Friday, October 4, 2024

Don Aaron Mixon: “The Welcome Mat” (2024) Vinyl Review

The music on Don Aaron Mixon’s new release, The Welcome Mat, is autobiographical, touching upon his years growing up in Pensacola, Florida. It’s also compelling and at times exciting. Don Aaron Mixon not only wrote the material, but plays most of the instruments on this release, including guitar, pedal steel, bass, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica and drums. He is joined by Maria Grigoryeva on violin, and also by Lindberg Smith, who provides some vocal work on several tracks. Rob Hammersmith (of Rockets To Ruin) plays drums on a few tracks. This is a double album, and the gatefold contains several old photographs. The music, by the way, is presented on a beautiful clear green vinyl for the first record, and clear orange for the second.

Side 1

The double album opens with “The Welcome Mat (Intro),” and is one of the tracks to feature Lindberg Smith, who delivers the lyrics as spoken word. “Hi, welcome to the park,” he says, and introduced himself as a childhood friend of Don Aaron Mixon. This narration places us in a very specific place, “The Welcome Mat trailer park, on the Florida panhandle, in Pensacola, off of Davis Highway, in Lot D-2.” He adds that they were “surrounded by bikers, wrestlers, perverts,” among others. There is some cool, bluesy guitar playing underneath the narration. And of course the word “hurricanes” stands out because of the current trouble in certain southern states. The piece’s final lines also stand out: “No drugs allowed/No loud music either.” That leads to “Double Wide Soul,” a good hard rockin’ bluesy number that features Rob Hammersmith on drums. “I clean up nice,” Don Aaron Mixon tells us at one point. That might or might not be true. It doesn’t matter, because we’re not looking for anything clean here, nor expect it. “I ran away with southern rock band/As soon as I got out of school, and I never looked back,” he nearly howls at us. Well, we music fans are benefiting from those choices now, aren’t we?

Whatever happened to Lindberg Smith?/They’re all wondering, what became of him?” Don Aaron Mixon sings about his friend in “The Myth Of Lindberg Smith. This music will likely make you think of your own wild exploits from your youth. Maybe we give a bit more weight to those escapades now, give them a little more drama and a little more joy. It’s interesting how sometimes you learn, or remember, something about yourself through the music you listen to. This is another of the tracks to feature Rob Hammersmith on drums. Then “Rock In The Swing” has a sweeter vibe. This song is about his mother, the story starting before he was even born. “My daddy moved her down to Florida/And stuck her in a trailer/At the Welcome Mat/Down in Pensacola/She was only nineteen back in 1967 when she had me.” He offers memories of a swing outside his home, and this track features some nice touches on violin and keys. The first side then concludes with “The Welcome Mat (Pt. 1),” with Lindberg Smith again doing the spoken word narration, telling the stories of some of the people who lived at the trailer park, including a heroin addict and a wrestler. And it’s funny when he relates how teachers warned Don Aaron Mixon’s mother not let her son hang around with Lindberg Smith. This piece is also about Don Aaron being bullied, and about him being obsessed with the guitar. “That’s all he did, was play that guitar.” And then the guitar itself continues the story. It’s interesting that on the record cover, he is holding the guitar left-handed.

Side 2

The second side opens with “Coal Miner & Little Boy Blue,” which has a pretty folk sound. But that doesn’t mean Don Aaron Mixon is going to hold back vocally. No way. He still tears into those vocals, as he relates another story from his childhood. It’s a powerful performance. The song is about the conversations he’d have with his father over the CB on his father’s way home from the plant. Little Boy Blue was his CB handle, and Coal Miner was his father’s. “Coal Miner & Little Boy Blue” is followed by “Original Spark,” which also has a pretty sound, featuring some nice work on violin. “We keep fumbling around in the dark/Trying to find that original spark/We keep coming up short every time.” This song also mentions hurricanes: “It used to be so easy/I won’t blame you if you don’t blame me/We’ve been at the mercy of a hurricane.” The line about wondering what he’ll find when he starts dredging up things kept deep inside also stands out. It can be frightening; but then again, this album seems to be the result of such searching. This is one of my favorite tracks.

“Just Like Her Mama” is another track to feature some good work on violin, as well as some impressive stuff on guitar. “You’re not my sister/You’re not my mother/I’m not your daddy/Or your goddamn brother/Might as well be friends/Start acting like lovers.” “I’m sick off all the drama,” Don Aaron Mixon sings during this song, and we completely understand because we’re far enough into the album, into the stories, to be right with him, to align ourselves with him, with his experiences. The first record wraps up with “Peeping Tom & Tammy,” the lyrics delivered as spoken word by Lindberg Smith in this song. I don’t think I’d ever heard of a Peeping Tammy before. I guess in my part of the country, all the weirdos were guys. He describes a scary scenario: “There were times in the middle of the night we’d hear somebody creeping outside/The sticks and leaves under their feet were a dead giveaway/When all the windows in your trailer are open because of the Pensacola summer heat.” He describes how he had to go to school in the morning, after getting no sleep because of the activity. A compelling story, and a compelling storyteller. “We were wide awake on adrenaline and fear.” Not typical experiences for a kid, at least not where I grew up.

Side 3

Each side of this album has a different photo on the label in the center, and the picture on the third side is of their home in the trailer park. This side opens with “Pensacola, Here I Come.” “Lynyrd Skynyrd on the country radio,” Don Aaron Mixon sings at the beginning, and there is a bit of a Lynyrd Skynyrd influence heard, both in the vocal delivery and in the guitar work at moments. He makes direct reference to Lynyrd Skynyrd songs in lines like “Now if I leave here, if I go/‘Tuesday’s Gone’ blasting over my stereo,” those lines referring to two popular songs from the band’s debut LP. That’s followed by “Take You,” a mellower number featuring some good stuff on pedal steel and some sweet violin work. “I can’t stand another night away/No matter where it is.” This track features another passionate vocal performance.

Don Aaron Mixon returns to more of a blues thing with “Coldwater Creek,” a track that features Rob Hammersmith on drums and Lindberg Smith doing the spoken word sections. “After dark when there was nobody left to care/We’d meet up, park, and walk down there.” Other lines are sung by Don Aaron Mixon, who also delivers some great stuff on harmonica. Nearly halfway through, Lindberg Smith teases that he could tell us more, “But that would take away from the mystery, and the legend of Coldwater Creek.” This is another of the album’s highlights. Then the side ends with “The Welcome Mat (Pt. II), continuing the description of the trailer park, the lyrics delivered by Lindberg Smith as spoken word. “In the Welcome Mat trailer park, anything at any time could happen.” There is a kind of eerie atmosphere at the beginning of this one. This track introduces us to some characters, including those who managed the place: “The Welcome Mat manager was murdered by a hitchhiker that he had picked up in his VW van.” The man’s wife took over for a while. There is a laugh in Lindberg Smith’s voice at times, which is somewhat at odds with the atmosphere of the song and what he’s saying. Interestingly, in this song the CB handles Little Boy Blue and Coal Miner are mentioned again.

Side 4

“A Hard Way To Make An Easy Livin’” has a delicious southern rock flavor. “She gets up at the ass crack of dawn/Day in, day out/Drinks her coffee and puts her makeup on/She’s out the door to go get it done.” This is a song about day-to-day life, working, trying to get by. And we can hear the energy folks spent to do just that, particularly in the way Don Aaron Mixon delivers the song’s title line. That’s followed by “My Damn Dad.” This one comes on strong, featuring some great stuff on guitar. It was written by Don Aaron Mixon and Jonathan Ripley, and is the only song on the album to feature a co-writer. It is also the final song to feature Rob Hammersmith on drums. “He bitches over and over/About the price of gas/Then he turns right around/And drives clear across town/Just to save a few cents.” Oh man, I have to admit when I started driving in the late 1980s, I would drive to the next town for gas because it was several cents cheaper a gallon. Now the gas station I drive to is like forty cents cheaper a gallon than the closer stations. This song focuses on money, because money was the focus of his father. Understandably, right?

“Immoral Support” begins with these lines: “Mary Jane had me rollin’ joints/When I was only three/She wasn’t the only one/The black sheep in the family.” And Don Aaron Mixon sounds so determined as he sings “And when I’m gone, that family curse/Is gonna end with me.” He sure can deliver a song in a way to make us feel it throughout our bodies. There is some really good guitar work on this one. The record concludes with the third part of “The Welcome Mat,” with Lindberg Smith once again delivering the narration. In this one, he tells the story of a guy running out of the woods, diving in front of the car, getting hit by the car and knocking off the hood ornament in the process. A story involving drugs and an ice pick and an angry father. There are several other characters introduced in this song, including Mr. Norris. “When he was drunk, which was pretty much all the time, he got a little touchy-feely with some of the housewives.” And there’s more, including a ghoul and UFO hunters. This track (and thus the album) ends with the lines that concluded the intro: “No drugs allowed/No loud music either.”

Record Track List

Side 1

  1. The Welcome Mat (Intro)
  2. Double Wide Soul
  3. The Myth Of Lindberg Smith
  4. Rock In The Swing
  5. The Welcome Mat (Pt. 1)

Side 2

  1. Coal Miner & Little Boy Blue
  2. Original Spark
  3. Just Like Her Mama
  4. Peeping Tom & Tammy

Side 3

  1. Pensacola, Here I Come
  2. Take You
  3. Coldwater Creek
  4. The Welcome Pat (Pt. II)

Side 4

  1. A Hard Way To Make An Easy Livin’
  2. My Damn Dad
  3. Immoral Support
  4. The Welcome Mat (Pt. III)

The Welcome Mat is scheduled to be released on October 25, 2024.

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Jim Eannelli: “Just Deserts” (2024) CD Review

Jim Eannelli is a musician who is at home in many different musical realms, having been in punk bands, hard rock bands, blues bands, new waves bands, folk groups, bluegrass bands, even techno pop bands. It’s a career that has spanned multiple decades, yet only now has he released his first solo album. Titled Just Deserts, it features all original material. So what kind of music is it? Good question. It has elements of rock, folk, country and blues. Jim Eannelli has also played several different instruments over the years, and on this album he plays guitar, bass and percussion, as well as delivering the lead vocals. He has several folks joining him on various tracks, including Gary Tanin on piano, organ, Mellotron and synthesizer; Rob Abell on bass (on a few tracks), Bill Siebert on drums (on a few tracks), and Peggy James on backing vocals.

The album gets off to a cool start with “29 Women,” which has something of a raw country rock vibe. Its first lines surprised me: “Twenty-nine women and twenty-nine men/Went to war and got shot dead.” There is a strong energy to this song, and it features a good lead on guitar. Perhaps some of his early punk experience comes out a bit in this one. This is one of the tracks to feature both Rob Abell and Bill Siebert, Jim Eannelli’s Milktrain bandmates. It is followed by “Where I’ve Been,” which has a gentler vibe, with a vocal performance that reminds me a bit of some of Jackson Browne’s work. “A diesel cries into the dawn/With you left wondering where I’ve gone/The radio, could it be wrong/With an old and worn-out forgotten song/It seems so hard to understand/This broken heart of a lonely man.” There is a beauty to his delivery, and to this song.

“News For You” eases in, featuring a great, loose beat. His vocal performance has a seriously cool, dark country sound. Check out the opening lines: “You’re driving, so I’m drinking/You think that you know everything about love/About love/I must be crazy for ever thinking/This thing we got came from above/Above.” And if you’re a fan of the Uncle Tupelo guys, you’re definitely going to dig it. Also, there are some psychedelic elements, particularly in that wonderful guitar lead in the middle. I like how that section just carries us along in an atmosphere of its own making. This is one of my personal favorites, not just of this album, but of the year so far. I highly recommend checking out this song. It’s followed by “Train From Chicago.” You can bet with that title that there is going to be some blues to this one, and you might not be surprised to find that a woman is behind the blues, behind his leaving. “This time I’m leaving there for good/I tried to love you, baby, now/I guess my lovin’ was no good.” I love that next line: “Rolling straight into my future.” You could possibly hear in that line something positive, something optimistic, or you might hear a sort of inevitable doom. Perhaps your own mood will dictate how you hear it. And isn’t it that way with some of the best music, maybe with most music? This track also contains a compelling guitar lead.

Jim Eannelli goes in a different direction with “Waitin’.” As it starts with that beat, there is the sense that it could lead in several different possible directions, and it’s somewhat of a surprise when that rather pretty acoustic guitar comes in, that instrument offering a sympathetic voice. “You got no money, and you got no friends/I bet you’re wondering when it’s all going to end.” His voice is that of a friend, and yet also of someone who needs a friend. “I’ve been waiting, waitin’ for you, yeah.” And we’re not sure what the outcome will be, as he sings, “Take me down to the river/And throw my body in/Sink right to the bottom/Never coming up again.” Then in “Christine,” he sings, “I haven’t seen you in fifteen years/Don’t you feel that’s much too long, girl?/Please understand that I just want to talk to you.” Time passes so quickly, and fifteen years can so suddenly be gone. “All you needed was someone to talk to you,” he sings a little later, but referring to when they first met. And soon he repeats, “Please just hang on.” This track features some wonderful stuff on both keys and guitar. Alex Ballard plays guitar and slide guitar on this track, and Vic Span is on drums.

There is some rather pretty humming at the start of “Young Girl.” Then Jim Eannelli sings, “The first time that I met you/I knew you were for me/And I had to learn the hard way/Your love was not free,” before offering more humming. This track also features nice work on acoustic guitar. There is an interesting, dreamlike quality to this song, and so it seems fitting when he repeats the line “Our love was just a dream.” That’s followed by “I Want To Be Your Man,” a wild and delicious country number with a great energy and a raw feel. Adding to the fun is Marc Revenson (known as Lil’ Rev) on harmonica, delivering some great stuff. This is such an enjoyable track, ending up as another of my personal favorites. Then “Down My Road” has a southern rock flavor and features some good guitar work. “Got to pack my bags/Gonna get out of this town/I’m so sick and tired now/Of feeling lowdown/About you, about you.” This is one of the tracks to feature Rob Abell and Bill Siebert.

I should have loved you better/But I didn’t know what to do,” Jim Eannelli sings on “Old 97.” The song’s first line mentions railroad tracks, and this one has a rhythm that gives us the sense of movement, like a train. It also contains good guitar work. That’s followed by “Simple Man.” On this one, the vocal approach reminds me a bit of Bruce Springsteen. “It’s pretty good work, but it don’t pay too much/Some days I feel just so out of touch/And I’ll jump in that river just to prove my love.” I also really like the work on keys here, helping to create a strong atmosphere. The album ends with “Should I Try,” a delicious rockin’ number with a particularly catchy keyboard part. “She was a loner, and I was alone.” This is the other track to feature Rob Abell and Bill Siebert.

CD Track List

  1. 29 Women
  2. Where I’ve Been
  3. News For You
  4. Train From Chicago
  5. Waitin’
  6. Christine
  7. Young Girl
  8. I Want To Be Your Man
  9. Down My Road
  10. Old 97
  11. Simple Man
  12. Should I Try

Just Deserts was released on September 27, 2024 on Happy Growl Records.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Laurence Juber Plays The Americana In The Park Series In Santa Monica, 9-29-24

The first time I met Richard T Bear, he introduced me to Laurence Juber, and told me he’s the absolute best acoustic guitar player. That’s a mighty strong statement. That night Laurence was pretty damn impressive on electric guitar, which made me all the more eager to see him on the acoustic. Well, today he played the closing show of the Americana In The Park music series at Gandara Park in Santa Monica, the series’ fourth year, and the first set was a solo acoustic set, all instrumentals. And it turns out Richard was not exaggerating. (He was in the audience, by the way.) Laurence Juber can play the hell out of an acoustic guitar.

He started that first set at 4:10 p.m., opening it with a fantastic version of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper,” and following it with Del Shannon’s “Runaway.” He was all smiles up on the stage, and everyone else was all smiles down in the audience. Some seriously impressive playing, but almost nothing compared to his guitar work on his next number, “Cobalt Blue,” an original composition. Fantastic stuff! And it wasn’t until after that third song that he spoke to the audience. Before that, it was just phenomenal guitar playing. He said that hearing the list of the food trucks lined up in the park got his mouth watering, and then mentioned his album A Day In My Life, on which he covers Beatles songs. From that album, he played “Strawberry Fields Forever,” his rendition having a jazzy, yet somewhat introspective vibe. He also joked around a bit, saying that in the spirit of McCabe’s and the guitar lessons that happen there, he was going to mention his tuning, and said the next was in the ADD tuning which makes it “hard to concentrate.” He did a couple more originals, the pretty “Mosaic” and “Guitar Noir,” the latter having a very cool vibe, and then blew a whole lot of minds with his rendition of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” In introducing that one he said, “The first time I ever played this in public, it was in front of Pete Townshend.” The entire set was great, but this was probably the highlight for a lot of folks. The crowd couldn’t hold back during certain sections, crying out for the sheer joy of witnessing his mastery of the instrument. He then changed gears, delivering a totally delicious rendition of the standard “All Of Me.” He also delivered a Jimi Hendrix tune and wrapped things up with another Beatles song, “A Day In The Life.” That first set ended at 4:58 p.m.

After only a ten-minute break, Laurence Juber was back on stage with his band Airfoil, a group that focuses on music by Wings. As you are likely already aware, Laurence Juber was the lead guitarist in Wings for several years. They opened the set with a fun one, “Jet,” from the great Band On The Run album. Bass player Bill Cinque was on lead vocals. Laurence then sang lead on “Getting Closer,” a song from the 1979 record Back To The Egg. The band rocked on this one, and Laurence reminded folks that he is not just a fantastic acoustic guitar player but can deliver some amazing work on electric guitar too. Keyboardist Jeff Alan Ross took lead vocal duties on a nice rendition of “Maybe I’m Amazed.” They followed that with an instrumental rendition of “My Love” and then a fun version of “Junior’s Farm,” which included a nice jam at the end. The line about the prices being higher at the grocery store stood out this time. Laurence Juber introduced “Spin It On” as a bit of an unusual song for Paul McCartney because it’s a sort of punk rockabilly number. This is another song from Back To The Egg. The band did quite a few songs from that album today, which makes sense, as it’s one of the albums that Laurence Juber played on. Anyway, it’s a pretty cool song. Also cool is that Laurence treated the audience to some anecdotes about his time playing with McCartney, including one about Paul playfully teasing him in concert about his original first name, saying “Take it, Ivor.”

“Baby’s Request” is a sweet song, and another to come from Back To The Egg, and the band followed that with “Arrow Through Me,” also from that album. Not every song in the band’s set was a Wings song, however. They turned to an earlier rock and roll number, Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock.” Though there is still a Paul McCartney connection, for this is the song that Paul sang for John Lennon back in 1957.  They delivered a great rendition. They also covered The Moody Blues’ “Go Now.” The McCartney connection there is that Denny Laine was an original member of The Moody Blues and sang that song. The more important connection is that song that ended up getting Laurence Juber the audition to join Wings, after Denny Laine was impressed with his playing of the guitar solo. And the band did a James Bond medley, beginning with that wonderful main theme, then going into an instrumental version of “Nobody Does It Better” before getting into “Live And Let Die,” which is still one of the best Bond theme songs. The other medley the band did today was “Goodnight Tonight” into “Coming Up,” both songs released as singles near the end of the Wings years. The set also included “Let Me Roll It” (with guitarist Rob Bonfiglio on lead vocals), a great version of “No Words,” and “Band On The Run.” They closed out the evening with an absolutely fantastic rendition of “Rockestra Theme,” with Richard T Bear joining them on keyboard for it. What a great way to wrap things up. The show ended at 6:44 p.m.









The Americana In The Park music series is held at Gandara Park in Santa Monica, California. See you there next year!

I See Hawks In L.A. Play House Concert In Sierra Madre, 9-28-24

I See Hawks In L.A. playing "Live And Never Learn"
I’ve decided to do my best to avoid giving even another dollar to the greedy music-devouring demon known as Ticketmaster/Live Nation. My focus will be on smaller venues, more intimate music experiences. And what stronger antidote to Live Nation is there than a house concert? And when the band is I See Hawks In L.A., well, things just couldn’t be much better all round. Last night the Hawks gathered in Sierra Madre to deliver two wonderful sets in a back yard that became one of the coolest venues I’ve been to recently. There was a great, inviting and relaxed vibe about the place, sort of how I always imagined my back yard would be if I could ever afford to own a home.

To start the evening, Victoria Jacobs did a short set of mostly new songs. Apparently, she’s not only been writing new material, but recording as well. So I am hopeful there will be a CD release in the near future. If the songs she played last night are an indication of her direction, then it is going to be a powerful and moving and personal album. “Trying to live my life without you/It’s not easy to do,” she sang in her first song of the set. Her set was approximately twenty minutes, ending at 7:20 p.m.

Ten minutes later, the whole band was on stage. There was a short delay as Paul Marshall rearranged a couple of things. While he was doing so, Rob Waller told the story of a show a long while back in Pasadena where the entire band nearly got electrocuted and their amps were fried. He then explained that just now Paul had gotten a little shock from his vocal microphone and so was creating a grounding system. It was the briefest of delays, and within a minute, perhaps two, they were ready to give it a go. Paul joked, “Tell me if my lips light up.” They began the show with “Hope Against Hope,” a perfect choice to open the set, to put things in motion. I was digging Paul’s bass line, and Dan Wistrom delivered a really nice lead on pedal steel. Dan then switched to electric guitar for “White Cross.” It’s interesting to me how sometimes different lines from a song will stand out to you, or hit you in some way. From songs you’ve heard many times, I mean. For example last night from “White Cross,” it was these: “Well, the good times didn’t suit me/I had to taste the pain.” And for a moment I thought of how certain people can’t seem to accept when things are good, when things are actually going their way.

The band then delivered an especially fun rendition of “Poour Me,” Paul Marshall counting the others in. “Coming in on the one,” he reminded them. Dan was back on pedal steel for that one. “Pour me more wine.” And indeed, Paul Marshall had a little more wine after that song. They followed that with “If I Move,” with Rob Waller first saying, “You know, if you live in Los Angeles, and you’ve lived here a while, you can’t really afford to move anymore.” At the end of that song, Dan Wistrom was adjusting his microphone stand, and Rob joked, “We gave Dan the ‘new guy’ stand.” There was then some joking about Paul Marshall’s secret family in Burbank, and the band went into “Highway Down.” Dan had switched to electric guitar for this song. This is still one of my personal favorites, and I saw I wasn’t the only one singing along. Then during “Live And Never Learn,” the song suddenly became funky in the middle there, thanks to Paul’s bass work. It was a delightful surprise. I know I’ve said before that one indication that a concert is something special is if there are several musicians in the audience, and such was the case last night. Rob even mentioned that half of Old Californio was there.

"Truth Is You Lied"
Paul sang lead on his “Truth Is You Lied,” a song that he included on his Weed And Water album, and one that was another highlight of the set. Victoria Jacobs then sang lead on “Kensington Market,” a totally enjoyable song. For some reason, the line about the mods hanging around delighted me. Again, different lines from the songs were striking me last night, and I just felt completely immersed in the music and mood of the evening. It was a beautiful spot, among good folks, and with one of the best bands playing. Dan switched to pedal steel for “Still Want You,” delivering a lead that received applause from the audience. I love hearing this song, in part because of its humor, in part because of its sweet vibe. “Please love me if you can.” The first set then concluded with the always-appreciated “Good And Foolish Times.” The set ended at 8:30 p.m.

Just after 9 p.m., they kicked off the second set with “Raised By Hippies,” with Dan on pedal steel. The lines that stood out to me last night were those about Reagan being president, and not knowing what to do. We are in some kind of twisted fantasy land these days with regards to the Republican Party, but one of the things that has alarmed me is that the few so-called “normal” Republicans look back to Reagan as being what their party should be striving toward again, forgetting just what a complete and total bastard that guy was, and all the harm he caused. So, yeah, I’m sure adults in the early 1980s looked around, and said, what they hell should we do? But all that played in my head for only a moment, as I was thoroughly enjoying the energy of the song. And they followed that with what was possibly the answer for many folks dealing with those Reagan years, “I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead.” I myself fell in love with the Dead during the early 1980s. Paul Marshall dedicated the song to a guy named Art who was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt. This was Dan Wistrom’s first time playing the song, at least the first time in concert, and Rob joked about how this one has more chords than all their other songs put together. Well, it was wonderful hearing this song again, and Dan did a great job with it. “He did it!” Rob exclaimed at the end.

They followed that with “Carbon Dated Love” and “California Country.” Dan delivered some really nice work on guitar on “California Country.” And then we were treated to “Ohio,” which is always fun. Whenever I hear it, I think about where home is for me, whether it’s here now in Los Angeles or back in Massachusetts. But the music seems to tell me it doesn’t matter, that it’s all home. Still, that conversation continues for many of us, doesn’t it? Are we going to eventually go back to wherever it is we came from? The set then took a beautiful turn with “Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulet” and “Salvation,” the latter with Paul Marshall on lead vocals, and one I don’t think I’d seen these guys play since April. Glad to have back in the set list. It was then time for Victoria Jacobs to sing another one, and you could feel the excitement among the crowd, for almost everyone there knew which song was next, and folks were eager to hear it. It’s one of my girlfriend’s favorites too, and that is “My Parka Saved Me.” The band delivered an especially delightful rendition last night, with what seemed like an added backing vocal bit. There is so much about this song to love, and I hope all music fans get a chance to see the band perform this one at some point.

Rob mentioned seeing John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl recently, and from the reactions of some people in the audience, I’m guessing a good portion of last night’s crowd was at that show too. The band then played Willie Nelson’s “Me And Paul,” a song that has been a part of the Hawks shows lately, done in tribute to Paul Lacques. Last night’s rendition featured lots of great pedal steel work. Rob then told the crowd the band had “one more song for you, then we’ll send you off into the Sierra Madre night.” That song was the high-energy number “Humboldt,” which rocked in all the right ways. But it was not the last song of the show. They ended it at 9:59 p.m., thinking that 10 p.m. was a strict cut-off time. But everyone was having too much fun to adhere to that, and so the band did one more, “Hippie On The Road,” fitting as the band will be hitting the road this week. The show ended at 10:04 p.m.

Set List

Set I

  1. Hope Against Hope
  2. White Cross
  3. Poour Me
  4. If I Move
  5. Highway Down
  6. Live And Never Learn
  7. Truth Is You Lied
  8. Kensington Market
  9. Still Want You
  10. Good And Foolish Times

Set II

  1. Raised By Hippies
  2. I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead
  3. Carbon Dated Love
  4. California Country
  5. Ohio
  6. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulet
  7. Salvation
  8. My Parka Saved Me
  9. Me And Paul
  10. Humboldt

Encore

  1. Hippie On The Road

Tickets were $20 (or, rather, that was the encouraged donation amount).