Karen Mack: “Catch & Keep” (2024) CD Review

Karen Mack is a vocalist and songwriter based in New York. She has sung pop, rock and folk, and these days she focuses on jazz, which her voice is perfectly suited for. She seems completely at home in this realm. Her new album, Catch & Keep, contains a mix of jazz standards, contemporary numbers and a couple of original compositions. The band backing her includes Peter Eldridge on piano and organ, Jesse Lewis on guitar, Matt Aronoff on upright bass, Jared Schonig on drums and percussion, and Ben Wittman on percussion. There are also a few guests joining her on various tracks. This album was produced by Peter Eldridge and Karen Mack.

Karen Mack opens the album with a delightfully cheerful and bright rendition of “Nothing Like You,” a song written by Bob Dorough and Fran Landesman, and recorded by Miles Davis and Irene Kral, among others. This track features Nadje Noordhuis on trumpet, delivering an excellent lead, that being one of my favorite sections. This track also features some wonderful drumming, something that always holds great appeal for me. But it is Karen Mack’s vocal performance that sets the song’s delightful tone. “You’re like a dream come true/Something completely new,” she sings, and her delivery and energy make this song feel new. She follows that with the standard “Imagination,” composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke. This track has a dreamy and warm vibe, that tone again set by Karen Mack’s vocal approach. She draws us in, sounding like a friend, so that it does not seem at all strange when she sings, “Starts you asking a daisy what to do, what to do,” for we are with her, we understand. The track’s warmth is also created by Peter Eldridge’s work on piano. I also love the little playful vocal additions at the end.

It feels fitting to go from a song about imagination to a song that begins with the phrase “Once upon a time,” Karen Mack following “Imagination” with “From Now On,” which was written by Basia Trzetrzelewska and Danny White. This song has a delicious Brazilian rhythm, and features a great bass line. Karen Mack delivers a pretty vocal performance, and Darmon Meader provides some wonderful work on saxophone. That’s followed by “Come To Baby Do,” a standard that has been recorded by Doris Day, Lena Horne and Nat King Cole. Karen Mack does a phenomenal job with this song. There is something timeless about her voice, as well as something alluring and adorable. Plus, Darmon Meader adds some more great stuff on saxophone. And, hey, the song swings. Everything about this is working perfectly. This track is a total delight, one of my personal favorites. Karen Mack then changes gears, delivering a beautiful, intimate vocal performance on “This Is Always.” “This isn’t sometimes, this is always/This isn’t maybe, it’s always/This is love.” Oh yes, we can hear it in her voice. No question but that this is love. “This isn’t just midsummer madness,” she sings. No, but that can feel pretty good too, can’t it? I love the guitar work on this track, even before that wonderful lead in the second half. This is another of the disc’s highlights.

Karen Mack then turns to a song from fellow New Yorker David Cantor, “I’m So Repentant,” a song that was included on the Dave’s True Story album Sex Without Bodies. There is a wonderfully playful edge to her delivery on this one. “But I would rather lie with you than lie to you.” This track features a fun rhythm, and a 1950s feel to that great guitar lead. Also, Darmon Meader adds some nice touches on saxophone. Yes, this track is yet another of the disc’s highlights. And how is it she is even more alluring at the very end as she repeats “I’m so repentant”? Then “November Day” begins with some pretty work on piano. This is one of the album’s original compositions, written by Karen Mack, Elliot Roth and Peter Eldridge. Here she creates a cold and dark day, one of many to come. “Don’t want to venture out at all/But if you should answer when I call/You know I’ll grab the boots and go.” These lines also stand out: “But it’s fall now, and we’re frozen like the crystals on the pane/And I can’t remember ever feeling warm.” I also like that moment where she describes how her experience of the cold is not in line with what the official report is by the weatherman. And she looks forward to spring. This is a beautiful song.

“Hurry Up And Wait,” is another original number, this one written by Peter Eldridge and Karen Mack. This one moves at a good pace, and you might find yourself snapping your fingers while listening. It features a cool bass line, as well as some great stuff by Darmon Meader on saxophone. It also includes a Shakespeare reference, which I appreciate: “And all’s well that ends well,” a line that Karen repeats several times throughout the track. This track also provides the album with its title in the lines “Catch and clutch and keep/Miles to go before we sleep.” And check out that work on drums. That’s followed by “Here Is Everything,” which was written by Chiara Civello and combines elements of folk and jazz. “Here is the dream no one else would see/Here is everything we wanted/Here is everything we never had.” Peter Eldridge joins her on vocals on this track. I especially like that vocal section at the end. This track also features some really nice guitar work.

Nadje Noordhuis plays flugelhorn on “Our Love Rolls On,” delivering some great stuff. This song, written by Dave Frishberg, is a love song for those with some experience, with lines like “The clouds hang low, and the rains do fall/And everybody sings a little blues after all/But our love rolls on.” and “And counting on tomorrow is at best touch and go/But our love rolls on.” This track also features some good drumming. That’s followed by “I Wanna Get Married,” a playful number written by Nellie McKay and included on her first album, 2004’s Get Away From Me. We can hear the humor in Karen Mack’s voice as she sings “Yes, I need a spouse” and “I need to cook meals.” This track features a delightful lead on bass in the middle. The album concludes with a song written by the great Betty Bryant, “It’s Hard To Say Goodbye,” which was included on Bryant’s 2019 album Project 88, where it also was the final track. Karen Mack does a wonderful job with it. As you might guess, it features some good stuff on piano. Elliot Roth plays piano and joins Karen Mack on vocals on this one. This version kicks in much earlier than Betty Bryant’s original recording, before even the first lines. “You’re the most/You’re cinnamon toast.”

CD Track List

1. Nothing Like You
2. Imagination
3. From Now On
4. Come To Baby Do
5. This Is Always
6. I’m So Repentant
7. November Day
8. Hurry Up And Wait
9. Here Is Everything
10. Our Love Rolls On
11. I Wanna Get Married
12. It’s Hard To Say Goodbye

Catch & Keep was released on June 28, 2024.

Michelle Malone: “Southern Comfort” (2024) CD Review

Last year saw the release of two Michelle Malone discs, though both were re-issues of earlier material. The first, Fan Favorites Unplugged Vol. 1, had been available at her shows for a few years, and in 2023 got a proper release. The second, Toddie Time, was a combination of the two EPs released by Michelle Malone And The Hot Toddies in 2018 and 2019. Both releases were completely enjoyable, of course, but this year, we are treated to a new Michelle Malone album featuring original material, all of it written or co-written by Malone. Titled Southern Comfort, this one does have that special southern flavor, with a welcoming and warm vibe. The band backing her on this album is made up of Doug Kees on electric guitar and acoustic guitar; Tom “Panda” Ryan on bass; Mike Rizzi on drums and backing vocals; Trish Land on percussion; Paul Warner on lap steel, cello, keys, guitar and backing vocals; Nelson Nolen on mandolin and backing vocals; and Joey Huffman on piano and organ. There are also several special guests on various tracks, including Rick Richards, Will Kimbrough and Randall Bramblett.

The album kicks off with its title track, “Southern Comfort,” a delicious country rock number. This one features some special guests, including Rick Richards (of The Georgia Satellites) on slide guitar, Charlie Starr (of Blackberry Smoke) on electric guitar, Jeff Spirko on fiddle, and Paul Jackson and Trina Meade on backing vocals. It’s a song about missing home, about needing that special feeling one gets there. “We need some southern comfort/To cure these homesick blues,” Michelle Malone sings on this track. She grew up in Atlanta, and that city is still home. “I’m going home to find a friendly face.” I’ve said it before, but there is something about going home that is always appealing in song. And I love when Michelle starts belting out the line “I’ve got to get back home” just before the end, the energy of the music matching her drive. This song was written by Michelle Malone and Gary Stier. By the way, underneath the CD tray in the case it says, “Bless your heart,” which is funny because that phrase can have two very different connotations. “Southern Comfort” is followed by “Like Mother Like Daughter,” which also has an appealing southern vibe, that sense of place being a part of the song. “‘Cause she’s hot-headed, lead-footed/Down to the bone, rooted deep in her southern ways/And she’s sharp as a tack, won’t have you talking back/And there’s nothing that she’ll take to her grave/Oh, it must be in the water/Like mother, like daughter.” It’s a playful and honest song about that mother-daughter relationship, delivered with love. This track also features some nice touches by Jeff Spirko on fiddle. This song was written by Dean Dillon and Michelle Malone.

“I Choke On My Words” has a softer sound, and looks back at the past, though because of the encouragement by others. “People come up to me and they bring up the past/It never fails, they always ask/If I remember the time I did this or did that.” And I love how her response to these inquiries is always yes, not exactly delivered with pride or anything, but answered honestly, owning her past. And then she sings, “From my current perspective, all I can do is forgive.” What’s interesting there is that the person she speaks of forgiving is herself. We’ve all done some things we’re not proud of, but for many of us those things can remain in the past. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up now, with social media sites and cell phones keeping a record of everything you do, keeping it all forever in the present. In a decade or two, we’ll be getting a different sort of songs about being reminded of the past. Buddy Miller plays electric guitar on this track, and Randall Bramblett is on electric piano. Eliot Bronson and Brian Bisky provide backing vocals. This song was written by Dean Dillon and Michelle Malone, as was the song that follows it, “Simple Life.” This one has a cheerful vibe as it begins, even including some finger snaps. “I’m just trying to do the best I can/Saving pennies on my nightstand/If you’re in need, I’ll lend a helping hand.” She delivers a sweet, rather pretty vocal performance on this one, and is joined by Kala Warner on backing vocals. “Some people think life’s about making money,” Michelle sings, then adds, on a personal note, in contrast, “Give me a road trip somewhere I’ve never gone/Someone to go along on a road trip high/Make some memories along the way/There’s a lot to say for the simple life.”

The sweet vibes continue on “Easter Sunday.” There is something soothing about the sound of this song. “We made breakfast and drank red wine from coffee cups/On Easter Sunday.” Lines like those give us such a strong sense of the place, of the atmosphere, that we feel we are there. And a little later she sings, “I felt warm and safe like I belonged,” and the whole vibe of the song has that feeling. This track features some nice work on electric guitar toward the end. That’s followed by “Believe.” Eliot Bronson co-wrote this one with Michelle Malone, and provides backing vocals. This song has strong opening lines: “Time on my hands, hands on the wheel/Wheels keep on turning.” It is a beautiful and moving song of loss, in which Michelle asks, “Will I see you again if I believe?” And for me, perhaps the more difficult and pressing question she asks is, “Who am I now that you have gone?” The line before that is “You always made feel like I belonged,” the second song in a row to use the phrase “like I belonged.” And that makes us think a little more on it. What seems positive at first, belonging, perhaps now strikes us as a bit more sad, because she isn’t saying she belonged, but rather like she belonged. This is one of my personal favorite songs from the album, and I love how it grows in power toward the end, as she concludes, “I believe.”

“Undercover Mother” is a playful number, featuring some good stuff on keys. Trina Meade joins her again on backing vocals for this song. I like that spoken word bit at the end: “Don’t you mess around with her/She’s gonna take you down/’Cause she’s a bad mother/She did the best she could.” That’s followed by “I Want To Be In That Picture,” which looks back, though an old snapshot, to a better time: “There’s Mom and Dad beside an old Ford/Big smiles in 1984/Back before they had me and my brother.” Soon she sings, “Dad lost his job and his love for my mother.” We can’t help but wonder if the character of the song blames herself and her brother for things getting worse. She longs to be in the picture back when her parents were still in love, for what she witnessed, what she experienced of their relationship was not like what she sees in the photo. The next photo she looks at is from her birthday, and it lacks her father. I appreciate the play on the word “presence,” which sounds close to “presents,” in that stanza. This pretty and sad song was written by Dean Dillon and Michelle Malone.

“Barbed Wire Kisses” has a good power behind it. “I felt so dumb, I wanted to run/My feet wouldn’t move, but my mouth was a gun/I tried to hurt you the way that you hurt me.” Special guest Will Kimbrough plays slide guitar on this track. “That knife in my back could have been a mistake.” There is some strong imagery in this song, as you might gather from the song’s title. “Barbed wire kisses like a rusty chain around my heart.” That’s followed by “One Track Mind,” a love song in which that special someone dominates her thoughts. “People think they’re talking to me/I don’t hear a word they say/ ‘Cause in my head sweet words you said/They take up all the real estate,” she sings. Charlie Starr plays guitar on this one. The album then concludes with “Wine And Regret.” Michelle Malone delivers some really nice work on harmonica at the beginning. “So this is how it feels when your heart/Your heart gets peeled from your chest/And leaves an empty hole/You fill up with wine and regret.” This is a beautiful song of loss, featuring a passionate vocal performance. “And I’ll never let you go/And I’ll always keep you close/So close to me/Close as any ghost, close as any ghost can be.” And the harmonica returns, like a spirit answering her. The guitar work near the end is stunning. This is another of the album’s highlights, perhaps its best song.

CD Track List

1. Southern Comfort
2. Like Mother Like Daughter
3. I Choke On My Words
4. Simple Life
5. Easter Sunday
6. Believe
7. Undercover Mother
8. I Want To Be In That Picture
9. Barbed Wire Kisses
10. One Track Mind
11. Wine And Regret

Southern Comfort is scheduled to be released on October 4, 2024 on SBS Records.

Amy Rigby: “Hang In There With Me” (2024) CD Review

Living in Los Angeles, I spend quite a bit of time in my car, and it’s there that I listen to mix CDs that I’ve made. On one of those discs is Amy Rigby’s “Don’t Ever Change” from her phenomenal Til The Wheels Fall Off album (the same one that contains “Are We Ever Gonna Have Sex Again?”). The lines that stand out every time I listen, the ones that really affect me are these: “I’m holding on to anything that’s good in this world/There’s a lot that’s good in this world.” Those lines have helped through some moments, I don’t mind telling you.  And that’s what I love about this artist. She is often funny, which is great, but in the heart of her material is something that moves us, that connects us. And she delivers it with a voice that sometimes feels like it is on the edge, perhaps ready for tears or perhaps an explosion of joy. And isn’t that how many of us feel a lot of the time? On her new album, Hang In There With Me, Amy Rigby delivers original material that addresses aging and mortality and a world that has gone a little cuckoo. She does so with honesty, with humor, and with a desire to reach out. The album’s title itself shows that desire for a connection, and, even more, resilience. Amy Rigby plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, piano, and electric piano. She is joined by Eric Goulden (Wreckless Eric) on bass, electric guitar, electric piano, organ, synthesizer, omnichord, lap steel, percussion and backing vocals. Sam Shepherd plays drums on several tracks.

Amy Rigby opens this album with “Hell-Oh Sixty,” the title a playful salutation to aging. The first lines are about being twenty, and the song quickly takes us through the decades. “Forty was a field, a field of dreams/Fifty didn’t fit, had to let out the seams.” I don’t know if there are more songs about aging these days than ever before, or if I’m just noticing them more, connecting to them more, but at any rate I love this song. And that line about being fifty not fitting in particular speaks to me. She also sings, “Fifty was a film by Mike Leigh.” That and the line about forty being “a field of dreams” are the first of several film references on this album. Sam Shepherd plays drums on this track.  And speaking of aging, that song is followed by one titled “Too Old To Be So Crazy,” There are some interesting, trippy effects on her vocals at the start. Then as the song threatens to kick in, Amy sings, “I should be kicking back/Instead of gearing up to take another crack/I’m too old to be so crazy.” And then it does kick in. But what is too old? Also, do people ever change? I’m still not sure they do. “Good god, I’m doing it again/Still like some wild-eyed kid/Never too tired to try what I already did.” I assume if you’re a bit off-kilter at twenty, you’ll still be at it at sixty. This song may be specifically about being a musician, but I think it applies pretty well to the rest of us. Doug Wygal is on drums for this one.

“O Anjali” has a sweeter vibe. “How may I help?/How may I help?” Amy sings early in the song. Ah, how often does someone ask that and mean it? “What’s that you say/Things have gone to hell/State of the world/Don’t get me started/I’m here to help, I’m here to help.” Wonderful! On one level, this is a folk number, with acoustic guitar at the fore. But backing that is some spacy work on synthesizers, and that combination of sounds is striking and works quite well. It is like two worlds moving simultaneously. The lines about losing her dad hit me hard every time I listen to this song. “Life’s kinda hard/Why is life so hard?” This song’s lyrics also give the album its title. “Are you still with me/Hang in there with me.” We all need someone to say that he or she is here for us, and sometimes if there isn’t a person there, the music itself acts as that friend. That’s followed by “Dylan In Dubuque.” There is a bit of banter before the song begins, and then a good strong groove is established. “I’m a sinner and a liar, but I do the best I can/Yeah, I’ll set myself on fire like a good song and dance man/I am shameless, I am grateful, on the road to somewhere else/And sometimes I play the martyr, but I mostly play myself.” The song was inspired by an infamous Bob Dylan concert in Dubuque in 1996 where people kept rushing onto the stage, and it’s sung from Dylan’s perspective. From accounts, Dylan just kept on doing what he was doing, unbothered by the action around him (some say even enjoying it, which seems strangely out of character). Doug Wygal plays drums on this track.

“Try your whole life to make something that matters,” Amy Rigby sings at the beginning of “Requiem.” Something artistic, in whatever realm you feel most aligned with. Many of us feel a need to do just that. The lyrics come at us in quick succession. “Selling makes you crazy/Giving up is lazy/Tough days got to play it/Like DeNiro and Scorsese/First you get hurt/Then you get smart.” The song turns to the larger questions: “Why are we born, why must we expire/Good times, bad times/Crawling through the mire/Trouble is a season/There must be a reason/Hearts break, earthquake/One more winter freezing.” Ah, yes, we want there to be a reason for the suffering and for the nonsense. There isn’t one, but whatever meaning we ourselves assign to this craziness. And speaking of craziness, in this song she makes mention of Hannibal Lecter, a fictional character that the rapist running for president on the Republican ticket thinks not only is a real person, but a wonderful guy. Try and discover the reason for the existence of that slimeball. “Tough times, we all eat it like Hannibal Lecter.” This song continues the film references with those mentions of DeNiro, Scorsese and Hannibal Lecter. There are also film references in “Bangs,” a playful number about hair. There is kind of a cool punk vibe to this song, and Sam Shepherd is on drums. “I need something to hide behind/Give me a curtain of my own/I want bangs.” On this track she makes a reference to Shampoo, that great Hal Ashby movie (well, all his movies from the 1970s are great): “Come on and cut me/Like Warren Beatty in Shampoo/I’ll play Julie Christie for you/In my bangs.” And later she makes a reference to another cool film, Girl On A Motorcycle.  

“The Farewell Tour” has a beautiful sound, particularly in the guitar work. “The scenes you made/The plans you laid/You watch it fade/‘Til you can’t see it anymore/The farewell tour.” That’s followed by “Bad In A Good Way,” which has an interesting sound from the start, with the backward guitar loops and the fuzz guitar. Plus, Amy’s delivery is unusual and compelling, making effective use of pauses. “And they came to celebrate him/Did one ever merely date him/And the world, it swirled around them one more time he did astound them/With a feeling of perfection mixed with ultimate rejection/And they raised a glass and claimed they never felt so all alone.” Then “Bricks” has a sense of fun, with an enjoyable rhythm and a great energy. Here are the song’s first lines:  “I can’t believe you’re back again/I’ll tell you now like I told you then/We’re through.” That’s followed by “Heart Is A Muscle,” which comes on with some delicious rock energy. “I’m on a roll/I’m on a tear now/I want to burn down everything in my path/I sold my soul/So I don’t care now.” This song is so bloody cool. And could the line “I’m leaving town for where the good times go” be a reference to Kinks’ “Where Have All The Good Times Gone”? The album concludes with “Last Night’s Rainbow,” another song that grabs me right away. Check out these opening lines: “Today is shit/Today’s a bust/Roaches, garbage, drains and rust/Maybe I dreamt it/I don’t have proof/But last night’s rainbow told the truth.” And toward the end, she sings, “And I must hold on, it’s what I do.” Hold on, and hang in there. You’re not alone.

CD Track List

1. Hell-Oh Sixty
2. Too Old To Be So Crazy
3. O Anjali
4. Dylan In Dubuque
5. Requiem
6. Bangs
7. The Farewell Tour
8. Bad In A Good Way
9. Bricks
10. Heart Is A Muscle
11. Last Night’s Rainbow

Hang In There With Me is scheduled to be released on August 30, 2024.

I See Hawks In L.A. at Cabin Creek Crystals, 8-1-24 Concert Review

I See Hawks In L.A. playing "Still Want You"

The Hawks are back! It was announced online a few weeks ago that in August I See Hawks In L.A. would begin performing under that band name again (recent shows have been billed as Rob Waller & Friends), and it turns out we did not have to wait much into August for that to happen. Yesterday evening the musicians played their first gig as I See Hawks In L.A. since the passing of Paul Lacques in January. And they chose the perfect spot and moment for it: on the beach on Jerry Garcia’s birthday as the sun was going down. I mean, seriously, what better setting could anyone have devised? There is a courtyard outside the crystal shop where concerts had been held in the past, but this time it was decided to set up at the edge of the pedestrian walkway known as Ocean Front Walk. The band was on one side, and the chairs set up on the other, which meant that passersby would be passing right in front of the stage, between the band and the audience. Ordinarily I would have expected that to be incredibly distracting and annoying, but somehow it wasn’t at all. The Hawks, with their special magic, somehow included all those people, however briefly, in the fun. Also fitting for this band, they made no big deal out of the fact that this was their first show back as the Hawks. In fact, they made no deal of it at all. Rather, as always, it was all about the music.

"If I Move"

They opened the first set, just after 6 p.m., with “Raised By Hippies,” a nice way to kick off the Jerry Garcia birthday show. And if you’re wondering, I’ll just tell you now, no, the band did not play “I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead” last night. Talk about defying expectations. By the way, Dan Wistrom, who had not been at the recent Long Beach Rob Waller & Friends show, was back on pedal steel and electric guitar for this Venice Beach show. He started the night off on pedal steel for that first song, delivering some nice work. Rob then mentioned that it was good to see some old friends at the show, as well as some new friends as they speed by on electric bicycles. Dan switched to electric guitar for “White Cross,” delivering an excellent lead, and then was back on pedal steel for “Poour Me” and “If I Move.”  There was such a good, joyous vibe to the music. And yeah, that’s not unusual for this band, but the setting seemed to make everything even more special.

"Open Door"

“Ohio” was a lot of fun last night, as always. I’m hoping that song will find a place on the next album. “I was poisoned by the California dream/I was hooked on my vanity project, but now I’m clean.” Many of us living in Los Angeles have considered leaving, going back to wherever it is we’re from. But then again, anywhere this band plays feels like “Sweet home” for the duration of the show. That was followed by “Highway Down,” long one of my favorites of the band’s material. It had a particularly good feel about it at this show. Paul Marshall then sang lead on “Drinkers Hall Of Fame.” “Here’s a fun song that also happens to be on the set list,” he joked during the song’s introduction. This was another highlight of the first set, and it was delightfully playful. Dan delivered some great stuff on pedal steel. And at one point near the end of the song, a foot race passed between the stage and the audience. A strange and beautiful evening. “Open Door” followed, with Victoria Jacobs on lead vocals. I was so happy to hear this song at the Long Beach show, and it was great hearing it again last night.

“I’ve been meaning to get to the beach,” Rob Waller said after “Open Door.” “It’s really nice.” Indeed! It’s ridiculous that I don’t get to the beach more often, particularly as the proximity to the ocean is one of the reasons I like living here. The band then played “California Country,” which featured a good lead by Dan on electric guitar. After that song a woman was walking by with her dog, and Rob addressed her directly, telling her he’d like to do a song for her dog. And they went into “A Dog Can Break Your Heart Too,” a song I haven’t heard the band play very often, but one that features their wonderful harmonies. The woman stayed for the song (so did her dog), and afterward it sounded like she said her dog was named Mini Cooper, but I might have misheard her. It didn’t matter because right then the band launched into “Humboldt,” and I was suddenly too busy dancing to care about the dog’s identity. They delivered a good jam, featuring some really nice work on bass. Dan had the freedom to get wild on guitar toward the end. The set ended at 7:04 p.m.

"Hope Against Hope"

Three of the four musicians were back on stage approximately twenty minutes later, and at 7:30 Dan joined them. Rob joked that Dan had to go buy some weed, and the band then played “Hope Against Hope,” a sweet, beautiful way to open the set as the sky was turning to darker pinks and greys. “I always like to play that one outside at sunset,” Rob said afterward. They followed that with “Carbon Dated Love.” Then Victoria asked, “Do you guys want to hear a story?” Several people in the audience shouted out, “Yeah!” They had a pretty good idea what song it was they were cheering for, the always-enjoyable “My Parka Saved Me.” I’m not sure how they managed it, but this song was even more fun than usual. Rob told the audience afterward, “It was a true story from her life.” But Victoria wasn’t entirely paying attention to him, for she had turned around to view the sky. She exclaimed, “Look at that sunset.” Again, it was a special night.

"Hippie On The Road"

“Hippie On The Road” had a whole lot of energy, and at the end Rob said that bit about all of us being hippies on the road, then amended it to “hippies on the boardwalk,” and added “Even you, sir” to someone passing by. Again, the evening had that kind of joy. And all those who were around became a part of the location, and so a part of the concert, whether they realized it or not. The sky became even more magnificent during “Live And Never Learn,” staircases of red descending from the clouds behind the band. Whether related to the spectacular sky or not, this was a particularly good rendition of “Live And Never Learn.” That was followed by a beautiful rendition of “Know Just What To Do,” with Dan delivering some nice work on pedal steel.

“They’re closing up the weed shop,” Rob noted, as he looked off toward a nearby store, though I’m sure that by then anyone in the audience who wanted to get a little high had already attained some sort of cruising altitude. The band then went into Paul Marshall’s “Truth Is You Lied,” which was featured in the movie Grace Of My Heart (if you haven’t seen that movie, you should check it out), and was such a treat to hear last night. It’s a song I love, and I don’t hear it often enough. They followed that with “Me And Paul,” a Willie Nelson song played in tribute to Paul Lacques. In the song’s introduction, Rob mentioned that he had hoped Willie would perform it the night before. I think several folks in the audience had been at the Hollywood Bowl the previous night for the John Mellencamp/Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson show. (By the way, Bob Dylan delivered a really touching rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Stella Blue” at that show.) “Me And Paul” was followed by yet another treat, “Still Want You,” which was a total delight. It’s another favorite of mine. They then wrapped up the set with “Good And Foolish Times,” which felt perfect. “Didn’t we have some good times/Some good and foolish times.” That was intended as the last song of the night, but the audience wanted one more, and the band obliged, sending everyone off into the night with a beautiful rendition of “Grapevine.” The show ended at 8:28 p.m.

Set List

Set I

1. Raised By Hippies
2. White Cross
3. Poour Me
4. If I Move
5. Ohio
6. Highway Down
7. Drinkers Hall Of Fame
8. Open Door
9. California Country
10. A Dog Can Break Your Heart Too
11. Humboldt

Set II

1. Hope Against Hope
2. Carbon Dated Love
3. My Parka Saved Me
4. Hippie On The Road
5. Live And Never Learn
6. Know Just What To Do
7. Truth Is You Lied
8. Me And Paul
9. Still Want You
10. Good And Foolish Times

Encore

1. Grapevine

Here are a few more photos from the show:

"Ohio"

 

"Drinkers Hall Of Fame"

"Carbon Dated Love"

"My Parka Saved Me"

"Hippie On The Road"

"Live And Never Learn"