Concert #704 - Steve Forbert at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 7, 2014)

Steve Forbert is one of those performers whose concerts I have attended many times in the past, so I know exactly what to expect from his next show and the one after that. So why do I keep going back to see him as often as I do? The answer is simple: there aren't too many singer-songwriters out there quite as prolific and as talented as Steve. He's been cranking out quality material for a few decades now and, based on what I saw Friday night at McCabe's, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Friday night, Steve put on an outstanding show that included old gems as well as newer songs. In terms of quality, the new material was right up there with his older music and that says a lot about Steve's songwriting. Some of the best numbers of the evening - "All I Need To Do", "That'd Be Alright" and "Baby I Know" - came from "Over With You", his most recent studio album, released not fewer than thirty-four years after his acclaimed 1978 debut.

Steve opened the show with "It's Been A Long Time", which transitioned seamlessly into "Something's Got A Hold On Me". As expected, he threw in a few songs he did not write, namely Jimmie Rodgers' "My Blue-Eyed Jane" and "Waiting For A Train". He also had some fun with Nilsson's "Coconut", from which he sang a few amusing lines.

Steve Forbert at McCabe's

PARTIAL SET LIST

It's Been A Long Time

Wild As The Wind (Ode to Rick Danko)

Romeo's Tune

Tonight I Feel So Far Away From Home

Going Down To Laurel

The Oils Song

Midsummer Night's Toast

What Kinda Guy

It Sure Was Better Back Then

You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play

There's Everybody Else (And Then There's You)

Blackbird Tune

The Sweet Love That You Give

Something's Got A Hold On Me

All I Need To Do

That'd Be Alright

Baby I Know

The Beast Of Ballyhoo

Thirty More Years

My Blue-Eyed Jane

Waiting For A Train

Throughout the evening, Steve Forbert's performance was "vintage Steve Forbert", complete with his unique vocals, idiosyncratic harmonica playing and total immersion into his music. His guitar playing was as good as ever. There was no predetermined set list and he played quite a few audience requests. A couple of times during the show, he asked the crowd to sing along and I must say the crowd did very well.

Overall, I had a great time and I know that it won't be long before I see Steve again.

Steve Forbert saying good night to his fans

The evening kicked off with an excellent, but sadly short set delivered by Eric Brace and Peter Cooper, two musicians who most definitely deserve a wider audience. They write outstanding songs, sound great together and, to top it all off, have pleasant personalities as well. Most of the songs they sang came from their recent CD titled "The Comeback Album". I liked everything they played, especially "Ancient History", "Nobody Knows" and "Wait A Minute". The latter, an old tune from the repertoire of the Seldom Scene, may have been their set's only song they did not write.

Eric Brace (right) and Peter Cooper at McCabe's

Eric and Peter's set list

Steve Forbert merchandise for sale

Concerts #553, 455, 412, 402, 346 - Steve Forbert at McCabe's Guitar Shop and The Getty (October 9, 2004 - April 17, 2010)

Look up "underrated" in any dictionary and chances are you will find Steve Forbert's portrait there. Not too many people know of him. Radio doesn't play him, TV likewise. He even went under my own radar for many years, until October 2004, when pushed by an irresistible "McCabe's itch", I went to my favorite venue to see Steve Forbert for the first time. Being a latecomer to Steve's music, I only knew "Romeo's Tune" at that time and that was one of the two songs I remember he played that night, the other one was "The Oil Song", complete with crowd participation. The concert was good, but Steve Forbert's talent was yet to hit me full blast.

On May 5, 2006, I went with my better half to the Getty Center's Harold M. Williams Auditorium, where Steve appeared in a concert that was free for the public. Once again, I liked his songs very much and at that point I started to actively look for more and more of his music - www.allofmp3.com was a good source, which at that time was Russia's best known and rather questionable download site. One after the other, I discovered dozens of incredibly good songs that, at least in my mind, placed Steve Forbert in the highest class of American singer-songwriters. Occasionally, I even called him a musical genius, possibly an exaggeration, but maybe no

Here's a true gem: Steve Forbert's "On The Streets Of This Town":

I went back to McCabe's to catch Steve in action a few more times, first on July 22, 2006, then on December 1, 2007 and again on April 17, 2010. Each of these shows were totally satisfying. Steve appeared solo every time, he never had a guest or even a back-up musician, it was always just him, with his acoustic guitar and a mouth harmonica. He delivered his songs with passion and abandonment and never forgot to thank the crowd for the applause.

A typical set had a few newer songs mixed with older gems, as well as requests shouted out by his fans - I don't recall Steve ever having had a predetermined song list.

Some of the songs I heard Steve sing live

Good Planets Are Hard To Find
Goin' Down To Laurel
Baghdad Dream
Miss the Mississippi and You
Baby Don't
The American In Me
What Kinda Guy
Romeo's Tune

There's Everybody Else (And Then There's You)
It Sure Was Better Back Then

The Oil Song

You Cannot Win (If You Do Not Play) 

In The Jailhouse Now

Steve mingles with his fans after every show, at least that's what he always does at McCabe's. After his December 2007 concert, I got to shake his hand and get his autograph as well.

Steve Forbert's autograph (McCabe's Guitar Shop, December 1, 2007)

Here's Steve Forbert in an HD video of "Thirty More Years":