We Got Nothing But Night

When David Garza announced on the afternoon of Saturday, April 2, 2016, that he was planning a set with some guests in The Little Room at Largo at the Coronet that night, I made my plans to attend, though none of my friends could make the last minute show.  It was a small, but appreciative audience that night. I love the intimacy of this room, where sitting in the front you can feel the vibrations created by the instruments flowing right off the stage. I apologize in advance for the lack of thorough information on this show. I probably should

Ain’t Too Many Folks Can Play Too Many Notes

I was so lucky to see mandolin player extraordinaire Chris Thile in concert at my favorite venue, Largo at the Coronet, on Sunday, March 27, 2016. I am not going to go into lengthy details about Chris other than to mention I have seen him play a few times before with Nickel Creek, with the Punch Brothers, and as a soloist. Would I be talking him up too much if I said his gifts on the mandolin are unparalleled? How do you warm up an audience for one of the foremost music geniuses of our time?  Apparently, with feats of

Go Ahead and Break My Heart

I was back at  Largo at the Coronet on Friday, March 25, 2016 for Jon Brion’s monthly show. The addition of special guest Grant-Lee Phillips livened up the night. I’ve seen Grant-Lee perform a few times: three times with his band Grant Lee Buffalo, once on the “Surf and Turf” tour with Glen Phillips, and twice with Steve Poltz.  I adore Grant-Lee’s voice and his wonderful sense of humor, so I was absolutely delighted when he played an opening set and later joined Jon on the stage. When Grant-Lee sat down with his Gibson J-200 guitar to open, he glanced

Another Year, Another Song

Thursday, March 24, 2016 found me at the Troubadour for a lovely night of music featuring Mandolin Orange and Elephant Revival presented by The Bluegrass Situation. Mandolin Orange I have not seen before and had only been able to check out a few of their songs earlier that day. I first saw  Elephant Revival in January when they left a strong impression on me when they opened for Josh Ritter (see my post “Let’s See Where the Night Takes Us“). I’ve been listening to their album These Changing Skies since then and earlier in the week had received my pre-ordered

Dreaming Our Lives Away

Friday, March 11, 2016 — It was a dark and windy night, but that wasn’t going to stop the audience at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA from living it up. I arrived early in the evening for dinner and dessert (the caramel chocolate brownie was delicious). I was pleasantly surprised to find local musician Jett Pink performing though Happy Hour. Playing guitar and sometimes using a stompbox, Jett blazed through a number of well-known songs from a slew of legendary artists, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, The Beatles, Neil Young, Elvis Presley, The Eagles, The Band, and