This past weekend I caught the last couple of shows that Bobby Bare Jr. did with his current line-up of the The Young Criminals Starvation League. The YSCSL are a rotating cast of stellar musicians that Bobby hand picks for each album and tour. Bassist Richie Kirkpatrick will pick up his guitar and head out on the road with his band Ghostfinger and fellow band-mate and former YSCSL member Matt Rowland will be rejoining him after spending the past couple months in Los Angeles recording an album. The drummer Van Campbell will be going back to record and go on tour with his own band The Black Diamond Heavies. Bobby will be heading to Barcelona for the 1st and 2nd of December along with Corey Younts who has been playing keyboards on tour for the past three months and has a long past with Bobby that goes back before they were both as both of their fathers played together. Original Bare Jr. members will take reigns in the vacant spots.

After seeing the band two months apart with this line-up they really have grown and tightened up in that short time-span. After the show on Friday Corey spoke to me about it and it’s a little sad to think that this lineup will not be playing together for quite some time if ever again. Although Bobby has strong personality on stage he allows his band members to show off their qualities as well. He has no objections when Richie presents us with power stances or jumps down from the stage and into the audience where he showboats his playing. Bobby encourages Corey and Van to give us everything they got as well. The highlight song from their set on both nights was “Borrow Your Cape” from The Longest Meow which on the album you can clearly hear the backing of Jim James and his band My Morning Jacket. Live Bobby and the band are able to transcend the composition and make it into their own.

Centro-matic were the headliners so-to-say during this tour, but Bobby got the better time spot at these Mercury Lounge gigs starting at 10:30. There were two opening acts who rotated spots both nights: Charles Bissell of the Wrens and David Vandervelde. I am not familiar with the Wrens but I think Charles Bissell needs accompaniment by another human rather than his own feedback and echos. I caught Vandervelde on Saturday night, who had his friend Ben Clark with him. They did a stunning rendition of Phil Ochs’ “Pretty Smart on My Part”. After a couple folkie type songs, Richie and Van joined them on stage for the first time with a rousing number and Corey came on for their final upbeat and rocking song. On Friday night, I stayed for a little bit of Centro-matic’s set and I enjoyed them, but just like their recorded works they never seem to break out out of the warm fuzzy shell that surrounds them. After hearing a couple of my favorites such as “The Mighty Midshipman” I didn’t need to hear anymore. Their foggy sound does not hold up after the rollicking mayhem that Bobby Bare Jr. and his Young Criminals create. By Saturday I was too wiped to stay even for a note of their set. Hoping next time Bobby’s in town he’s the main act so we get the full set treatment.