push your old numbers

I'm a creature of rules, but if you happen to be a lifelong friend visiting me from afar, I'm more than willing to bend a few of them to spend time with you. Thus, it was off to enjoy a night in the Mission District, complete with burritos and '90s indie rock heroes Kristin Hersh and Grant-Lee Phillips, in the company of my old pal Jacki.

Kristin Hersh and Grant-Lee Phillips, the Chapel, March 29, 2018

About Jacki -- we saw a lot of music together back when she lived in the Bay Area, and in fact, she was my Grant Lee Buffalo buddy for a long time, seeing their shows all over the Bay Area. I'm not sure even she understands the magnitude of the concert we saw at Slim's in 1994. It kicked my ass and opened my eyes to the power of modern American indie music. If it weren't for that gig, I'm not sure I would've found my way to Wilco, and though I think I would've discovered Largo at some point, I doubt I'd have staked my claim when I did.

Fast-forward a jillion years, and she happened to schedule a visit when Kristin Hersh and Grant-Lee Phillips were in town. Of course that meant I had to break my not at all hard rule about seeing musicians from way back in my younger days. Bonus: My friend Jenn -- whom I had met in line while waiting to buy Jeff Tweedy tickets at the Fillmore, then ran into again months later at BOTH, where we were chatting for a good 20 or 30 minutes before we realized we had already met -- was there too!

If you read this blog regularly, you know I don't do a ton of research into gigs anymore. I buy the tickets, show up, and let the music work its magic. Based on the billing, I assumed this was a co-headlining tour, but didn't give much thought to how Kristin and Grant would share the stage. As it happened, we arrived mere minutes before Grant started his set, which was obviously good for us.

I've lost track of how many times I've seen Grant over the years, but it's been a while. To be frank, Largo grew and his audience did not. In addition, I heard that he's since moved out of the state, so he's less likely to drop in and hang out as he did back in the day.

What hasn't changed is his gorgeous, clear voice and the buoyant harmonies he favors. It was easy to get right back into his songs and his familiar banter. Unsurprisingly, he referenced the current political atmosphere and the songs he wrote in reaction to the 2016 election. His commentary wasn't heavy-handed, but even if it were, I wouldn't have minded. It's impossible to avoid, and I don't think you can underplay the disaster of this administration anyway. He also revisited the work of his old band with the magnificent "Mighty Joe Moon" and "Honey Don't Think," both of which remain transcendent.

Kristin Hersh was, in fact, the headliner and enjoyed a longer set than Grant. I have to admit I didn't listen to Throwing Muses during those years, despite their prestigious slot on the 4AD roster and the fact that Mori -- my dear friend and the biggest Anglophile I know -- actually liked them, American provenance and all. I don't have an explanation why, but hey, you can't listen to everything all the time. Now, of course, it's easier to see how she matched up against the songwriters of that time, and it's no mystery how she's stuck around all these years. Simply put, she has a distinct, original worldview and the craft to match it.

The ethereal Kristin Hersh at the Chapel, March 29, 2018

A post shared by pneyu (@pneyu) on Apr 6, 2018 at 2:19pm PDT

In their current incarnations, it can be hard to believe that Kristin and Grant arose from the same era and the same genre. Kristin addressed it herself in her opening remarks, where she contrasted Grant's happy, catchy songs with her heavier tracks. But listen in, and you'll hear an authentic record of modern life in their lyrics. And we're lucky to get to hear them over the years.

Seeing Kristin onstage, it hit me that she could be Gillian Welch's northern, hardscrabble cousin -- if you don't mind my mythologizing (and overlook the fact that Gillian grew up in Los Angeles with show-biz adoptive parents). I try not to fall into lazy generalizations, but again, give them a listen to their stories of lives lived away from the usual paths. You might hear it too.

Anyway, Kristin belied her sometimes unsettling songs with funny stories, including an interview she had done earlier that week with someone who she thought had clearly based their questions on her Wikipedia entry. She also shared a memory of driving away from her home in anger and encountering a man who was steering a snow tractor in circles. She concluded that he had probably done the same as her but had grabbed the other set of keys. And for those of us who like the hits, she did the peerless "Your Ghost."

Grant and Kristin concluded the show with a duet on one of her songs whose title escaped me, as well as some stories about their shared acquaintance. Their mutual friend John Doe came up in conversation, along with a mention of the days when VH1 actually showed their music videos. It's hard to believe these days, but it was all true for one glorious era.

See also:
» Take Me Home Country Pigeon
» i'm happy, hope you're happy too
» the shining hour

all around me a voice was sounding

Hey, look -- my first concert of 2018! Thanks to Dave Rawlings and company for the invite.

Dave Rawlings, the Fillmore, March 1, 2018

I'm officially at the point where I've seen Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch so much that I can no longer recall who headlined at the latest show I attended. Of course, this comes with a couple of caveats: (1) That may be my middle-age senility setting in, and (2) A surfeit of Gill and Dave is a nice problem to have.

The latest Dave Rawlings record got me thinking about how much this band, outfit, arrangement, what have you has evolved over the years. After listening to so many spare, stripped Gillian Welch albums, as well as Dave's naturalistic works, you can hear the more modern production on Poor David's Almanack. "Cumberland Gap," in particular, jumps out at me -- the keyboard, especially. Dave and Gill trading verses sent my mind to Fleetwood Mac, though friends cited "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.

This, in turn, led me to reflect on the growth of Dave Rawlings as a frontman. I imagine Dave played plenty of gigs around Nashville when he and Gill were starting out, but I don't think he truly embarked on his own until the last decade or so. I'll brag about this to my dying day, but I was extremely fortunate to have caught Dave and Gill so often when they played Largo regularly at both the old and new locations. Many of those gigs were under Dave's name, so I've been able to witness his act develop and his catalog grow.

Those Largo shows were special, but their visit to the Great American Music Hall on what was probably the first true tour under Dave's name also stands out. We were giddy that night, as San Francisco poured out its long-established love for Gillian Welch onto David. I can still feel the joy streaming from both the performers and the audience.

Obviously, there have been many shows between then and now, but as they took the stage this night, they seemed like a true band for the first time in my memory. The setup is still pretty sparse, with no drum kit or even amps, but heck, Gillian and violinist Brittany Haas wore dresses in matching fabric!

They opened with a rollicking "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" from Bob Dylan, and as you can imagine, the crowd ate it up. In my opinion, the first half of the show was oddly paced, partly because they don't exactly excel in onstage banter and partly due to song selection. They went with mostly tracks from the new record, but threw in Gill's "Wayside/Back in Time" for the local angle.

They took their usual intermission, and the pace seemed to pick up during the second half, though to their credit, I haven't shared much of their funnier moments. For example, Gill revealed to us that she had slashed her finger just before the show and was relying on glue to keep the bleeding at bay. Also, both Willie Watson and Gill worked a small set of bongo drums for separate songs, and Willie did a few tunes too.

"Miss Ohio" got its obligatory turn during the second set, but believe it or not, it wasn't the highlight. Instead, it was a song from Old Crow Medicine Show ("Hear Them All") married to the Woody Guthrie classic "This Land Is Your Land," and let me tell you -- it feels like we need that song more than ever these days. No one had to say anything else; our voices singing together did all the talking. Another fun moment from the second set: the aforementioned Brittany Haas trading in her violin for a guitar (on a song whose name I can't remember). Guess what? She was really good. Also, Dave at one point played electric guitar, which never happens at Gill's shows.

But they truly saved the best for last, as they tore through an encore sequence that included a Radiohead cover ("Black Star"), another Dylan cover ("Queen Jane Approximately"), and a Bright Eyes/Neil Young medley ("Method Acting"/"Cortez the Killer"). The last two songs were especially punishing, and for the umpteenth time, I marveled at how they wrench so much tension from that Dylan track. For the third and final encore, they went into a five-person version of "Go to Sleep You Little Baby" (a first for me), and we thought it was over -- but no! They brought back "Jack of Hearts" to bring it full circle.

Dave looked exhausted as they truly bade us good night, for good reason. I hope our cheers and applause let him know that we appreciated every ounce of sweat he poured out onstage.

And finally, one more memory of the night I'd like to share. See you again soon!

“The human rhythm section.” Great photo by @pneyu from 3rd encore at the Fillmore. . . #davidrawlings #gillianwelch #williewatson #didntleavenobodybutthebaby

A post shared by Gillian Welch (@gillianwelchofficial) on Mar 7, 2018 at 11:41am PST

See also:
» i remember standing by the wall
» that's all they really want
» hotter than a pepper sprout

sings a song sounds like she's singing

Last year was a drag (and worse) in most regards, but at least I was able to see it out with awesome tunes, courtesy of Lucius at the Independent.

Lucius, the Independent, December 31, 2017

I'm not the concertgoer I used to be, and often, I don't even see the bands that I've enjoyed on other occasions. For example, Lucius was fantastic at Solid Sound, but when they came around on tour, I didn't bite. Honestly, I might have opted out on the worst socializing night of the year if Paul weren't in town. Fortunately, he's never led me astray, and it turned out to be a fantastic evening.

Anyone who reads this blog knows I lean toward the earnest and acoustic, but one can't subsist on folk music alone. Even I need to mix it up now and again, and it's a bonus when musicians can blend solid foundational skills with a wink, a nod, and a beat you can dance to. You may first notice Lucius' glam looks with the blond wigs, dramatic makeup, and coordinated outfits. But give them a listen, and you can't deny that their voices are golden, especially in unison.

To that end, they took a different angle with each show of the New Year's triptych, with one all-acoustic night, one electric night, and one surprise night. I'm sure invested fans already knew the plan, but I didn't -- and was delighted to learn New Year's Eve would include lots of cover versions.

The band started the night with its own tunes, but as a uninformed casual observer, I can't tell you what they were. Paul told me one was "Dusty Trails," but I don't know if that was the a cappella track they performed from the middle of the dance floor, under the mirror ball, followed by the New Year's Eve countdown. In any case, they sounded amazing and made me think of how cool it must be to sound that good on your own, without any tricks or effects. What a gift!

The second half of the show was devoted to covers as suggested by fans on the internet (Twitter? Facebook? Instagram?). They started with "1999," and let me tell you, the song still works in 2017 going into 2018. It was all hits from there on out -- no obscure tracks from experimental 1970s albums by one-shot supergroups. Nope, we got all the fun songs from Stevie Nicks, the B-52s, Lips Inc., and more, with not even a whiff of, say, "Despacito."

As a Gen X-er, I was surprised by the song selection, perhaps moreso regarding the audience. You'd expect Lucius as musicians to know a wide range of artists and eras, but if these tunes were indeed suggested by the audience, you had to wonder if they were drawing from their parents' or babysitters' record collections. Yes, I know, music has no bounds now, thanks to the internet and pop culture in general, and I'm not complaining about hearing "Edge of Seventeen." Anyway, thanks millennials! It was the most unadulterated fun I've had at a concert in a while.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence opened, and it was my first time seeing them, despite living in San Francisco this long and even working with perhaps a junior member of the troupe! They were the perfect choice, and I could see how they helped set the foundation for gay rights and expression in the city, even if their skits spoke more of a past era. When they rejoined Lucius at the end of the show for the cover medley, you could certainly sense that their influence had indeed spread to artistic and curious young men and women all over the country.

See also:
» the boys are back in town