced guest or two, but there weren't any. Still, I found the whole experience thoroughly enjoyable.

I caught Kinky's early show, a sell-out. He went on for about seventy minutes, with lots of spoken word and some songs thrown in for good measure. By the way, when Kinky Friedman talks, I do listen and I would have been a happy customer even without a single song.

The Set List

Sold American

Zoe

Me And My Guitar

Homo Erectus

A Dog Named Freedom

Jesus In Pajamas

Ballad Of Ira Hayes

Ride 'Em Jewboy

Sayin' Goodbye Isn't Easy

The evening kicked off with a short set by Michael Simmons, one of Kinky's old cohorts. Accompanied by Don Heffington on percussion, Michael played four songs. The one I liked the best was "Why Can't We Be Friends".

Kinky Friedman at McCabe's

Kinky Friedman at McCabe's

Kinky Friedman at McCabe's

Michael Simmons & Don Heffington at McCabe's

Kinky Friedman at the merch table

Posing with fans

Kinky Friedman signing merchandise

The stage

Concert #765 - Kinky Friedman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 5, 2015)

As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as overdosing on Kinky Friedman. Last night was my fourth time to see the Kinkster live and, even though he did recycle some of his older lines, the whole evening delighted me at least as much as it did ten years ago at the Skirball Center, when I first saw him in a live performance. I just can't get enough of his songs, humor, personality and stage presence - heck, I even love it when he reads out loud from his books, something I typically have no patience for.

Introduced as the "Governor of the Heart of Texas", Kinky took the stage dressed in his trademark black outfit, complete with a cowboy hat and a large cigar which remained unlit throughout the show. Performing without a predetermined set list, Kinky kicked off the proceedings with Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd", followed by a mish-mash of covers and self-penned songs intertwined with multiple humorous stories and jokes delivered in his inimitable style, with little regard to political correctness. At the respectable age of seventy-one, Kinky is still fully capable to entertain on multiple levels, music being just one of them.

Kinky Friedman at McCabe's

The Set List

Pretty Boy Floyd (Woody Guthrie)

I'm The Loneliest Man I Ever Met

Get Your Biscuits In The Oven and Your Buns In The Bed

Western Union Wire

Silver Eagle Express

Waitret, Please Waitret (with Mojo Nixon & Van Dyke Parks)

Tie My Pecker To My Leg (Mojo Nixon solo)

Ride 'Em Jewboy

Yellow Rose Of Texas (Van Dyke Parks piano solo)

The Navigator (read by Kinky from his "Heroes of a Texas Childhood")

They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore

A Christmas Card From A Hooker 

Lady Yesterday

My Sh*t's F***ed Up (Waren Zevon song)

Pickin' Time (Johnny Cash original)

As I expected, Kinky had a few unannounced guests, and I got super-excited when Mojo Nixon took the stage. Mojo's "Elvis Is Everywhere" is one of my favorite songs from the eighties, but sadly, he went for "Tie My Pecker To My Leg", a song that has little in common with good taste. 

Kinky Friedman and Mojo Nixon at McCabe's

Mojo Nixon at McCabe's

Just before Kinky came out, singer-songwriter-producer Brian Molnar delivered an impressive short set of his own that ended with a rousing rendition of Hank Williams' "Wait For The Light To Shine".

Brian Molnar at McCabe's

The evening was kicked off by Michael Simmons, Kinky's old friend and collaborator, who sang three songs. The one I liked the best was "I Guess I'll Smoke Another Cigarette". Don Heffington kept the beat throughout Michael's set.

Michael Simmons (left) and Joe Cirotti

Providing support to Kinky, Brian and Michael, guitarist Joe Cirotti impressed me quite a bit with his exquisite playing. Particularly impressive was his role as Kinky's accompanist toward the end of the evening.

The often-seen Van Dyke Parks popped in for some piano playing, including a solo playing of "Yellow Rose Of Texas". The crowd gave him a loud welcome.

Van Dyke Parks at McCabe's

Overall, I had a heck of a good time with Kinky and his guests and I'm pretty sure I will catch him again before too long.

The stage

Kinky Friedman mingling with fans after the show

Concert poster

Concert #660 - Kinky Friedman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 7, 2012)

This was my third time to see Kinky Friedman live on stage and the experience only made me want for more. Kinky's formula works great for me. He takes one part storytelling and one part music which then he mixes for about 90 minutes and what comes out is far greater than the sum of its parts. Of course, humor is the foundation of most everything he does, yet he can be serious as well and when he is, he's dead serious.

The show started even before we got to our seats, with Kinky standing right there in the middle of the store, greeting everyone, shaking hands and asking for our names. What a classy thing to do!

Kinky Friedman greeting my friend Steve, as we were walking in

With an acoustic guitar hanging from his neck, a glass of tequila in his hand and a cigar in his mouth, Kinky started the show with his traditional toast for honor: "Here's to honor - get on 'er and stay on 'er". Kinky stuff indeed, yet everyone laughed real hard.

The musical portion of the set started with "Before All Hell Breaks Loose", an old gem whose opening line is "Time to resign from the human race" and things never slowed down from there. 

 Partial Set List

They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore

Sold American

Gets Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In The Bed

Nashville Casualty And Life

The Ballad Of Kevin Barry (a song Kinky learned from Paul Robeson)

Ol' Ben Lucas (this turned into a hilarious sing-along)

Autograph (dedicated to the late Levon Helm)

Ride'm Jewboy (the one-song encore of the evening)

Kinky Friedman at McCabe's

There's something truly magic about Kinky's personality. Whether he talks or sings, he sucks you right in and keeps you there under his mesmerazing influence until the lights go back on. It's true that he reuses some of his best lines, yet they sound good every time one hears them. But there was plenty of funny new material as well: just before leaving Hamburg for his next stop in Paris, Kinky asked his German guide how far Paris was from Hamburg. The guide thought for a few seconds and replied "About a five-day march".

Kinky's humor is out there, seemingly made to offend people and peoples, with absolutely no reverence to political correctness or anything that's "proper" when it comes to sexual or ethnic topics. He has and probably will run again for the governorship of the State of Texas and I'm pretty sure that, while on the campaign trail, he will not be the same Kinky The Entertainer we saw Friday night at McCabe's.

No Kinky Friedman show is complete without the reading of a chapter from one of his newly published books. This time we heard "Tom Friedman - The Navigator", where Tom is a World War II veteran and, you guessed it right, Kinky's father. The chapter appears in "Heroes Of A Texas Childhood", a book currently at its fourth printing. I went home happily carrying an autographed copy of the book.

Kinky Friedman's autograph on my new book

A couple of times during the show, Kinky acknowledged Danny Hutton's presence in the room. That's Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night fame, of course.

Two bottles of Kinky's own brand of Man In Black tequila were auctioned off to support Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, an animal shelter founded by Kinky himself. The two bottles, along with a few small items, fetched a grand total of $800. 

Musician and writer Michael Simmons opened the show with a three-song set. The one I liked the best was "Bubbles In My Beer", originally recorded by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. I had no idea who Michael was, but now I know. To find out more about Michael Simmons and his association with the Kinkster, click on the link below which will take you to an exceptionally well-written post authored by Michael himself.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-simmons/kinky-friedman-texas-jewboys_b_2247353.html

Michael Simmons at McCabe's

Immediately following Michael and introduced as the "Mad Hungarian", Brian Molnar delivered an exceptionally good set that, at only four songs, was a bit too short. His melodic sense and mine were in perfect alignment and I loved his voice and phrasing, too. I will definitely keep an eye out for this deserving young musician.

Brian Molnar at McCabe's

Kinky Friedman and Brian Molnar at the merch table

Kinky Friedman and Yours Truly

Concert poster

Concert #564 - Kinky Friedman at McCabe's Guitar Shop (July 31, 2010)

 

Kinky Friedman is a national treasure, but the nation doesn't know it ... sad but true ... but the 150 folks who showed up to see him at McCabe's were in the know and were rewarded with a truly great show.

Generally speaking, I prefer singers who sing, with minimal chatter between songs. But we all know that some artists just talk too much on stage, and more than once in my concert-going career I felt like shouting out "Shut up and sing". But paradoxically, in Kinky's case, the exact opposite was true, even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the musical part of his act. I just couldn't get enough of his wit, humor, warmth and intelligence. Kinky is truly special, what a shame that most people don't know him. On the plus side, his relatively low name recognition is what allows me to sit in the front row when he comes to town.

Kinky came out with Little Jewford (Jeff Shelby) and Washington Ratso, both of whom stayed on the stage for the entire show. Later in the set, they were joined by Van Dyke Parks and his accordion.

Plenty of funny things were said, but I only remember two:

"I believe all politicians should serve only two terms. One in office, and one in prison".
"Here's to honor - get on 'er and stay on 'er." 

"Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight", "Ballad of Ira Hayes", "Nashville Casualty & Life" and "Homo Erectus" were just a few of the songs he sang. I can't wait to see him again.

Kinky arrives at McCabe's

Kinky (left) and Washington Ratso

Van Dyke Parks leaving the stage at the end of the show

Kinky autographing books after the show