Concert #831 - Shelby Lynne at McCabe's Guitar Shop (June 8, 2018)

This was my third time to see Shelby Lynne in a headlining role. This time she came out with string virtuoso Ben Peeler and together they put on a good show that had only one fault, albeit a glaring one: no Dusty Springfield covers. If you are like me, you enjoy Shelby Lynne's recordings, but none as much as her 2008 album, "Just A Little Lovin'", which consists of nothing but gorgeous Dusty Springfield covers. Still, Shelby performed many of her better-known songs, so I shouldn't be complaining - just listening to her beautiful voice and singing style in the intimate concert room of my favorite venue amounted to a great evening.

Shelby Lynne at McCabe's

Shelby Lynne at McCabe's

Ben Peeler at McCabe's

The end of the show

The set list

Concerts #788 & 789 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 2-3, 2016)

Not unexpectedly, Jackshit's annual Christmas concerts at McCabe's sold out in about ten minutes and I'm happy to say that I was able to get a ticket for each of the two shows. Here are some of my impressions, as they spring to mind one week after the event.

- The set list was pretty much in line with their previous shows. A few new songs were included, such as David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes", Bob Dylan's "Well, Well, Well" and "Goddamn Lonely Love" from the repertoire of the Drive-By Truckers.

- Unannounced guests: Jackson Browne on the first night and Shelby Lynne on Day 2.

- Introduced as Browne Shit, Jackson sang "The King Is Gone", "A Child In These Hills", "Call It A Loan", "Running On Empty", "Take It Easy" and "Our Lady Of The Well"

- Shelby Lynne sang "Leaving", "Wall In Your Heart" and "Silver Bells". She sounded great.

- Showing great composure and quite a bit of talent, Stella McCallum delivered a surprisingly good rendition of Priscilla Ahn's "All You've Got To Do Is Fall In Love". Stella is guitarist Val McCallum's daughter. My guess is that she can't be older than five, maybe six.

- It seems that "Ugly And Slouchy" and its delightful rock & roll medley has once again become a permanent fixture of the band's set list. The Christmas version of the medley included "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", sung by Val with a deep voice.

- There were a few songs that got played on one night only: Randy Newman's "Louisiana", "Bull Rider", "Goddamn Lonely Love", "Ghost Riders In The Sky" and Johnny Cash's "Big River".

- Of all the encores played by the band over the years, "Pretty Polly" is the absolute best.

- All band members, Val in particular, were on fire.

- These two shows brought my Jackshit concert count to thirty-seven. The first time I saw them was in November 2005, when they knocked me out and made a fan-for-life out of me.

Val McCallum at McCabe's

Dave Faragher at McCabe's

Pete Thomas at McCabe's

Val McCallum & Jackson Browne at McCabe's

Val McCallum & Jackson Browne at McCabe's

Val McCallum & Shelby Lynne at McCabe's

Shelby Lynne at McCabe's

Shelby Lynne at McCabe's

Jackshit at McCabe's

The concert room

Val McCallum's guitars

The set list (December 2)

The set list (December 3)

Val McCallum chatting with friends after the show

Pete Thomas after the show

Dave Faragher after the show

Jackshit, with Jackson Browne and Stella McCallum after the show

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Concert #607 - Shelby Lynne at McCabe's Guitar Shop (October 14, 2011)

This was the first of her two sold-out shows at McCabe's, but this time - unlike in July 2010 - there was no Val McCallum to accompany her. Yes, I did miss Val's devilishly good guitar playing, but other than that, Shelby's solo performance was near-perfect and - had she included just one song from her Dusty Springfield tribute album - I would have written "absolutely perfect".

Shelby's focus was on "Revelation Road", her newly released album. Using two acoustic guitars and never sitting down, she sang each and every song from the album - you may say that's a lot of new songs delivered in quick succession, but no one had a problem with that - the songs were all good.

Shelby's voice is a separate chapter in itself. I can't think of any other singer who can match the purity and sweetness of her voice. I particularly love the goosebumps-producing lower half of her vocal range.

The crowd laughed out loud when, a couple of times during the show, Shelby talked about her somewhat dysfunctional family and how that benefited her songwriting.

Surprisingly, Shelby had her own personal roadie who popped in every time she switched guitars ... roadies handling acoustic guitars ... now that's something you don't often see at McCabe's! There were three cameramen as well, so one fine day we may get to see the whole show on DVD, that would be nice.

Shelby Lynne at McCabe's

 After the new album was out of the way, it was time for a bunch of Shelby's better known songs. The crowd's best response came after her stellar delivery of "Old Dog", "Leavin'" and "Where I'm From", which lead to two well-deserved standing ovations.

The set list

Autographed concert poster

Concert Director Lincoln Myerson welcoming the first fans

Shelby Lynne T-shirts

Concert #563 - Shelby Lynne at McCabe's Guitar Shop (July 17, 2010)

Surprisingly, it took a few weeks for the show to sell out, and that has only one possible explanation - her earlier show at the Roxy, just a few weeks before her gig at McCabe's.

Shelby reached McCabe's just minutes before show time, so she took the stage without a proper sound check. But veteran sound engineer Wayne Griffith took care of business, as usual, and the sound was just fine. Also as usual, I sat in the front row, a spot I typically earn by arriving early and standing in line. My four guests were not thrilled about the waiting part, but in the end it was all forgotten, thanks to yet another perfect concert at McCabe's.

Shelby's voice is divine. As pure and sweet as Patsy Cline's. Also full of feeling, passion, sadness, or whatever else she sings about. Her set consisted primarily of songs from her latest album, "Tears, Lies and Albis", in my opinion her best album ever, better even than "Just A Little Lovin'", her album of Dusty Springfield covers. Shelby was not only the producer of her new album - she also wrote every song, wrote all the words, sang every song, played some guitar, then released the finished product on her own record label. Enough said.

Shelby was accompanied on acoustic guitar by Val McCallum, whom I had seen many times before, but never in an all-acoustic show. The Shelby-Val combination worked to perfection, as one would expect from professionals who are not only musical collaborators, but also personal friends.

Val McCallum

Picking the highlights of the show is no easy task, but if pressed, I'd pick "Family Tree", "Old #7" and "Old Dog".

The stage just before showtime