Cass McCombs is respected far and wide but shows little interest in celebrity. Save an interview here and there across the 20-plus years he’s been releasing material, he’s kept his private life mostly to himself.
But as veterans of the local music scene know — and as has been brought to light in articles over the years — Charm City served as an important stop on McCombs’ journey.
The Northern California native spent the end of the last century and the start of this one in New York City, but is said to have moved to Maryland the same year he released his first full studio record, 2003’s A.
This lasting connection seemingly makes any date in Baltimore a special occasion for him, and the 46-year-old and his current touring band recently visited Ottobar to connect with longtime fans and present an awesome set of music pulled mostly from his early recordings and featuring additional favorites, too.
Performing at an old stomping ground on Sept. 27, McCombs treated the storied venue to stirring and rocking versions of songs that helped launch his career. Though he dislikes the celebration of any musician over their music itself, those on hand loudly professed high esteem for this prolific guitarist and songmaker, swaying and shouting all through the set.
Revisit Cass McCombs’ premier studio album from 2003, A, via Spotify:
McCombs was accompanied by the same players who joined him for his last DMV show: bassist and backup vocalist Brian Betancourt, drummer Austin Vaughn, and keyboardist/pianist Frank LoCrasto, who records and tours as Kolumbo.
This is a group that’s found its synchronization exploring McCombs’ catalogue, but last weekend they delivered these tunes — some now past two decades old — as fresh indie and folk-rock offerings.
“My Master” could have drifted forever below McCombs’ sweet, homey voice, and “When the Bible Was Wrote,” given LoCrasto’s tropical touch, was one of the night’s grooviest takes. Attendees heard these and other tunes from A, as well as “Sacred Heart,” the lead single off his new demo compilation, and a new number titled “Priestess.”
Listen to Cass McCombs’ new album, Seed Cake On Leap Year, via Spotify:
McCombs switched between two Fender electrics, adjusting his twang as he went. He grinned, and it stuck through the triple encore, which saw him declare “we’re just gonna keep going” and lead the ever sugary “So Damn Pure,” from his 2002 premier EP, Not the Way.
Amid the closer — “Big Wheel” from his seventh album — McCombs eventually crouched down and, as everyone watched in disbelief, handed his guitar to an old pal in the audience.
His buddy showed he could play. But after a few licks he just chuckled and the crowd cheered as he essentially bowed to the headliner, turning it back over to him in friendly fashion to keep the jam going.
McCombs doesn’t seek accolades and rather avoids attention, but his fans most certainly adore him. Those at Ottobar Friday were elated to witness him back in Baltimore, on such a small stage and, as one reveler put it, with “no inhibitions.”
Setlist
I Went to the Hospital
Equinox
My Master
Opium Flower
Sacred Heart
Priestess
Miss Mabee
A Comedian Is Someone Who Tells Jokes
When the Bible Was Wrote
Not The Way
Brighter!
Belong to Heaven
She’s Still Suffering
What Isn’t Nature
Encore
So Damn Pure
Meet Me Here at Dawn
Big Wheel
Below are home-rolled/developed/scanned 35mm motion picture film shots of Cass McCombs along with the night’s opening act, Advance Base, performing at Ottobar in Baltimore on Sept. 27, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of Casey Ryan Vock.
Cass McCombs
Advance Base
