Concert #817 - Richard Thompson at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 12, 2018)

If asked to summarize Richard Thompson's concert last Friday at McCabe's in just one sentence, I'd say that it was a display of undiminished skills by a performer whose next birthday will be his sixty-ninth. Indeed, the passing of time has had little effect on Richard. Twenty-three years have passed since I first saw him live, but I'm yet to see any trace of a decline in his songwriting, guitar playing or singing.

This concert was the first in a series of yet-to-be-announced special shows celebrating the 60th anniversary of McCabe's, Santa Monica's beloved guitar shop, with a portion of the proceeds going to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

The event also marked the end of an era: Lincoln Myerson, the longest-serving Concert Director at McCabe's, passed the baton to Koko Peterson and Brian Rodriguez, two youngsters who have been working at McCabe's for years, but in less visible capacities. My heartfelt thanks go to Lincoln for all he has done for McCabe's and us, the public, and I look forward to seeing Koko and Brian in action. 

Richard Thompson at McCabe's

Richard delivered a generously long set, one hour and fifty minutes in all, and my impression was that he enjoyed every minute of it. He took no detours from his handwritten set list which covered no less than fifty years of his illustrious career.

From his Fairport Convention days, he played "Who Knows Where The Time Goes". From his Linda & Richard period he delivered "Dimming Of The Day", "Tear Stained Letter", "Down Where The Drunkards Roll", "Wall Of Death" and "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight". Everything else was from his solo years: a few oldies, such as "Beeswing", "Valerie", "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", "I Feel So Good" and the delightful "How Will I Ever Be Simple Again" and also two brand new, still-unreleased songs, "Push And Shove" and "They Tore The Hippodrome Down".

Faithful to his long-established tradition of including at least one humorous song in his set, Richard sang the hilarious "Hots For The Smarts", a song that makes me laugh every time I hear it. And, by the way, "Crocodile Tears" was funny as well.

Richard's guitar playing was out of this world - case in point: the second half of "Valerie", essentially one rousing extended guitar solo that no one else can deliver with just an acoustic guitar.

Overall, it was a fabulous concert - without any support musicians or guests, Richard kept us mesmerized for close to two hours. Can't wait to catch him again.

Richard Thompson having fun at McCabe's

Richard Thompson, a bit more serious

The set list

The stage

 

Concert #790 - Richard Thompson at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 4, 2016)

This was a concert to benefit guitarist Jerry Donahue, who a few months back suffered a career-ending stroke. The concert sold out in no time, in spite of the high ticket price. I reached the venue at 5:15 PM and that allowed me to grab a front row seat.

The evening was kicked off by Freebo, a performer I had never heard of. Later that evening, a quick Google search introduced me to a musician with quite a résumé: in addition to his long-term association with Bonnie Raitt, he has recorded with Ringo Starr, CSN and many other notables. Freebo spoke about Jerry Donahue, sang one song, then he introduced Richard Thompson.

Richard was in top vocal shape and his finger-work was tops as well - he is definitely one of those few artists who just get better with age. Borrowing from different decades of his prolific career, Richard delivered one great song after another and kept us in awe of his musical skills. Late in the show, he brought out Julian Dawson, yet another musician with superb credentials. Showing good chemistry with Richard, he provided outstanding harmonica accompaniment on two songs.

Richard Thompson at McCabe's

SET LIST

When The Spell Is Broken

Walkin' On A Wire

Josephine

Valerie

Beatnik Walking

Uninhabited Man

Dry My Tears And Move On

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

Good Things Happen To Bad People

Crocodile Tears

Woods Of Darney

I Feel So Good

Wall Of Death

Down Where The Drunkards Roll

One Door Opens

Cooksferry Queen (with Julian Dawson)

Parchman Farm (by Mose Allison) (with Julian Dawson)

Oops, I Did It Again (Encore)

Dimming Of The Day (Encore)

Richard Thompson at McCabe's

Julian Dawson at McCabe's

Freebo (Daniel Friedberg) at McCabe's

Concert #247 - Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project at UCLA's Royce Hall (April 25, 2001)

Clocking in at over five hours, this star-studded show was one of the most unforgettable events I have ever witnessed. Also one of the most exhausting ones. Shows that start at 8:00 PM don't normally end after 1:00 AM, but that was the case on April 25, 2001, at UCLA's gorgeous Royce Hall. Not that I minded.

Conceived and produced by Hal Willner, the event was dedicated to the work of Harry Smith, the compiler of the much-acclaimed "Anthology of American Folk Music", a collection first released in the 1950s, then reissued in 1997.

The house band had the tough task of supporting a large variety of styles, from blues to folk to gospel and more, performed by artists from all over the musical spectrum. Lead by two world-class guitarists, Smokey Hormel and Bill Frisell, the band did a great job adjusting from one performer to another. D.J. Bonebrake played the drums, Richard Green fiddled with the violin, while bassists Percy Heath, Larry Taylor, Adam Dorn and Eric Mingus all pitched in at different times. Ralph Carney handled the wind instruments.

Harry Smith

The evening's first song was "The House Carpenter", performed by Todd Rundgren and Robin Holcomb - she sounded great. They were followed by an endless avalanche of top-notch performers, most of whom I enjoyed very much. Unavoidably, though, there were also a few artists whose avant-garde style did not connect with me at all, as was the case with Canada's Mary Margaret O'Hara and David Thomas of Pere Ubu fame. Accompanied by Van Dyke Parks and Richard Greene, the latter sang "Way Down The Old Plank Road" and "Fishing Blues", two songs that the audience seemed to have liked more than I did.

Of all the many artists who took the stage during this marathon event, no one impressed me more than Marianne Faithfull. Her stage entrance gave me the goosebumps and the power of her personality stayed with me long after the show ended. Accompanied by Steve Earle, Todd Rundgren, David Johansen and Beck, Marianne sang "John The Revelator", "Shine On Me" and one other number.

Assisted by Britain's Eliza Carthy on fiddle and Garth Hudson of the Band on accordion, Richard Thompson sang "The Coo Coo Bird" and "Dog And Gun". He sounded great, as he always does.

Assisted by Kate and Anna McGarrigle and singing in his inimitable vocal style, Elvis Costello performed "Henry Lee" and "The Butcher Boy", then closed his set with a sequel to the traditional "Ommie Wise". Earlier, Elvis helped out the McGarrigle Sisters when they sang their version of "Ommie Wise".

Beck sang Robert Johnson's "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", "My Name Is John Johanna" and the traditional "Down On The Banks Of The Ohio", a song I first heard with Joan Baez.

Steve Earle's performance sounded a lot better to these ears than his studio work. His short set consisted of "Country Blues" and "Prison Cell Blues", two songs taken from the Harry Smith Anthology.

David Johansen of the New York Dolls was one of the revelations of the evening - he surprised me with a voice and style that were miles away from "Hot, Hot, Hot", his much-heard radio hit released in 1987 under the Buster Poindexter pseudonym. David sang "James Alley Blues", "A Lazy Farmer Boy" and one other number.

The Folksmen, who happened to be none other than the legendary Spinal Tap, raised the evening's levity level to 11 with their hilarious parody act that loosely reminded us of the Kingston Trio. Dressed up as folk musicians, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean played "Eat At Joe's'', "Blood On The Tracks" and "What A Feeling", the mega hit from "Flashdance", the movie - no obvious Harry Smith connection there.

Ireland's Gavin Friday delivered two songs in a style that had little to do with the original intent of their respective songwriters - his theatrical interpretation of "Fatal Flower Garden" and "When That Great Ship Went Down" did not connect with me. Gavin received support from composer, fellow-countryman and long-time collaborator Maurice Seezer.

Eric Mingus, the son of jazz great Charles Mingus, sang "Death Where Is Thy Sting", "John Henry Was A Little Boy" and "Mean Old World".

Singer-songwriter Bob Neuwirth sang "Little Moses" and one other song whose title I do not have. He was accompanied by Eliza Carthy and Kate & Anna McGarrigle. Unlike most of the other performers of the evening, Bob did speak about Harry Smith and his place in American music.

Accompanied by an all-female mini-choir, Richard Greene, the well-known bluegrass fiddler, delivered a great rendition of "Indian War Whoop".

Somewhat unusually, the show included a few short movie clips, with live music accompaniment provided by Adam Dorn and Philip Glass, the classical composer. 

Martha Wainwright joined Kate & Anna McGarrigle for the singing of a song or two. Martha is Kate's daughter.

My concert notes also mention the participation of Steve Young and Daniel Lanois, but I have absolutely no recollection as to what they did.

U2's Bono and the Edge were spotted among the concert attendees. 

The lights were turned on at 1:15 AM, and, as the last remaining folks were filing out, Garth Hudson played an unidentified tune on the venue's organ. I got home after 2:00 AM, totally exhausted and thoroughly happy.

Concert #194 - Newport Folk Festival (Various Artists) at the Greek Theatre (September 20, 1998)

Who would have thought that one day I could attend the Newport Folk Festival without having to leave the West Coast? Well, it happened, courtesy of some clever promoters who figured that it's more economical to bring a few musicians to Los Angeles, rather than fly five thousand fans to Newport, Rhode Island. The LA event was one of the thirteen stop of the touring festival, the first time such an unlikely tour actually took place. As it turned out, there wasn't much folk music in this seven-hour event, but we all had a grand time nonetheless.

This wasn't a typical Greek Theatre concert. The proceeding started at 3:00 PM sharp, with a short set delivered by Mark Eitzel, formerly of the American Music Club. He did not connect with me. Beausoleil's set of Cajun music was a bit longer, but just like Mark's set, it failed to grab me. Things weren't happening for me out there under LA's burning sun.

Then, as the theater was beginning to fill up, things started to improve rapidly. Bruce Cockburn, whose albums to this day I don't particularly enjoy, knocked me out with a powerful set that, as far as I was concerned, came out of nowhere. With his great songs, "Night Train" in particular, strong vocals and energetic guitar playing, Bruce's performance was a huge and totally unexpected revelation.

Bruce Cockburn's set list

Mistress Of Storms

Lovers In A Dangerous Time

Stolen Land

Night Train

Creation Dream

Bruce Cockburn

Richard Thompson's solo set was one of the highlights of this musical marathon. Not content with just playing crowd-pleasing old favorites, Richard threw into the mix three brand new songs from "Mock Tudor", his not-yet-released upcoming album. His passionate delivery of two of those songs, "Dry My Tears And Move On" and "Bathsheba Smiles" was something to behold and I will never forget how he kept the crowd of thousands under his spell with nothing but an acoustic guitar. But I was quite disappointed by the brevity of Richard's set - hard to believe, but the organizers had him on the stage for only twenty-five minutes.

Richard Thompson's set list

Sights And Sounds Of London Town

Bathsheba Smiles

I Feel So Good

The Ghost Of You Walks

1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Dry My Tears And Move On

Richard Thompson

John Hiatt was another huge revelation. In spite of his critical acclaim, I had had some trouble earlier embracing his recorded music, but his live performance that I witnessed at the Greek Theatre changed all that. Exuding joy and power, John made an instant fan out of me, and today, fifteen years later, I still am. I don't have a set list, but I recall "Thing Called Love" and "Cry Love" among the songs he played that night.

John Hiatt

Marc Cohn was yet another unexpected surprise. At the time of the show, I only knew "Walking In Memphis", his first hit, and I only knew it superficially. Marc's super-soulful delivery of that song took me by surprise and I've been a fan ever since.

Marc Cohn

There was no obvious connection between traditional folk music and the set performed by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, but they were absolutely sensational. Individually and collectively, they were all brilliant. Bela was anything but an attention hog, as he gave plenty of time to his band mates to show what they could do. I was most impressed with bassist Victor Wooten, whose two extended solos brought us to our feet. Their high-tech songs, such as "Communication", were strikingly unconventional, yet instantly enjoyable.

Bela Fleck (2nd from right) & the Flecktones

Fronted by Jeff Tweedy, country-rock outfit Wilco delivered a surprisingly good set. Among others, they played "Christ For President" (music by Jeff Tweedy, words by Woody Guthrie). Wilco was yet another example of an act whose live performance appealed to me a lot better than their studio work.

Wilco's set list

 James Alley Blues

Christ For President

Hesitating Beauty

When The Roses Bloom Again

New Madrid

She's A Jar

Forget The Flowers

California Stars

Wilco

Surprisingly, Joan Baez was not given the honor of closing the show, as I had thought would be the case. Her set included a few songs from the repertoire of much younger artists, such as Ireland's Sinead Lohan and the Indigo Girls, the American folk duo. She also sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". 

Joan Baez

Closing the show, Nanci Griffith delivered an outstanding set that included Richard Thompson's "Wall Of Death", with the author watching from the wings, and an exhilarating rendition of "If I Had A Hammer", which quickly turned into a sing-along. Nanci's performance was exceptionally strong, which made me forgive the organizers for having chosen her as the final act of the evening.

Nanci Griffith

Overall, it was a fabulous evening that opened my appetite for a number of musicians who had previously not connected with me.

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