Concert #740 - Syd Straw at McCabe's Guitar Shop (April 11, 2015)

If you're like me, you go to concerts for the music and you are supremely annoyed by musicians who blabber away for hours instead of focusing on music. Excessive talking can drive me nuts and indeed, there are a few singers out there whose verbal diarrhea has stopped me from becoming a repeat customer. But then there are two musicians, and I mean only two, who can talk as much as they want and I won't complain. One of them is Kinky Freedman. The other is Syd Straw.

Saturday night at McCabe's, Syd and her supporting cast played a total of seventeen songs, a fairly normal amount of music for a ninety-minute show, but thanks to Syd's massively talkative mood, the show went on for a little over two-and-a-half hours. Wow! But I'm not complaining. On the contrary, I got thoroughly amused by the non-musical part of her act. Syd's sense of humor is truly unique, quite difficult to categorize, but most definitely enjoyable - my friend Steve put it best, when he described Syd as being "gloriously loopy".

Syd Straw at McCabe's

I have now seen Syd Straw five times as a headliner and I must say that Saturday night she sounded better than ever. Her instantly-recognizable voice was strong and she had no problems hitting any notes she wanted to hit.

As expected, her show consisted of mostly her own songs, plus a few well-chosen covers. Here's a list of the cover songs Syd sang for us and, by the way, they all sounded great:

Mutineer (Warren Zevon),

Rocky Racoon (The Beatles)

Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground) 

Love Is Everything (Jane Siberry),

(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World (Wreckless Eric)

What Am I Worth (George Jones)

Syd Straw at McCabe's

And here are the songs that I believe were either written or co-written by Syd herself:

My Ship Comes In

Papier Mache

Black Squirrel

All Things Change

Marry Me

You Had Your Chance

Pink Velour

By This River

Think Too Hard

Current Of Love

Love, And The Lack Of It

To these ears, the highlights of the evening were "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" and "Marry Me", with everything else not too far behind.

Syd came out with guitarist Rob Laufer and violinist Heather Lockie. They remained on the stage for the entire duration of the show. I loved Rob's expressive guitar playing and I enjoyed the warm sounds of Heather's violin - their contribution to the success of the evening cannot be overstated.

Syd Straw and Rob Laufer at McCabe's

Syd Straw and Heather Lockie at McCabe's

For the singing of "Femme Fatale", Syd brought out her old friend Cindy Lee Berryhill, who did a great job with this Velvet Underground gem. Later in the show, Syd added two more musicians to her band: bassist David Jenkins and Don Heffington, a drummer and percussionist with impressive credentials.

Cindy Lee Berryhill at McCabe's

And speaking of unannounced guests: for her encore, Syd came out with a happy-looking Dave Alvin, with whom she sang George Jones' "What Am I Worth", from one of George's earliest albums. The song was also recorded by Dave and Syd in 1994, you can find it on Dave's "King Of California" album.

Syd Straw and Dave Alvin at McCabe's

Syd Straw and Dave Alvin at McCabe's

And there was yet another unannounced guest: Carol Burnett. No, America's beloved comedy star did not show up, but Syd's dog did. Inexplicably named after the great artist, Carol-the-Dog watched the entire show from the stage, without interfering with the proceedings.

Syd Straw and her dog Carol at McCabe's

The show was either sold out or very close to a sell out. There was no opening act. Overall, the evening was more than enjoyable. Syd wrapped up her show with the words "God Bless McCabe's", to which I can only add one word: Amen!

The stage

Concert poster

Concert #739 - Mary Gauthier, Eliza Gilkyson & Gretchen Peters at McCabe's Guitar Shop (February 21, 2015)

This was the final show of a short California tour named "Three Women and the Truth", conceived and carried out by three of America's finest female singer-songwriters: Mary Gauthier, Eliza Gilkyson & Gretchen Peters. I attended the 8 PM sold-out show. The late show (10 PM) was a bit short of a sellout.

Last night was my first time to see Gretchen Peters in concert. On the other hand, I had seen Mary and Eliza five and four times before, respectively.

Quite predictably, the stage had three chairs - Eliza sat in the middle, with Mary to her right. Each performer sang five songs, taking turns in the same order, starting with Gretchen and ending with Mary.

Gretchen's Songs

Hello Cruel World

Blackbirds

When All You Got Is A Hammer

The Matador

Five Minutes

Eliza's Songs

The Red Rose And The Thorn

Touchstone

Eliza Jane

Flatline

No Tomorrow

Mary's Songs

I Drink

Another Train

Last Of The Hobo Kings

How You Learn To Live Alone (co-written with Gretchen Peters)

Bullet Holes In The Sky (co-written with Jamie Trent)

 

Gretchen Peters at McCabe's

Eliza Gilkyson at McCabe's

Mary Gauthier at McCabe's

Eliza's offering included four numbers from "The Nocturne Diaries", her latest album. Likewise, Gretchen chose to sing songs from her most recent two albums, 2012's "Hello Cruel World" and the just-released "Blackbirds".

Eliza and Mary having a good time at McCabe's

Overall the show was thoroughly enjoyable, albeit short of perfection. Here are some of the positives:

• Stellar songwriting, from beginning to end

• Gretchen's voice and singing style were a huge hit with me. Her interpretation of "Hello Cruel World" and "When All You Got Is A Hammer" was something to behold

• Mary's incredible delivery of "I Drink" and "Last Of The Hobo Kings"

• Eliza's intense performance of "Flatline", a song from her "Hard Times In Babylon" album

• The low-key support provided by Barry Walsh on accordion. Barry is Gretchen's husband and an accomplished musician in his own right.

• The "Touchstone" sing-along, masterfully managed by Eliza, even though most people were unfamiliar with the song

And a few negatives:

• The three ladies were in a talkative mood last night - with a little bit less talk, they could have squeezed in a few more songs

• There was enough bad language for a couple of truck stops

• There was no encore

Gretchen Peters at McCabe's

The end of the show

The final bow

The stage

Gretchen after the show

Ticket-holders lining up before the show

Concert #738 - Al Stewart & Peter White at McCabe's Guitar Shop (February 7, 2015)

It was an excruciatingly long wait, but it was worth it. Nearly twenty-four years have passed since I witnessed the unforgettable show put on by Al Stewart and Peter White at McCabe's in the summer of 1991. Since then, I'd been dreaming about reliving the event just once more, and last night it finally happened, albeit in an unexpected fashion. 

We all showed up expecting to see Dave Nachmanoff alongside Al, as indicated on Al's website. Dave is one heck of a guitar player and I would have been perfectly happy to see him play, but catching Peter and Al together yet once again was a whole different matter.

Al took the stage all by himself, kicked off the evening with a lively rendition of "House Of Clocks", then brought the house down by simply introducing Peter White. Without wasting any time, they launched into an epic rendition of "On The Border" and everything that followed was equally epic. 

Al Stewart (right) & Peter White at McCabe's

Al will turn seventy in September, yet his voice is in excellent shape - someone who hasn't heard him since the mid-seventies will have absolutely no trouble recognizing him. And what can I say about Peter ... his guitar playing was absolutely superb, especially on the Django Reinhardt-esque "Last Train To Munich", the song that also featured an outstanding upright bass solo played by Roberto Vally.

Al Stewart McCabe's

Peter White at McCabe's

The set list

Throughout the evening, Al was in his usual humorous mood and held nothing back when it came to historical references. As a matter of fact, he ended the show by re-introducing his two cohorts, Peter White and Roberto Vally, then said "My name is Woodrow Wilson, thank you very much and good night". Al and Peter came back for a one-song encore, namely "End Of The Day", a number they co-wrote in the late seventies.

Al Stewart & Peter White thanking the crowd

For me, the evening ended with two autographs and two handshakes that will be hard to forget:

Two priceless autographs

Al Stewart after the show

Peter White chatting with fans after the show

The stage

Concert #737 - Iain Matthews at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 31, 2015)

This was my third time to see Iain Matthews perform live on stage. The concert was very good in all respects, but what impressed me the most was Iain's voice. In his sixty-ninth year of existence, Iain did look his age, while his voice remained pretty much unaffected by the passage of time. I was truly touched by his soulful and passionate delivery of his mostly delicate songs and I'm not exaggerating when I say that there aren't many singers out there, regardless of age, who possess voices as nuanced as Iain's.

Sadly, the show was attended by no more than fifty or sixty folks. I cannot explain why an artist as good as Iain Matthews cannot draw a larger crowd in the Los Angeles area.

Iain Matthews at McCabe's

Iain came out with Dutch pianist and composer Egbert Derix and what a fabulous addition he turned out to be. From my seat, I could clearly see Egbert's fingers and facial expressions, which only added to my enjoyment of the evening. With only minimal eye contact, Iain and Egbert played together in perfect sync and harmony, just like two twin brothers - Egbert's delicately played intros and solos were the perfect accompaniment to Iain's gentle vocals.

Egbert Derix at McCabe's

As expected, Iain's set list consisted of quite a few songs he co-wrote with Egbert: "Restless Wings", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "When Buddha Dials Your Number", the gorgeous "Pebbles In The Road", "1944", "When The Floyd Were On The Prowl" and "Waves".

We also got to hear four well-chosen covers, namely John Martyn's "The Man In The Station", Fairport Convention's "Sloth", Tom Waits' "Closing Time" and Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", the latter serving as the evening's one-song encore. All covers sounded great.

The set list

Given Iain's consistently solid performance from start to finish, I will refrain from picking a show highlight.

Iain Matthews tuning his guitar

Iain Matthews addressing the crowd

Iain Matthews and Egbert Derix at the end of the show

The evening was kicked off by Brian Lopez, a Tucson-based singer-songwriter of considerable talent. Overall, he was good enough to keep my mind focused on his performance for the entire duration of his thirty-minute set. Brian has a decent voice and an interesting singing style, but I can't say that his melodic sense and mine are always in perfect alignment. 

Brian Lopez at McCabe's

The stage

 

Concert #736 - Albert Lee at McCabe's Guitar Shop (January 17, 2015)

At McCabe's, performers take the stage by coming down on a fairly steep flight of wooden stairs. I have seen many artists negotiating the stairs with extreme caution and insecurity, but last night, in his seventy-first year of existence, Albert Lee bounced down the stairs without even looking at the handrail. He then proceeded to deliver an exceptionally good set that once again defied his years - his youthful voice sounded as good as ever, while his fingers worked with high speed and precision, just like decades ago.

Albert Lee at McCabe's

This was my third time to see Albert in a headlining role. While the first two shows had virtually identical set lists, last night's outing came with a few welcome changes. Picking a highlight is no easy feat, but I would mention "Runaway Train", "Luxury Liner" and "Spellbound" as some of the evening's best. Needless to say, I also loved "Country Boy", "Tear It Up" and all his other high-tempo numbers.

Albert has always been very good at crediting the composers and original interpreters of the songs on his set list - names such as Emmylou Harris, Ray Charles, Don & Phil Everly, Johnny Burnette, John Stewart and Rodney Crowell were once again mentioned last night. The evening's two-song encore also included an outstanding Glen Campbell song, "A Better Place", from Glen's most recent and, sadly, final album. 

The set list

Indeed, Albert is a very special musician, but his show just wouldn't be the same without his outstanding band. Consisting of J.T. Thomas (keyboards, accordion), Will McGregor (bass guitar) and Jason Smith (drums), Albert's band provided quality support and drew repeated rounds of applause from the sellout crowd. From my seat, I had an unobstructed view of Jason's face and hands and that allowed me to focus quite often on his drumming. He is definitely one of the best drummers I have seen at McCabe's in my twenty-five years of attending concerts there.

Will McGregor (left), JT Thomas & Jason Smith leaving the stage

All-in-all, I had a great time and went home a satisfied customer. I will definitely be back to catch Albert again. Hopefully with the same band.

Albert Lee at McCabe's

The stage

Albert Lee's guitar

Concert poster

Sign in the window at McCabe's