Concert #707 - Zucchero at Club Nokia (April 2, 2014)

Zucchero ... I love the guy. He's the Italian mega-star whose music first reached me here on the West Coast in 1995. Since then, I've been his slave, listening to his music virtually non-stop, with an ever-increasing appetite and passion. Major European acts hit the East Coast with decent frequency, but sadly, few make it to the West Coast, with Zucchero being a rare and welcome exception. I first saw him live in 1996, at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard, and it was divine.  Who would have thought, back in 1996, that I would get to see him in concert five more times? Well, it happened. His Wednesday night appearance at Club Nokia marked his sixth concert in LA since 1996, and I'm ecstatic to say that I caught each and every one of them. All of these shows took place in medium-size venues, which gave me the privilege of watching him in action from just a few steps away, a luxury not available to most of his European fans.

Zucchero at Club Nokia

Announced for 8:00 PM, the concert started half an hour late and went on for a generous two hours and five minutes. Seated at center stage with a bright light shining behind him, Zucchero opened his set with three gems from Chocabeck, his 2010 album. Throughout the evening, his voice was in top shape, sounding just like in his studio recordings. As expected, we got to hear many of his crowd-pleasing rockers and up-tempo dance numbers, such as "Diavolo In Me", "Il Mare Impetuoso", "L'Urlo" and "Baila Morena". To these ears, though, the finest moments of the concert were his gorgeous mid-tempo ballads, especially "Diamante" and "Il Volo", which were performed one after the other.

SET LIST
(songs listed in the order played)
Il Suono Della Domenica

Alla Fine

Un Soffio Caldo

Love Is All Around

Con Le Mani

Vedo Nero

Never Is A Moment

God Bless The Child

Blu

Guantanamera

Baila Morena

Overdose d'Amore

Il Mare Impetuoso Al Tramonto Sali Sulla Luna

Dune Mosse

Diamante

Il Volo

Un Kilo (with Don Was on bass)

L'Urlo

Solo Una sana

Diavolo In Me

 ENCORE #1

Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime (with Zucchero on piano)
Bacco Perbacco (with Randy Jackson on bass)
Senza Una Donna

     ENCORE #2

Miserere
Per Colpa De Chi

Zucchero and Kat Dyson at Club Nokia

Not unexpectedly, the crowd's behavior served as an unnecessary reminder as to why I seldom go anymore to larger concert venues, especially where alcohol is served. While most people were there to hear the music and respect all others in the process, there were also way too many party animals (by which I mean animals), incapable of distinguishing between public concert halls and their own living rooms. I found their incessant loud talking and mindless screaming highly distracting.

The crowd remained seated until the band launched into "Guantanamera", at which point the space directly in front of the stage became an instant dance floor, occupied by happy people of all ages. The security staff's efforts to restore order produced no results.

Toward the end of the show, Zucchero brought out two guests with somewhat similar backgrounds. First, producer and bassist Don Was joined the band for the playing of "Un Kilo", followed a bit later by Randy Jackson, a producer and bass player himself. Randy played bass on the infectious "Bacco Perbacco", an up-tempo number that whipped the crowd into a dancing frenzy.

Don Was at Club Nokia

Randy Jackson and Zucchero at Club Nokia

Zucchero came back for two encores. I could not have picked better songs for the second one: first the operatic "Miserere", featuring the voice of Luciano Pavarotti, followed by my favorite Zucchero rocker, the ultra-dynamic "Per Colpa Di Chi". It was a fitting end to an evening that was both exhilarating (Zucchero's incredible performance) and annoying (the crowd).

Zucchero's band was top notch. I particularly liked Kat Dyson, whose raw and soulful backup vocals were very special.

 Band line-up (incomplete)

Kat Dyson - Guitar, vocals

Elmer Ferrer Tres - Guitar

Adriano Molinari - Drums

Nicola Peruch - Keyboards

Polo Jones - Bass

Zucchero and members of his band at Club Nokia

Zucchero at the end of the concert

Zucchero addressed the crowd a few times during the show, but unlike in his earlier Los Angeles concerts, this time he did it in good English. He came across as a friendly and approachable person.

Zucchero playing "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime"

Zucchero at Club Nokia

The venue's soundboard

Zucchero merchandise

Club Nokia

Concert #64 - Oingo Boingo at the Universal Amphitheater (July 1, 1990)

In a typical case of "better late than never", I joined the legion of Oingo Boingo fans in 1989, mostly at the urging of my friend Scott. I was an avid KROQ listener during those times, and unavoidably, the band's often-played infectious songs were bound to hit me, sooner or later. Quite appropriately, I went to my first, and sadly last, Oingo Boingo concert with Scott, along with Odette, his Better Half.

Danny Elfman and his band managed the improbable feat of selling out four shows on four consecutive nights at the Universal Amphitheater. That's about 25,000 tickets sold in a city that offers plenty of other great things to do at any given time. I caught the first show.

Driven by the band's distinctive music, the fans responded with enthusiasm. With distinctive songs such as "Dead Man's Party", "Grey Matter" and "Only A Lad", Danny Elfman & Co kept the place rocking for two and a half hours. Overall, it was an interesting experience.

Concert #706 - Dirk Hamilton at McCabe's Guitar Shop (March 29, 2014)

For me, last night's show at McCabe's was a blind date of sorts, as I went there to see a musician whose career had eluded me for decades. I showed up totally unprepared, without being able to name a single song from Dirk Hamilton's repertoire, but in the end I did not regret my decision to attend.

So what made me want to see someone whose music I did not know? Well, there were two reasons. First, a couple of folks voted Dirk Hamilton as the best McCabe’s concert in 2013 and those few votes did resonate with me. Then there's the Italian thing: I'm a connoisseur and collector of Italian music and the fact that Dirk is bigger in Italy than anywhere else has definitely made an impression on me. Long story short, I bought myself a ticket and went to the show not really knowing what to expect.

My first reaction after the show was "he's the complete package", by which I meant to praise his songwriting, singing, guitar-playing and personality. Dirk played two sets last night, I caught the first one, seventy minutes in all.

The concert coincided with the re-release of his 1996 album titled "Sufferupachuckle", so not surprisingly, he treated us with some of the album's best numbers, among them "Heroes Maybe", "Luck", "Dangerous" and "Black Dog Blues". I liked them all. One may say that "good songs" was the theme of the evening, as there weren't any weak numbers in Dirk's entire set, with the unreleased "Head On A Neck" being the best of the lot. Other stand-out songs: the set-opening "Lady", "Follow Your Bliss" and "Grow A Rose", which Dirk performed with vocal and instrumental support from Waldo Bliss, the evening's opening act.

Dirk Hamilton at McCabe's

Dirk Hamilton and Waldo Bliss at McCabe's

Dirk Hamilton's set list

Waldo Bliss, the evening's opening act, was a pleasant surprise. Except for two well-known cover songs, their relatively short set featured original songs that were not bad at all - the one that impressed me the most was "Freedom Now". The delicate harmonies of "In My Room", the Brian Wilson classic, received by far the loudest applause from the audience. Their overly mellow rendition of Carol King & Gerry Goffin's "Up On The Roof" was less of a hit with me. With three good singers (Dan, Mindy and Daniel), an outstanding lead guitarist (Randy Ray) and a quality leader (Dan), I'm pretty sure that I will hear from Waldo Bliss again sometime in the future.

Band line-up

Dan Carlson (vocals, acoustic guitar)

Mindy Jones (vocals)

Daniel Ahearn (vocals)

Randy Ray Mitchell (electric guitar)

Erik Eldenius (drums, percussion)

Brett Simons (bass)

Waldo Bliss at McCabe's

Waldo Bliss' set list

Dirk Hamilton reporting to work

The stage

Dirk Hamilton merchandise

Concert #247 - Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project at UCLA's Royce Hall (April 25, 2001)

Clocking in at over five hours, this star-studded show was one of the most unforgettable events I have ever witnessed. Also one of the most exhausting ones. Shows that start at 8:00 PM don't normally end after 1:00 AM, but that was the case on April 25, 2001, at UCLA's gorgeous Royce Hall. Not that I minded.

Conceived and produced by Hal Willner, the event was dedicated to the work of Harry Smith, the compiler of the much-acclaimed "Anthology of American Folk Music", a collection first released in the 1950s, then reissued in 1997.

The house band had the tough task of supporting a large variety of styles, from blues to folk to gospel and more, performed by artists from all over the musical spectrum. Lead by two world-class guitarists, Smokey Hormel and Bill Frisell, the band did a great job adjusting from one performer to another. D.J. Bonebrake played the drums, Richard Green fiddled with the violin, while bassists Percy Heath, Larry Taylor, Adam Dorn and Eric Mingus all pitched in at different times. Ralph Carney handled the wind instruments.

Harry Smith

The evening's first song was "The House Carpenter", performed by Todd Rundgren and Robin Holcomb - she sounded great. They were followed by an endless avalanche of top-notch performers, most of whom I enjoyed very much. Unavoidably, though, there were also a few artists whose avant-garde style did not connect with me at all, as was the case with Canada's Mary Margaret O'Hara and David Thomas of Pere Ubu fame. Accompanied by Van Dyke Parks and Richard Greene, the latter sang "Way Down The Old Plank Road" and "Fishing Blues", two songs that the audience seemed to have liked more than I did.

Of all the many artists who took the stage during this marathon event, no one impressed me more than Marianne Faithfull. Her stage entrance gave me the goosebumps and the power of her personality stayed with me long after the show ended. Accompanied by Steve Earle, Todd Rundgren, David Johansen and Beck, Marianne sang "John The Revelator", "Shine On Me" and one other number.

Assisted by Britain's Eliza Carthy on fiddle and Garth Hudson of the Band on accordion, Richard Thompson sang "The Coo Coo Bird" and "Dog And Gun". He sounded great, as he always does.

Assisted by Kate and Anna McGarrigle and singing in his inimitable vocal style, Elvis Costello performed "Henry Lee" and "The Butcher Boy", then closed his set with a sequel to the traditional "Ommie Wise". Earlier, Elvis helped out the McGarrigle Sisters when they sang their version of "Ommie Wise".

Beck sang Robert Johnson's "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", "My Name Is John Johanna" and the traditional "Down On The Banks Of The Ohio", a song I first heard with Joan Baez.

Steve Earle's performance sounded a lot better to these ears than his studio work. His short set consisted of "Country Blues" and "Prison Cell Blues", two songs taken from the Harry Smith Anthology.

David Johansen of the New York Dolls was one of the revelations of the evening - he surprised me with a voice and style that were miles away from "Hot, Hot, Hot", his much-heard radio hit released in 1987 under the Buster Poindexter pseudonym. David sang "James Alley Blues", "A Lazy Farmer Boy" and one other number.

The Folksmen, who happened to be none other than the legendary Spinal Tap, raised the evening's levity level to 11 with their hilarious parody act that loosely reminded us of the Kingston Trio. Dressed up as folk musicians, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean played "Eat At Joe's'', "Blood On The Tracks" and "What A Feeling", the mega hit from "Flashdance", the movie - no obvious Harry Smith connection there.

Ireland's Gavin Friday delivered two songs in a style that had little to do with the original intent of their respective songwriters - his theatrical interpretation of "Fatal Flower Garden" and "When That Great Ship Went Down" did not connect with me. Gavin received support from composer, fellow-countryman and long-time collaborator Maurice Seezer.

Eric Mingus, the son of jazz great Charles Mingus, sang "Death Where Is Thy Sting", "John Henry Was A Little Boy" and "Mean Old World".

Singer-songwriter Bob Neuwirth sang "Little Moses" and one other song whose title I do not have. He was accompanied by Eliza Carthy and Kate & Anna McGarrigle. Unlike most of the other performers of the evening, Bob did speak about Harry Smith and his place in American music.

Accompanied by an all-female mini-choir, Richard Greene, the well-known bluegrass fiddler, delivered a great rendition of "Indian War Whoop".

Somewhat unusually, the show included a few short movie clips, with live music accompaniment provided by Adam Dorn and Philip Glass, the classical composer. 

Martha Wainwright joined Kate & Anna McGarrigle for the singing of a song or two. Martha is Kate's daughter.

My concert notes also mention the participation of Steve Young and Daniel Lanois, but I have absolutely no recollection as to what they did.

U2's Bono and the Edge were spotted among the concert attendees. 

The lights were turned on at 1:15 AM, and, as the last remaining folks were filing out, Garth Hudson played an unidentified tune on the venue's organ. I got home after 2:00 AM, totally exhausted and thoroughly happy.

Concert #240 - Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark & Rodney Crowell at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (March 3, 2001)

Advertised as the "Newport Folk Festival" and featuring only three performers - Nanci Griffith, Rodney Crowell and Guy Clark - this event was a far cry from the memorable spectacle of the same name that took place at the Greek Theater in 1998. Which is not to say the this concert was not good, because it was. I went to the show with my Better Half, we had decent seats. 

Rodney Crowell kicked off the proceedings with a set that drew primarily from "The Houston Kid", his well-received then-current album. With songs as good as "I Wish It Would Rain", his set screamed quality.

Rodney Crowell

Guy Clark's set was equally good. The song that impressed me the most was "Texas Cookin'". He was accompanied by songwriter and guitarist Vernon Thompson.

Guy Clark

After the intermission, it was Nanci Griffith's turn to take the stage. Accompanied by the Blue Moon Orchestra, she delivered the longest set of the evening. Trouble is, I don't remember any of the songs she sang. At different times, both Rodney and Guy came out to sing with Nanci. 

Nanci Griffith

Overall, it was an enjoyable evening, albeit not an unforgettable one.