Concert #699 - The Doyle & Debbie Show at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 31, 2014)

Friday night's concert at McCabe's was yet another proof that YouTube videos and the real world are two different things. The videos I checked out before buying my ticket may have been convincing enough to make me click on the "Buy" button, but they didn't nearly prepare me for the full experience of watching the Doyle and Debbie Show in a live setting. Bruce Arntson and Jenny Littleton, aka Doyle & Debbie, put on an outstanding performance that brought everyone to their feet at the end of the show.

Introduced by Concert Director Lincoln Myerson as a theatrical production, the show was just that, as it came complete with colorful stage decoration, a plot (sort of) and lots of role playing, all built around Bruce Arntson's original country & western compositions. This may all sound like something that could get old pretty fast, but it didn't. The show was very well paced from start to finish and everything about it - the songs, the humor, the delivery - was top notch.

Bruce Arntson and Jenny Littleton, aka Doyle & Debbie, at McCabe's

Bruce Arntson's songwriting is remarkable - everything I heard Friday night sounded as good as anything one would hear on country radio, but don't expect to find Bruce's "When You're Screwing Other Women (Think Of Me)" and "I Ain't No Homo" in any radio station's heavy rotation. Or any other rotation, for that matter. Indeed, the show had plenty of sexual themes and situations, but there was nothing cheap and vulgar there, just lots of fun.

PARTIAL SET LIST

Blue Stretch Pants

I Ain't No Homo

Barefoot And Pregnant

For The Children

When You're Screwing Other Women (Think Of Me)

ABCs Of Love

Fat Women In Trailers

Snowbanks Of Life

Whine Whine Twang Twang

God Loves America Best

Daddy's Hair

If you're like me, you are amused in a loving way by the country music's many clichés. Friday night's show featured a veritable smorgasbord of C&W clichés, cleverly built into each and every song to good comedic effect, with Doyle and Debbie's blatantly over-the-top outfits just adding to the fun.

Jenny Littleton singing "ABCs Of Love" at McCabe's

As I was watching the show, the music of a number of country artists sprang to mind, among them George Jones, Mel Tillis, Jerry Reed and Lee Greenwood, whose "God Bless The USA" was the obvious inspiration behind Doyle and Debbie's utterly funny "God Loves America Best".

The show had many memorable moments. It will be hard to forget Bruce Arntson's frenetic delivery of "Fat Women In Trailers" and especially "Daddy's Hair", which came complete with faux-blood and gun shots. Likewise, Jenny Littleton performance of the witty "ABCs Of Love" will be hard to erase from my memory.

Doyle & Debbie saying goodbye

The stage

Concert Director Lincoln Myerson announcing the show

Concert #698 - Willy Mason at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 17, 2014)

Friday night I went to McCabe's to see and hear Willy Mason and Tom Brosseau, two younger artists I knew little about. Unfortunately, the evening did not start well for me. Being bothered by a bad cough and not wanting to disturb the other spectators, I left the room very early during Tom's opening set and from that point on, I watched the show from the side, from where I could easily step away in case of another cough attack.

No doubt, Willy Mason has got talent. I liked his guitar playing - not flashy, yet effective  - and I liked his singing as well. At times, his vocals reminded me of Mark Knopfler, sort of. Willy's songwriting is also good, even very good - I can't say I heard a single bad song during his entire set. But taken as a whole, Willy's show was a bit deficient in the "variety" department, with most songs delivered in the same vocal style and pretty much the same tempo.

A few songs stood out at the first listen, among them "I Got Gold", "Restless Fugitive" and "Tic Tac Toe", a funny little ditty written by Willy's father.

Willy Mason at McCabe's

Critically acclaimed  singer Jesca Hoop joined Willy for the singing of four songs. I would have liked for Jesca to take the vocal reigns for at least one song, maybe perform one of her own numbers, but her role was limited strictly to harmonizing. Of the four songs they sang together, I liked "Talk Me Down" the best.

Willy Mason and Jesca Hoop at McCabe's

Tom Brosseau's opening set revealed a talented and highly likeable performer, whose seemingly effortless singing style appealed to me very much. What a pitty that, while he was delivering most of his fine set, I was coughing my heart out in the venue's restroom ...

Tom Brosseau at McCabe's

The stage

Concert poster

Sign in the window at McCabe's (showing an incorrect date)

Concert #696 - The Seattle Symphony at the Benaroya Hall (Seattle) (December 28, 2013)

My final concert of the year turned out to be a rare incursion into the world of classical music, and just as rare, the event took place away from our home turf of Southern California. We often travel to America's North-West to spend time with the Seattle Branch of our family, so attending a concert there was bound to happen, sooner or later. Interestingly enough though, my first-ever concert in Seattle did not take place at the Triple Door, where most of my favorite musicians tend to appear, but at the Benaroya Hall's Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, just a short walk away. Our thanks go out to Todd and Lynn, who gifted us their tickets and, in doing so, gave us an evening that would be hard to top.

My Better Half and I had seats in a box located directly above the right side of the stage. From there, we had an unobstructed and up-close view of each and every member of the orchestra. On top of that, my initial expectations of bad sound turned out to be totally unfounded - in spite of being seated on the side of stage, I did experience the full force of the orchestra while being able to clearly hear every single instrument during their respective solos.
 

Our box is marked "HERE"

The auditorium, as seen from our box

The evening started with Brahms' "Variations On A Theme Of Joseph Haydn", a piece of music consisting of  multiple parts, each providing a new and different approach to Haydn's native theme. In terms of melody and rhythm, this piece had plenty of variety and although I had not heard it before, I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable.

Excerpt from the concert program

The second part of the event consisted of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, a piece of music I knew decently well.

Excerpt from the concert program

Hearing Beethoven's 9th live was quite an experience. The music hit me real hard, especially the often-heard "Ode To Joy" as well as the other parts that I knew. The Seattle Symphony Chorale impressed me quite a bit with their power and precision. I also enjoyed focusing on the timpani and wind instrument players.

The singers 

Nathalie Paulin (sopran)

Angela Niederloh (mezzo-soprano)

Brendan Tuohy (tenor)

Charles Robert Stephens (baritone)

The guest conductor of the evening was Carlos Kalmar, the long-time music director of Portland's Oregon Symphony. We had never seen a conductor in action from such a favorable angle, so we certainly enjoyed sitting where we sat. Also, being so close afforded us a good view of his intense face - observing his many facial expressions was a special treat for us.

Conductor Carlos Kalmar

The end of the concert

The venue during intermission

Orchestra members getting ready 

The Benaroya Hall (Downtown Seattle)

The main lobby during intermission

The classical music events that I had attended in Los Angeles in recent years had a lukewarm effect on me, to put it mildly. By comparison, the Seattle concert was a total blast, in all respects - fabulous seats, excellent sound, great music, a fine performance and free tickets - 2013 could not have had a better ending!

Concert #697 - The Gene Taylor Blues Band at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 4, 2014)

My first concert in the new year turned out to be a good one. Playing without a set list in front of a sellout crowd, Gene Taylor and his band put on an entertaining show that did not lack in the energy nor in the decibel departments.

Band line-up
Gene Taylor (keyboards & vocals)
Dave Alvin (electric guitar & vocals)
Bill Bateman (drums)
John Bazz (upright bass)

Fans of the Blasters will immediately recognize the decades-long association between these four musicians, and it was precisely that long history of playing together that enabled them to deliver a tight set with minimal rehearsal time - "we rehearsed for minutes", Dave actually quipped with a dead-pan look on his face.

Gene Taylor at McCabe's

For me, the highlights of the concert were the band's extended instrumental parts, particularly Dave's electric guitar solos and Gene's boogie-woogie style playing. Dave's guitar on Earl Hooker's "Earl's Rhumba" was absolutely superb.

Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Gene handled most of the vocals, with Dave taking over the singing duties on a couple of songs, among them Johnny Guitar Watson's very listenable "Gangster Of Love". I also liked Gene's delivery on "Rainin' In My Heart" and "Jambalaya", two classic songs from the repertoires of  Slim Harpo and Fats Domino, respectively.

Last night was my twentieth time to see Dave Alvin live, either as a headliner, band member or someone's guest. He seems to be the kind of artist who gets better with age, so I'm sure that my current Dave-count is not nearly final.

Clocking in at about seventy-five minutes, the band's set was not particularly long, but with the stage chatter kept down to a minimum, we got to hear plenty of music and as a result, I went home happy. By the way, the band came back for a second show at 10 PM.

Gene Taylor thanking the crowd

The stage

The merch table

Concert poster

   

Concert #194 - Newport Folk Festival (Various Artists) at the Greek Theatre (September 20, 1998)

Who would have thought that one day I could attend the Newport Folk Festival without having to leave the West Coast? Well, it happened, courtesy of some clever promoters who figured that it's more economical to bring a few musicians to Los Angeles, rather than fly five thousand fans to Newport, Rhode Island. The LA event was one of the thirteen stop of the touring festival, the first time such an unlikely tour actually took place. As it turned out, there wasn't much folk music in this seven-hour event, but we all had a grand time nonetheless.

This wasn't a typical Greek Theatre concert. The proceeding started at 3:00 PM sharp, with a short set delivered by Mark Eitzel, formerly of the American Music Club. He did not connect with me. Beausoleil's set of Cajun music was a bit longer, but just like Mark's set, it failed to grab me. Things weren't happening for me out there under LA's burning sun.

Then, as the theater was beginning to fill up, things started to improve rapidly. Bruce Cockburn, whose albums to this day I don't particularly enjoy, knocked me out with a powerful set that, as far as I was concerned, came out of nowhere. With his great songs, "Night Train" in particular, strong vocals and energetic guitar playing, Bruce's performance was a huge and totally unexpected revelation.

Bruce Cockburn's set list

Mistress Of Storms

Lovers In A Dangerous Time

Stolen Land

Night Train

Creation Dream

Bruce Cockburn

Richard Thompson's solo set was one of the highlights of this musical marathon. Not content with just playing crowd-pleasing old favorites, Richard threw into the mix three brand new songs from "Mock Tudor", his not-yet-released upcoming album. His passionate delivery of two of those songs, "Dry My Tears And Move On" and "Bathsheba Smiles" was something to behold and I will never forget how he kept the crowd of thousands under his spell with nothing but an acoustic guitar. But I was quite disappointed by the brevity of Richard's set - hard to believe, but the organizers had him on the stage for only twenty-five minutes.

Richard Thompson's set list

Sights And Sounds Of London Town

Bathsheba Smiles

I Feel So Good

The Ghost Of You Walks

1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Dry My Tears And Move On

Richard Thompson

John Hiatt was another huge revelation. In spite of his critical acclaim, I had had some trouble earlier embracing his recorded music, but his live performance that I witnessed at the Greek Theatre changed all that. Exuding joy and power, John made an instant fan out of me, and today, fifteen years later, I still am. I don't have a set list, but I recall "Thing Called Love" and "Cry Love" among the songs he played that night.

John Hiatt

Marc Cohn was yet another unexpected surprise. At the time of the show, I only knew "Walking In Memphis", his first hit, and I only knew it superficially. Marc's super-soulful delivery of that song took me by surprise and I've been a fan ever since.

Marc Cohn

There was no obvious connection between traditional folk music and the set performed by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, but they were absolutely sensational. Individually and collectively, they were all brilliant. Bela was anything but an attention hog, as he gave plenty of time to his band mates to show what they could do. I was most impressed with bassist Victor Wooten, whose two extended solos brought us to our feet. Their high-tech songs, such as "Communication", were strikingly unconventional, yet instantly enjoyable.

Bela Fleck (2nd from right) & the Flecktones

Fronted by Jeff Tweedy, country-rock outfit Wilco delivered a surprisingly good set. Among others, they played "Christ For President" (music by Jeff Tweedy, words by Woody Guthrie). Wilco was yet another example of an act whose live performance appealed to me a lot better than their studio work.

Wilco's set list

 James Alley Blues

Christ For President

Hesitating Beauty

When The Roses Bloom Again

New Madrid

She's A Jar

Forget The Flowers

California Stars

Wilco

Surprisingly, Joan Baez was not given the honor of closing the show, as I had thought would be the case. Her set included a few songs from the repertoire of much younger artists, such as Ireland's Sinead Lohan and the Indigo Girls, the American folk duo. She also sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". 

Joan Baez

Closing the show, Nanci Griffith delivered an outstanding set that included Richard Thompson's "Wall Of Death", with the author watching from the wings, and an exhilarating rendition of "If I Had A Hammer", which quickly turned into a sing-along. Nanci's performance was exceptionally strong, which made me forgive the organizers for having chosen her as the final act of the evening.

Nanci Griffith

Overall, it was a fabulous evening that opened my appetite for a number of musicians who had previously not connected with me.

Concert #695 - Aoife O'Donovan at McCabe's Guitar Shop (December 14, 2013)

Last night was my third time to see the lovely Aoife O'Donovan in action at McCabe's, but only the first time as a solo performer. Her earlier appearances there with Crooked Still and Ollabelle made a fan out of me, but I must confess that I was less taken by "Fossils", her first-ever full-length solo album. As a result, I showed up at McCabe's with a certain dose of mixed feelings, not really knowing what to expect.

Pronunciation guide: Aoife, an Irish name, sounds like EE-fa, with emphasis on the first syllable. Go figure.


Somewhat surprisingly, Aoife came out without any backup musicians and from that moment on, her gorgeous voice and cheerful personality carried the evening. She opened with a gospel tune that's at least eighty-years old, "Troubled About My Soul", from which she transitioned seamlessly into something newer, the self-penned "Lay My Burden Down", a song also recorded by Alison Krauss. The crowd responded with enthusiasm. The show continued with many songs from "Fossils", interspersed with numbers from other sources, such as Crooked Still's "The Lovesick Redstick Blues" and the traditional "Pretty Polly". She ended her set with "Oh, Mama", also from "Fossils", with full crowd participation. For her one-song encore, she chose to sing Doc Watson's "A-Roving On A Winter's Night". Overall, Aoife's performance last night at McCabe's ranks right up there with the very best I've seen there, and I've seen a few.

Aoife O'Donovan at McCabe's

Throughout the show, Aoife accompanied herself on acoustic guitar. She is not a guitar virtuoso, but her playing did not hurt her either, that's for sure. Funny thing, though: I loved each and every song Aoife sang last night, even the ones whose studio versions failed to initially excite me. After the show, while driving home, I gave "Fossils" another good listen, this time with radically different results. Reconsidering an album after having seen the respective artist in a live setting is nothing new to me and it may have happened to you as well.

Aoife O'Donovan having fun at McCabe's

Aoife O'Donovan set list

The unmistakable star of the show was Aoife's voice, a truly beautiful instrument. Singing seemingly without effort, she kept her audience captive for the entire duration of the show, about 75 minutes in all. There's no one out there who sounds quite like Aoife, and it's more than just the beauty of her voice: equally exquisite is her phrasing. There's plenty of soul and emotion in her voice, even when she brings it down to a whisper, like she often does. I liked her work with both Crooked Still and Ollabelle, but if you want a full helping of Aoife, then you must catch one of her solo concerts.

The evening kicked of with a forty-five minute set delivered by Patrick Park, an American singer-songwriter whom I had not seen before. I liked his guitar playing, there was a lot of variety in his finger-work. I also liked some of his songs, "Holding Hands" and "Blackbird" in particular. On the minus side, I found Patrick's delivery somewhat repetitive, as he used the same vocal and emotional approach to most of his songs.  

Patrick Park at McCabe's

Patrick Park's set list

Aoife O'Donovan (left) chatting with fans after the show

Patrick Park chatting with fans after the show