Pegi Young 5/10/11

I saw Pegi Young last night at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. I arrived around 7 for an 8 pm show and found our own famed website denizen Paul from Los Angeles waiting to get in. We walked into a pitch black, mostly empty room, maybe a half dozen people were there. By the time Pegi took the stage there were probably 50 people in there, maybe half of them were Neil Young mafia types, family, friends, and crew. I knew we would not see Neil since he was in Toronto but everyone who didn’t go to Toronto was here. I chit chatted with a surprisingly diminutive Steven Stills for a bit, who was pleasant but I could tell he was having trouble hearing me, which can be a blessing of course. I told him I was looking forward to the Buffalo Springfield show in a few weeks. He said he heard that tickets were expensive. I was halfway to saying “no shit” when I thought better of it and mumbled something incoherant and sat back down. Neil Young’s son Zeke was there with his wife. I didn’t talk to him but he was friendly to the few that did.

When I drove up I saw Pegi’s tour bus parked out front on Cahuenga. When it was time for the show, the front doors opened, she and the band swooped in, and took the stage. No kibitzing with the folks. The band was Rick “the bass player” Rosas, Spooner Oldham on piano, and Kelvin Holly on guitar. Larry Cragg was the stage hand and also played sax and harmonica. I missed the drummer’s first name but his last name was Jones. Pegi’s voice was basically shot and thin. She had a throat spray bottle of something next to her water bottle on stage so maybe she had a sore throat. The songs were good but the band easily overpowered her weak voice. Everyone seemed to be having a good time though.

After about an hour the show was over the band left the stage, marched out the front door, and got on the bus. While the band members eventually came back in to visit with their friends, there was no sign of Pegi. No Cd sales. No autographing. No chit chat. So I hit the road and was home by 10 pm!