Concert #634 - Susanna Hoffs at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 28, 2012)

At the grandmotherly age of fifty-three, Susanna Hoffs looked and sounded last night at McCabe's as un-grandmotherly as it gets. Wearing a short dress, lots of smiles and no extra pounds, she delivered a pleasant set that included new songs, old Bangles gems, as well as a few well-chosen covers. The whole affair was quite casual, one might say exceedingly casual, which prompted my friend Bill to describe the show as a "paid rehearsal", a statement I suspect he made half in jest, half serious. I had no problem with the loose format of the evening, something that is not at all uncommon when a larger group of musicians assemble with little notice before a one-off event.

Susanna's band included guitarist-extraordinaire Val McCallum on acoustic and electric guitars, bassist Derrick Anderson, drummer Jim Laspesa, percussionist John Calacci and guitarist Andrew Brassell, her new Nashville-based musical collaborator. Guitarist Dennis Taylor joined the band toward the end of the show, he sounded great and so did everyone else.

I liked most of Susanna's new songs, which I believe will be on her soon-to-be-released third solo album titled "Someday". Mitchell Froom, the album producer, was also present last night, but did not take the stage.

Age has done little to change Susanna's vocal abilities. Her still-Banglesque voice was the unmistakable star of the evening and so was her cheerfulness and charm. Exceptionally good was her song selection, too. Unlike other artists, Susanna did not deliver her new songs all at once. Instead, she combined them with well-known oldies and old Bangles tunes - this added color to her show and kept everyone sprinting along. Here's one of the two set lists that were left on the stage floor after the show:

Note the presence of "All I've Got To Do" and "Rain", two Lennon-McCartney songs, the former sounding the best. I also liked the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning", Rockpile's catchy "Teacher, Teacher" and "All I Want", the semi-hit of the Lightning Seeds.

Susanna Hoffs at McCabe's

Susanna Hoffs & Andrew Brassell at McCabe's

Susanna Hoffs, with Derrick Anderson and Jim Laspesa

Quite predictably, longtime collaborator Matthew Sweet took the stage at the end of the show to lend his voice to the singing of "Rain" and Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl".

Matthew Sweet

 Here's the other set list I was able to photograph after the show:

An alternate set list left on stage after the show

The show was opened by Englishman John Wicks, formerly of the Records. Surprisingly, he did not sing "Starry Eyes", the song that brought the Records their only hit. John's five-song set was just right in terms of length. The song that I liked the best was the set-closing "Chasing Angels".

John Wicks at McCabe's

Autographed Susanna Hoffs posters ($25 each)

Hiroshi and Paul, frequent McCabe's concert goers

People lining up for Susanna's second show (10 PM)

Concert #625 - The Shills, with guest Susanna Hoffs, at the Cinema Bar (February 11, 2012)

Only in LA. Where else would you have an internationally known musician join an amateur band, sing with them for almost a full hour in front of no more than fifty people and have fun in the process, too? As I said, the answer is: Only in LA. In this case, the amateur band was the Shills, while the internationally known musician was none other than the lovely Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles.

Calling the Shills "an amateur band" requires a clarification before I go any further. Amateur could mean "lacking the skill of a professional". That description does not apply to the Shills. Amateur could also mean "being engaged in an art form as a pastime, rather than as a profession" and that is precisely the case with the Shills.

I went to the Cinema Bar immediately after the Jackshit concert at McCabe's, where Susanna Hoffs made an unannounced appearance that got us all excited. Normally I go straight home after a concert, but with my Better Half out of town, I decided to show my support for Lincoln Myerson's band, the Shills. Lincoln, as you may know, is the Concert Director at McCabe's Guitar Shop, the best concert venue in the Universe.

The Shills are:

Shaun Mason - Guitar & vocal

Bradley Kesden - Guitar & vocal

Lincoln Myerson - Bass & vocal

Rob Sherman - Piano

Julia St Pierre - Backing vocal

Steve Mugalian - Drums (not the regular drummer of the Shills)

The Shills are a cover band that draws from at least three decades of music, starting with the sixties. Individually and collectively, they sound quite good. The fact that they have more than just one vocalist is one of their strengths and so is their repertoire, which mixes well-known songs with obscure ones. Overall, I found the band to be listenable and entertaining.

A few songs into the second set of the Shills, in walked Susanna Hoffs and a gentleman, possibly her manager. Our jaws dropped. A few minutes later she joined the band and stayed up there on the stage for the next fifty minutes or so. She sang the lead vocals on Lulu's "To Sir With Love" and Linda Ronstadt's "Different Drum", both were great. With nothing prearranged, everything had to be improvised right there on the spot - Lincoln and Bradley would suggest songs, then Susanna would say whether she preferred singing, playing the guitar or just shaking her tambourine. There was lots of laughter on the stage and the crowd had fun, too.

Susanna Hoffs & the Shills performing "To Sir With Love"

Susanna Hoffs & Rob Sherman

Susanna Hoffs, Bradley Kesden (center) & Lincoln Myerson

Susanna Hoffs

Rob Sherman, Susanna Hoffs and Steve Mugalian

Susanna Hoffs, Bradley Kesden (center) & Lincoln Myerson

The set list

After Susanna Hoffs left the venue, the band went on for a few more songs, then they called it a day. It was way past midnight, but no one cared - we had just witnessed something truly rare, something that could not have happened without the love of music of all involved.

Concert #624 - Jackshit at McCabe's Guitar Shop (February 11, 2012)

People often question my sanity when they hear how many times I've seen Jackshit live in concert. I don't blame them, as sometimes I do the questioning myself. Saturday night I saw Jackshit for the twenty-fifth time, a number that kinda calls for a celebration, yet I will remember the evening for a different milestone. 

Saturday night I brought along my Jackshit Guest No. 100. That's right, over the years I have brought with me one hundred otherwise sane folks to see a band no one has ever heard of. So how did I manage the feat? Hard work, that's how. I spent countless hours spreading the word, burning sampler CDs, emailing friends, reminding friends, in a nut-shell, pestering friends, but I did it in good faith, in an attempt to give them the same musical pleasures I have been getting from this unbelievable trio.

Many of my guests have become regular attendees - Steve, the Other Steve, John, Sean, Tony and others - and I could not be happier for having introduced them to the wonderful world of Jackshit. 

The honor of being my "Jackshit Guest No. 100" went to Eric E, a friend and co-worker who had resisted my relentless "sales pitches" for about five years. Scroll down to see a photo of Eric at McCabe's, waiting for the band to come out.

About the show: it was one of the best Jackshit concerts I've ever seen, and there haven't been any bad ones. Val McCallum was on fire - I thought his guitar playing was better than ever, exceptionally inventive and powerful. Dave Faragher's one-liners were some of his finest and he played his bass like no one else. The usually more reserved Pete Thomas was in a giggly mood and I enjoyed watching him having a good time. His drumming on "I'm Coming Home" made me scream, but then what else is new?

Beau & Shorty at McCabe's (February 11, 2012)

There were a few new songs, among them "Good Morning", the Sgt. Pepper gem, and "Those Were The Days", the old Cream song, delivered by the band during their two-song encore with some twisted lyrics of their own. Both sounded great. "Pretty Polly" came back after a long absence - the extended instrumental ending of the song was one of the highlights of the show. Pete sang "Older Guys".

The set list (not followed to the letter)

The Boys From Cochtotin did not play "2x4" nor "Long Black Veil", a slight detour from their own printed set list.

Once again, the band had a surprise guest. Inexplicably introduced as "Christina", the guest turned out to be the lovely Susanna Hoffs, the main voice of the Bangles, who - by the way - are still active. Susanna sang Lulu's "To Sir With Love" and Prince's "Manic Monday". Surprisingly, the former sounded better than the latter. Susanna's presence on the stage gave all of us a massive thrill.

Unannounced guest Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles

Val McCallum & Susanna Hoffs

Once again, the Shit Horns came out of the blue to help out on "Ring Of Fire" and "The Lonely Bull". They are always fun to watch. I laughed out loud when Val introduced the male half of the trumpet-wielding duo as "Horny Shit".

Shorty & the female half of the Shit Horns

Beau & the male half of the Shit Horns

Eric, my Jackshit-Guest-No. 100 (left) & repeat-customer Sean

Jackshit will be back at McCabe's on April 1st and, at the risk of sounding redundant, let me tell you that I'll be there.