McCabe's Concerts

Dale and I were invited to an evening of entertainment at McCabe's Concert series, at McCabe's Guitars in Santa Monica by our AFS host-parent friends Karen and Mark. We met them at their place in Torrance, and then all drove up together to Santa Monica for a quick, and great dinner at a little Tapas restaurant/bar called Violet. (it promises promiscuous food) It was a great dinner of all different tapas and a nice bottle of wine and some great conversation, mostly all about our AFS boys! Karen and Mark's AFS student had gone on an overnight at another AFSers place, and we had Max catch up on his homework for the evening at home. We then headed just down the block to McCabes for a great evening performance by Richard Shindell, a guitarist/folk artist. McCabe's is first and foremost a guitar shop that has everything and anything for someone who plays guitars or wants to play guitars. They offer numerous classes on learning to play, through all levels, and well as songwriting, etc. It is amazing what they have. The back room is where they have concerts several nights during the week. It was very much of a folk music crowd with most everyone knowing all and everything about the artists they feature. It was a great evening, and Shindell gave a great performance, interspersing his songs with some great humor and conversation with the audience. It was very personal, and a great way to see the first hand talent of a great artist such as Shindell. Incidentally he lives in Buenos Aries, Argentina, and had recently chopped off the tip of one of his fingers with an axe while chopping wood. He had most of it healed, but by the way he played you would not have known it!

Below is a short review of Richard Shindell:





Scott Alarick of The Boston Globe says: "Shindell is a master builder of songs, yet always leading listeners toward the emotional essence of the moment or character he is evoking. As with all master craftsmen, knowing what to leave out is as important to him as what he puts in. Shindell has uncanny sense of the theater of a song, building his ballads sparely and subtly, set to sweeping graceful melodies." We concur.