We Can Turn the World Around

A friend invited me to see the Patti Smith concert on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA. Of course I already know her hit “Because the Night,” but otherwise,  I am not familiar with most of Patti’s music. She’s another one of those artists that rose to prominence in the 1970s and fell through the gap in my music knowledge that spans much of that decade.  I did read her book Just Kids a few years ago as part of my book group. I found that an interesting read as I tend to enjoy reading

Then You Slip into the Masterpiece

Following the Watkins Family Hour show at Largo at the Coronet on December 22, 2015 (see my post “We’ll Steal Your Heart Away“), there was a show in The Little Room led by musician David Garza.  Various combinations of the Watkins Family Hour band came on stage to play on a total of fifteen diverse songs. Here’s a rundown of what happened. David started off the night with, as he said, “something from the ’80s,” as he began to play the chords to “Roxanne” on guitar. Someone in the audience shouted out that it was 1977 (the song was actually

We’ll Steal Your Heart Away

The Watkins Family Hour always puts on a good show at Christmas time and this year was no exception. The concert was held on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at Largo at the Coronet. In the pre-show rundown we were told that this would be the last Watkins Family Hour at Largo until possibly April. Sara and Sean Watkins stepped onto the stage first, wishing us all a “Merry Christmas” and Sean started off the show singing, “There’s a last time for everything.” The band was then invited onstage and consisted of Sebastian Steinberg on bass, Don Heffington on drums, Greg

Where My Heart Wants to Be

There was a short set of songs in The Little Room at Largo at the Coronet on Friday, December 18, 2015 after Jon Brion’s show. Gosh I love this space, even though it is pretty cold on the winter nights! So great to sit just a few feet away from the performers. The set on Friday night was led by David Garza. He started off pretty soon after Jon’s set, inviting his friend, singer Gaby Moreno, on stage for a couple songs.  They started off with the song “Los Peces en el Rio,” with Sara Watkins joining in on the

Someone Really Gets You

Friday, December 18, 2015 found me back at Largo at the Coronet for the last Jon Brion show of the year. Surprise opener was actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis, who delivered a short, yet hilarious, set of new jokes. As usual, Jon started off the show by playing a couple instrumental pieces on the piano. He began slowly with chords alternating between the treble and bass until he created a full sound; it was reminiscent to me of something from a Rachmaninoff concerto.  The second piece felt like it could be the accompaniment to an old-fashioned murder mystery, perhaps a