Edwin McCain and Hogleg
On July 9th, I made my way out to the White Rabbit to catch singer/songwriter Edwin McCain's San Antonio stop on his "Nobody’s Fault but Mine" tour. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I was only familiar with the "hits" such as "I'll Be" which I'm sure you've heard on the radio, at the supermarket, at weddings, or at your local talent show; even YouTube has a plethora of cover versions for that matter. I like singer/songwriters, but, I must admit, solo acoustic sets, especially if they last more than an hour, are really not my thing as I tend to get antsy. Thankfully, Mr. McCain, with band in tow, kept the solo acoustic songs to a minimum and rocked the Rabbit with an hour-and-a-half set of adult-oriented pop rock with some soul music mixed in for taste.
Unfortunately, I missed the awesomely-named Megatits in Outerspace, as they played way, way early in the evening. But their name is the gear and I'll just have to catch them next time. I couldn't locate their MySpace, but they're more than welcome to post their show information (or any other information) here.
Hogleg was a nice surprise; they mixed your typical rock radio styles with some influences that really gave them a unique sound. Watching and listening to their set, they reminded me of several major league rock radio bands such as Creed, Shinedown, Nickelback, among others; the guitar sound was crunchy but not overwhelming, song tempos were mid-paced to slow, and the choruses were big and memorable.
But they kept things loose, very loose loose, and sprung into several jams throughout their set; I could tell this band has spent a lot of time jamming together, as their songs and transitions were seamless, plus, and most importantly, the songs, extended jams and all, never overstayed their welcome.
However, the coolest thing about this band is that they also mix in a Chicago electric blues influence as well! Of course, when I say that they were blues-influenced, I'm not talking about Hogleg shuffling the I IV V pattern or doing any covers of "Mannish Boy" or anything of that sort. Rather, while they were rocking it out, their guitarist would bust out with his guitar slide (a smooth glass tube placed over a finger on the fretting hand) and run that tube up and down his guitar neck ("sliding" out notes) for rhythms as well as solos. It was almost like a mix of Elmore James (RIP) and Seether — a totally unique sound! It looks like they have a CD release show scheduled for August 8, 2008 at the White Rabbit, so definitely check them out!
Although the Rabbit was far from full-capacity, Edwin paid this no mind and displayed a real workman-like attitude that extended beyond the work-a-day, slice-o-life narratives of his songs. With blue jeans, a crisp t-shirt, and a neatly trimmed goatee, McCain, in a VH-1 Storytellers-type fashion, talked about the people and places behind his songs. As I listened to his set, I recognized a strong Don Henley influence as McCain seemed to channel the on-again, off-again, on-again Eagle’s solo work (and voice) on songs such as "Gramercy Park Hotel."
The highlight of McCain's set was, ironically enough, brought on by an audience member who had good intentions but very little tact. During one of the breaks in the set, she walked to the front of the stage and requested McCain's "What Matters," and actually had the nerve to lay a five dollar bill on the stage for his trouble! But McCain, who admitted that he wasn't even sure if he could remember the song, finally relented after much coaxing. In an impromptu jam of what turned out to such a powerful song, McCain (who was obviously working to remember the song as he went along) and the lead guitarist (who watched McCain's hands throughout) still played the song perfectly the first time through. If you could have only seen the genuine relief in McCain's eyes when they made it through the song together without any major screw-ups - that totally made my evening.
So on and on they played, changing styles from rock to pop, with a marimba thrown in as well; I swear I heard it! But when they played that mix of 70’s style of rock and soul music, with a touch of the true fonk, that’s when Edwin McCain and his band really started to cook. Yes, he also played "I'll Be." And hey, he even did a couple of solo acoustic songs which were quite good...
The show was good, the band was good, the crowd was so-so, but, most importantly, the songs were good. So good, in fact, I'll go ahead and close here with some lyrics from "What Matters" — such a wonderful thing to keep in mind:
Unfortunately, I missed the awesomely-named Megatits in Outerspace, as they played way, way early in the evening. But their name is the gear and I'll just have to catch them next time. I couldn't locate their MySpace, but they're more than welcome to post their show information (or any other information) here.
Hogleg was a nice surprise; they mixed your typical rock radio styles with some influences that really gave them a unique sound. Watching and listening to their set, they reminded me of several major league rock radio bands such as Creed, Shinedown, Nickelback, among others; the guitar sound was crunchy but not overwhelming, song tempos were mid-paced to slow, and the choruses were big and memorable.
But they kept things loose, very loose loose, and sprung into several jams throughout their set; I could tell this band has spent a lot of time jamming together, as their songs and transitions were seamless, plus, and most importantly, the songs, extended jams and all, never overstayed their welcome.
However, the coolest thing about this band is that they also mix in a Chicago electric blues influence as well! Of course, when I say that they were blues-influenced, I'm not talking about Hogleg shuffling the I IV V pattern or doing any covers of "Mannish Boy" or anything of that sort. Rather, while they were rocking it out, their guitarist would bust out with his guitar slide (a smooth glass tube placed over a finger on the fretting hand) and run that tube up and down his guitar neck ("sliding" out notes) for rhythms as well as solos. It was almost like a mix of Elmore James (RIP) and Seether — a totally unique sound! It looks like they have a CD release show scheduled for August 8, 2008 at the White Rabbit, so definitely check them out!
Although the Rabbit was far from full-capacity, Edwin paid this no mind and displayed a real workman-like attitude that extended beyond the work-a-day, slice-o-life narratives of his songs. With blue jeans, a crisp t-shirt, and a neatly trimmed goatee, McCain, in a VH-1 Storytellers-type fashion, talked about the people and places behind his songs. As I listened to his set, I recognized a strong Don Henley influence as McCain seemed to channel the on-again, off-again, on-again Eagle’s solo work (and voice) on songs such as "Gramercy Park Hotel."
The highlight of McCain's set was, ironically enough, brought on by an audience member who had good intentions but very little tact. During one of the breaks in the set, she walked to the front of the stage and requested McCain's "What Matters," and actually had the nerve to lay a five dollar bill on the stage for his trouble! But McCain, who admitted that he wasn't even sure if he could remember the song, finally relented after much coaxing. In an impromptu jam of what turned out to such a powerful song, McCain (who was obviously working to remember the song as he went along) and the lead guitarist (who watched McCain's hands throughout) still played the song perfectly the first time through. If you could have only seen the genuine relief in McCain's eyes when they made it through the song together without any major screw-ups - that totally made my evening.
So on and on they played, changing styles from rock to pop, with a marimba thrown in as well; I swear I heard it! But when they played that mix of 70’s style of rock and soul music, with a touch of the true fonk, that’s when Edwin McCain and his band really started to cook. Yes, he also played "I'll Be." And hey, he even did a couple of solo acoustic songs which were quite good...
The show was good, the band was good, the crowd was so-so, but, most importantly, the songs were good. So good, in fact, I'll go ahead and close here with some lyrics from "What Matters" — such a wonderful thing to keep in mind:
And it ain't about the money
it ain't about the time
it ain't about the love you lost or the things you think you left behind
it ain't about your losing streak
makes you feel like you're falling apart
what matters is the heart
posted by alfonso at 11:03 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks so much to Alfonso, Clay (part of Mr. McCain's Mgmt. team) and Edwin McCain himself, for what sounds to have been an awesome evening!
Thank you so much, Alfonso, for doing this review! It is obvious that you didn't know exactly what to expect and did some serious analyzing as to what you thought of the music and I like that! Good job!!!
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