Concert #837 - Bob Neuwirth at McCabe's Guitar Shop (July 14, 2018)

This was my first time to see Bob Neuwirth as a headliner, after having seen him a number of times as a participant in events featuring multiple artist. I went to the show hoping to see a few unannounced guests, hear some fun stories, listen to a few good songs and I'm happy to say that, in all respects, my expectations were met.

Anchored by multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield, Bob's band also included Steven Soles (guitar), Tony Gilkyson (guitar) and Bob Thiele, Jr. (piano, guitar). They provided great support throughout the evening. Later in the show, it was time for the band members to have their own solo moments: Tony sang "Rattlesnake Boy", Bob Thiele delivered "What A Wonderful World", a song written by his father and Steven sang a love song whose title I did not catch.

While affected by the passage of time, Bob Neuwirth's singing voice still sounded pretty good for someone in his eightieth year of existence. He played without a set list and even though I was unfamiliar with most of Bob's songs, I could easily tell that his songwriting was and still is top-notch.

The evening's surprise guest turned out to be the legendary T Bone Burnett who was in good spirits and seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit. I first saw him almost thirty years ago, also at McCabe's, and I must say that his voice has remained pretty much unchanged, in spite of the passage of time.

The evening kicked-off with an exceptionally good set delivered by Don Heffington and his small band. I had seen him many times before, but always as a percussionist, so I had no idea that he could write great songs and also deliver them as well as he did. I liked all of his songs and was knocked out by Timothy Young, Don's guitarist for the evening. I enjoyed tremendously watching Tim in action.

Bob Neuwirth at McCabe's

L to R: Steven Soles, T Bone Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, David Mansfield

T Bone Burnett at McCabe's

Tony Gilkyson at McCabe's

Bob Thiele, Jr. at McCabe's

David Mansfield at McCabe's

Bob Neuwirth thanking the crowd

Don Heffington at McCabe's

Timothy Young at McCabe's

Don Heffington's set list

The stage

Concerts #388, 523 - Eliza Gilkyson at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 21, 2006 - October 10, 2009)

Eliza Gilkyson is yet another outstanding artist whose talent is inversely proportional with her name recognition. Come to think of it, I myself am guilty of being a latecomer to Eliza's music, but once I got started, there was no going back.

My first encounter with Eliza took place in January 2006 and the first thing that comes to mind when I think of that concert is the F-Bomb that she dropped right there on stage. Fine ladies who write beautiful lyrics and make gorgeous music needn't resort to bad language and that's just my opinion. Well, it happened only once, and otherwise the show was clean and quite good.

She sang many songs from her just-released album "Paradise Hotel", among them "Jedidiah 1777", "Man Of God", Borderline" and "Bellarosa". She spoke lovingly about her father, Terry Gilkyson, and sang "The Bare Necessities", one of his better-known songs.

Her show in October 2009 was just as good. Eliza's performance was warm and gentle, her voice was in perfect shape and the songs were all great. Nina Gerber accompanied her on guitar throughout the show. Brother Tony was there as well to help out on guitar and Van Dyke Parks assisted on piano. Eliza sang "Rare Bird and "Clever Disguise", both from her 2008 album titled "Beautiful World". There were no F-words this time.

Eliza & Tony Gilkyson

The McCabe's crowd, just before the show

Concert #568 - Eliza Gilkyson at McCabe's Guitar Shop (September 17, 2010)

Eliza's concert at McCabe's was a bit of a family affair, with son Cisco Ryder and brother Tony Gilkyson providing accompaniment on drums and guitar, respectively. Father Terry Gilkyson was present as well, albeit only in spirit. Eliza spoke with pride and humor about her late father, a prolific songwriter whose songs I've known since I was fourteen.

During the intermission, I walked up to Eliza and asked her whether Terry's "Greenfields" was on her set list. It wasn't, came the reply, but obligingly, she sang the song for me later in her set and that was very special. After the show, I once again got close to Eliza and thanked her for having taken my request - her response was a wide and warm smile and an approving head nod. Very nice.

Eliza Gilkyson, with brother Tony and son Cisco

Overall, the show was very enjoyable. Eliza writes quality songs, her voice is still good, has fun stories to share and certainly knows how to engage an audience into a sing-along.

I went to the show with Saphire, a co-worker and Eliza fan, and her husband Michael, who just came along for the ride. Saphire loved the show, Michael survived the experience.

Michael and Saphire

Eliza Gilkyson and Saphire