Okee dokee folks … I had a double-header weekend and was able to catch two shows. Actually it was three in two days, but I don’t have to review my friend’s band.
The first show was Roger McGuinn on Saturday night at the Odeum in East Greenwich. The second was Roseanne Cash at Veterans Auditorium on Sunday. If you want know the third it was the Bastards at Firehouse 13 in Providence!
It had been almost 30 years since I last saw a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and former member of the ’60s folk-rock band the Byrds Roger McGuinn in concert and was glad I had the opportunity to see him again. Thirty years ago it was a lightly attended triple bill with McGuinn, Rick Danko and Steve Forbert in a small auditorium at URI in Kingston. That was quite the night; the power went off mid-show and they continued totally acoustic! This time around it was just McGuinn playing to a capacity crowd and the power stayed on. I haven’t been to the Odeum in a few years and I had forgotten what a lovely theater it is. EVERY seat has a great view and the sound was perfect. McGuinn took the stage a little after 8pm, playing his signature Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitar. He walked out already playing, stepped up to the microphone and began singing Bob Dylan’s “My Back Pages” with the audience joining in. The “Fedora-ed” McGuinn sat down and picked up his acoustic SEVEN string guitar, which he later explained to the audience and spoke of how he was going to take them through his own “back pages.” He told short stories about each song before he played them. For his second song intro he said he was asked to write some music for a low budget biker movie. Bob Dylan was originally asked but he just jotted down some notes and then had Peter Fonda give the notes to McGuinn. The resulting song was “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” which he started to play. He mentioned, “I gave Bob Dylan half the writing credit but he didn’t want it!” 5D (Fifth Dimension) was prefaced by holding a small tape player up to the mic playing a recording of the Twilight Zone Theme. He kept the theme sci-fi and picked up the Rick and performed “Mr. Spaceman.” Throughout the first set he kept the crowd very happy with numbers such as “Pretty Boy Floyd,” “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” “Drugstore Truck Drivin’ Man,” and “Rock Island Line.” He picked up a long neck banjo to play “I Wanna Grow Up to be a Politician” for what he called “the silly season.” He closed the first set with a traditional sea shanty and “Don’t Write Her Off Like That.” “You folks can take a 15-minute break, I am going to sit up here and practice” is how he announced the break. McGuinn’s wife was in the lobby selling his CDs for him making the Odeum show a true family affair. While I was in the men’s room I could hear folks in the (lengthy line) commenting about the show. “He’s still got it!” “He is still great!” “Hurry up, I have to pee” (oh, wait, that was me), “Last time I saw him he was with the Byrds!” and “Not bad for a 72-year-old!”
The second set started the same as the first with McGuinn walking out playing his electric “Rick” but this time “So You Wanna Be A Rock n’ Roll Star” was the song and it was complete with the audience filling in cheers like the original record. He followed with a version of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” after saying that when he first heard Petty he thought Tom sounded a lot like his own voice. He continued his Petty story by explaining how a Frisbee hitting his wife’s face at a Petty concert led to McGuinn joining Petty and Bob Dylan on a European tour. The highlight of the night for me was hearing “Chestnut Mare,” the beautiful, talking, singing, story song of how “I’m gonna catch that horse if I can, and when I do I’ll give her my brand.” After a few more songs he began telling the saga of how the Byrds were formed and named and each bit of the tale followed with a song. There were a lot of great anecdotes throughout the night and they were just as enjoyable as the music. It was like a live version of MTV’s “Behind The Music.” He ended the second set with “Eight Miles High” and described how it was influenced by a return flight from London, the guitarist Segovia, and Coltrane. He received a well deserved standing ovation, which brought him out for two more songs: “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her.” McGuinn played a thoroughly satisfying two hour show that would have pleased a hardcore fan or first timer. His voice is still holding up pretty well and he still can maintain the higher registers without much strain detected. He continues to play his trademark guitars and maintains his original style of playing and brand of sound. The stage was simple: 12 string acoustic, 7 string acoustic, banjo, 12 string electric, bench and a few ferns and ficus trees. After viewing a few TouTube videos after the concert I wondered if he travels with those trees and likes the Zach Galifianakis Between Two Ferns stage look. If you have a chance to see McGuinn in the future I would recommend going. He is 72 years old and though he shows no signs of slowing down, you never how long he will keep going. Also, The Greenwich Odeum is a fantastic place to see a live show. Lots of amazing shows coming up: Martin Sexton, Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell Tribute, Beach Boys Tribute and more. theodeum.org
The second show was First Works’ presentation of Roseanne Cash at the Veterans Auditorium in Providence. The show had a scheduled start time of 6:30, which I found a bit odd. At about 6:40, a First Works rep and a couple of students said a few words and then introduced Cash. Her band came out and began performing. Cash joined them after about a minute. They went right into the scheduled performance of her Grammy Award winning CD, The River and the Thread. After the first song she said, “This is something I have always wanted to do and in 37 years I never have…play a whole album in sequence.” She went on to tell stories about how she and husband John Leventhal, who is also one of the guitarists in the band, wrote the songs for the album. Each song had a story and sometimes an adventure to go with it. All of the pre-song banter seemed to be very rehearsed and well scripted. A large screen behind the stage presented images to augment the stories of the songs — cotton fields, an old house, a river, a photo of a couple superimposed on an array of thermometers. The third song, “Etta’s Tune,” was the song that the thermometers referenced. It was a song inspired by her father, Johnny Cash’s bass player and his wife of 65 years. She said, “For a touring musician that has to be some kind of record!” The lyric begins with, “What’s the temperature, darling?” This is what they started each day saying to each other. The final two songs of the River and the Thread were in my opinion the best songs of first set. “When the Master Call the Roll” she mentioned was written by her, Levanthal and her ex-husband, Rodney Crowell. This song received a very rousing round of applause. Cash stated, “We are coming to the end of the River and the Thread part of the show…” and then went into band introductions and the song, “Money Road.” This song featured guitar solos by Levanthal and Kevin Barry that brought the set to a close and the audience to their feet. After a lengthy intermission the band returned to play a more traditional set from Cash’s catalog including a couple from the album The List. She dedicated the third song, “Blue Moon with a Heartache” to the recently deceased Merle Haggard. Four of the five band members left the stage to Cash and Leventhal and they performed as an acoustic duo for the next two songs. They did a phenomenal job on the Bobby Gentry song “Ode to Billy Joe” and followed with a great rendition of “The Long Black Veil..” The band rejoined them and she introduced the next song as being by Robert Zimmerman (Dylan for those NOT in the know). Roseanne jokingly replied to some comment Levanthal had made by saying, “Don’t argue with me!” to which the audience applauded and Levanthal said, “Don’t encourage that!” This was as loose as they got. Roseanne’s version of her father’s “Flat Top Box” was next and then she finished with “Seven Year Ache.” Hooting, whistling and a standing ovation brought them all for “another song by Robert Zimmerman” –“Farewell Angelina” and then a mellow finish with “500 Miles.”
Overall the show was enjoyable but I felt that the band lacked spark. The first set of the River and the Thread seemed generally subdued. They are all great players and talents but, to me, it appeared as if they were all holding back. I am sure that the 1200 people in attendance would disagree with me but it felt as though there could have been more passion. It was all just TOO polished. The last two songs of The River and the Thread and the two songs where Cash and Leventhal performed as a duo were the best parts of the evening.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. JohnFuzek.com
