CONCERT OVERLOAD: Shawn Mullins

October 22, 2017

Concert #810 - Shawn Mullins at McCabe's Guitar Shop (October 15, 2017)

In 2013, when I first saw Shawn Mullins in concert, he surprised me with a show that had it all - intensity, good songs, strong vocals and great guitar playing - and since then I had been wanting to simply relive that experience. Well, it took a few years, but last Sunday I finally had my second encounter with Shawn and let me tell you from the get-go, he did not disappoint.

The evening started without an official introduction: with the lights still on, Shawn took the stage to announce an opening set by his musical cohort, Radoslav Lorkovic. Originally from Croatia, Radoslav is a high-caliber piano player who can also sing and play the accordion. I had seen him before - in 2008, he accompanied the great Odetta, also at McCabe's - and I distinctly remember Odetta taking pride in pronouncing his name without having to read it from a hand-written note.
Radoslav's opening set put on display his versatile piano playing skills, but was maybe one song too long.

Shawn took the stage just before 9 PM, which is a bit late for a Sunday show. With his unmistakable voice and intense delivery, he sang mostly his own songs, but threw in two covers as well: "The House Of The Rising Song" and "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore", a song I first heard with Michelle Shocked, then later with Johnny Cash. Shawn's self-penned songs were very good, some had good hooks, but none quite as catchy as the refrain of "Lullaby", his major hit from years ago. The songs I liked the most were "California", "Beautiful Wreck" and "Shimmer".

Throughout the concert, Shawn was accompanied by Radoslav - or Rad, as Shawn called him - and a bassist whose name I sadly did not catch. Rad played the piano, accordion and keyboards. Overall, it was a good show.

Shawn Mullins at McCabe's

Shawn directing Radoslav to the piano

Shawn & Radoslav at McCabe's

High intensity on the stage

Shawn Mullins at McCabe's

Shawn and his bassist (name?) at McCabe's

The set list

The stage

T-shirt for sale

February 17, 2013

Concert #665 - Shawn Mullins at McCabe's Guitar Shop (February 16, 2013)

Every so often I go to a concert not knowing what to expect, mostly because of my not having done my homework. Case in point: Shawn Mullins. Like most everybody else, I became aware of Shawn in the late nineties, when his breakthrough hit "Lullaby" was all over the radio. I liked the song, but for reasons unexplained, I never got deeper into his music. I guess I thought of him as just another musician who had a good song but not much else. Boy, was I wrong, and it took me more than a decade to find out.

In my eyes, anyone who's booked to play McCabe's gets an instant credibility bump. At only twenty bucks a ticket, seeing Shawn was not an expensive proposition, so I bought myself a ticket. While waiting in line to get in, I met Charlie and Marsha, a couple who flew in from Arizona just to see Shawn's concert. We had a nice long chat, but when asked about my favorite Shawn Mullins song, all I could do was mention "Lullaby", before pleading ignorance about everything else.

The show started with an opening set by Max Gomez, a friend and musical collaborator of the headliner. Typically I write about opening acts at the end of my blog entries, but for Max I'll make a rare, but well-deserved exception. His forty-five minute set was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. He can sing, he can write and yes, he can play the guitar. Has a nice personality, too. I assume he wrote most of the songs, except of course for the set-opening "Key To The Highway", the classic blues number. My favorites were "Ball And Chain" and "Run From You", two songs that sound exceptionally good in a live setting. In a classy gesture of support, Shawn Mullins joined Max for the singing of "Never Say Never". Later in the show, Jeff Trott took the stage to provide mandolin accompaniment on one of Max's songs. After I got home, I googled Jeff and found some interesting things about him (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jeff-trott-mn0000814242)

Max Gomez at McCabe's

Shawn's set was one of the best I've ever seen at McCabe's, bar none. No YouTube video and no studio recording come even close to conveying what Shawn brings to the stage. As the consummate live performer that he is, Shawn shines in every category: songwriting, singing, lyrics, guitar playing, personality, intensity, sense of humor and last, but certainly not least, humility.

I was truly taken by Shawn's soulful and relentlessly intense set. Most performers slow down a couple of times during their performance in order to rest their vocal cords, but not Shawn. Last night at McCabe's, he just went on and on, delivering one great song after another, with sweat running down his face and giving it all he had. Very impressive.

Shawn Mullins at McCabe's

Shawn came out with a two-man band that included Davis Causey on electric guitar and bassist Tom Ryan. I liked Tom's playing and strong backup vocals, but Davis was just out of this world. To these eyes and ears, Davis was the embodiment of the perfect support musician, fully capable of shining on his own, taking a few moments to strut his stuff, but doing it always in a tasteful and understated way that wasn't meant to outshine the main act. His guitar playing was superb, so no wonder that many of the evening's spontaneous rounds of applause came in direct response to his solos and I really enjoyed observing the appreciative look on his face. I've seen this formula before - the combination of a lead singer who picks and strums an acoustic guitar while being accompanied by an accomplished electric guitar player works for me every time.

Shawn Mullins (right) and Davis Causey

Returning the favor, Max Gomez came back to sing two songs with Shawn and the second one they sang together, "Love Will Find A Way", was an absolute gem.

Here are some of the songs I liked the most: "Catoosa County", "California", "Cold Black Heart", "Ghost Of Johnny Cash", "Beautiful Wreck", "The House Of The Rising Sun", but then again, there were no weak songs last night at McCabe's.

Davis' set list

Shawn's set list

All-in-all, I had a heck of a good time last night at McCabe's. I showed up hoping to be pleasantly surprised at best, but Shawn's performance did a lot more than just surprise me: he surpassed my most optimistic expectations by a landslide.