Evie Sands at The Federal Bar, 2-17-19 Concert Review

Evie Sands performing "While I Look At You"

I was surprised when Evie Sands came out on stage today. She looks at least two decades younger than her age, and has the energy of someone even younger than that. Her career began in the mid-1960s, when she was still in her teens, and she recorded several singles that decade (including the first version of “Angel Of The Morning”). Her first LP was released in 1969, and over the years several others followed. Her most recent release, an EP titled Shine For Me, came out in 2017. Gary Calamar mentioned that EP while introducing her today, noting that it is available on colored vinyl as well as CD (I am a sucker for colored vinyl and picked up a copy). Her show this afternoon was part of the Mimosa Music Series held at The Federal Bar.

When she took the stage, Evie Sands immediately started rocking, opening her set with “Don’t Hold Back.” And indeed, she wasn’t holding back at all. There was a lot of energy and joy to her delivery. She played electric guitar, and was backed by Jason Berk on guitar, Teresa Cowles on bass, and Eric Vesper on drums. With hardly a pause at all, the group followed “Don’t Hold Back” with “Another Night On The Other Side Of The Line” and then “I Can’t Let Go,” and Evie Sands was just totally rocking. After “I Can’t Let Go,” a song that goes back to the beginning of her career, she thanked the crowd. “Happy Sunday, everybody,” she said. And she asked what could be better than music and mimosas. You know, I didn’t really care for mimosas when I started going to these concerts, but now I enjoy them, even look forward to having them. I finished my second mimosa just before Evie started her set.

“While I Look At You” is a cool song from her Women In Prison album, a late 1990s release. “Oh, I love to look at you.” She followed that with another track from that same album, “Angel In Your Eyes.” Then she delivered a great cover of Barbara Lynn’s “I’m A Good Woman,” first mentioning she got to perform the song with Barbara Lynn a year ago, both of them being left-handed guitarists. This song was a whole lot of fun, and featured some nice stuff on guitar. But my favorite song of her set was the brand new one, “My Darkest Days.” Evie said today’s performance marked the song’s debut. It’s a cool song that begins in a mellower place, then kicks in. I’m excited that she’s writing new material, and I hope the next release will also be on colored vinyl.

“You Can Do It” begins with a great funky groove. This is a tune from her 1979 LP Suspended Animation, and is another fun one. She then played one of the tracks from her most recent release, “Without You,” which has a sweeter feel. That was followed by “Billy Sunshine,” a fun rock and roll tune, the song of the set that seemed to most excite the crowd. I really dug the bass line. Evie then switched to the keyboard for “Get Up,” another track from Suspended Animation. As she moved to the keyboard, she said, “Too many cords up here.” Jason Berk responded, “That last song was only four chords.” Evie Sands then concluded her set with “Shine For Me,” the title track from her EP, a really good, soulful number. She played keys on this one too. She then returned for an encore, switching back to guitar. She wished Amy Raasch a happy birthday, and extended birthday greetings to two other people. After a moment of confusion over which song they were going to do, they began “Take Me For A Little While,” a song she released as a single in the 1960s. “I’ve been trying to make you love me/But everything I try just takes you further from me.” They finished the concert with “Don’t Look Back, Don’t Look Down,” leaving us with another fun rock and roll tune. The show ended at 1:25 p.m.

Set List

1. Don’t Hold Back
2. Another Night On The Other Side Of The Line
3. I Can’t Let Go
4. While I Look At You
5. Angel In Your Eyes
6. I’m A Good Woman
7. My Darkest Days
8. You Can Do It
9. Without You
10. Billy Sunshine
11. Get Up
12. Shine For Me

Encore

1. Take Me For A Little While
2. Don’t Look Back, Don’t Look Down

Here are a few photos from her set:

"Don't Hold Back"

"Don't Hold Back"

"While I Look At You"

"I'm A Good Woman"

"My Darkest Days"

"Get Up"

"Take Me For A Little While"

The Federal Bar is located at 5303 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, California.