March,
1969
Troubadour,
L.A.
Tim
Buckley, Mary McCaslin; $2.50 admission
By
Fish
Tim
Buckley's return to this folk shoppe might not be the loudest, but
it certainly will be one of the biggest in biz.
Opener
Tuesday (21) "heavy" on both shows, around 400 in total. It should hold
up right through the two-week stand with Mary McCaslin -- and for the Memorial
Day weekend's added attraction, The Incredible String Band.
Buckley
gave the patrons a lot for their money, perhaps too much, staying on stage with
his wailing and sometimes growling "soul" tones for a feature-length
ninety minutes. It was fine for the first hour, but bogged down considerably at
the tailend. Though
his lyrics are indistinguishable, as was the case in his last outing here nine
months ago, the whipped-hairdo Buckley somehow gets to his audience with his rock-jazz,
at other times sounding like a howling coyote in the moonlight. The attentive
habitués were kept glued to their seats throughout, watching and strangely hushed
by the moods of Buckley. At times, he was lilting a lullaby, later it was a whining
tone.
Whatever it was, he was warmly applauded by his fans, who no doubt are many. Backing
Buckley's vocals and twelve-string guitar plunking are excellent sidemen -- C.C.
Collins, congas; John Miller, bass; and Dave Friedman, vibes.
Mary
McCaslin gave an okay accounting of herself in a soft and tender twenty minutes
of vocalizing. She could be upped by ten -- and Buckley cut by a good thirty minutes.
Next,
June 4: Joni Mitchell, Dave Von Ronk.
