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| Chris Shiflett @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Last Saturday night, Chris Shiflett was on the Lands End Stage at Outside Lands playing to around 45,000 people as the lead guitarist of Foo Fighters. Five nights later, he brought his solo band north of the Golden Gate Bridge for a sold-out show at Novato’s Hopmonk Tavern. Shiflett’s performance, charisma and connection with the audience were turned up just as high for the hundreds who saw the intimate Session Room performance – spotlighting his California Alt-Country solo music.
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| Chris Shiflett @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Taking the stage and announcing “How ya’ doin’ Novato? Are you ready to boogie with us?” Shiflett, bassist Fox Fagan and drummer Rob Jolly were off and running with Shiflett’s unique California-born sound that would fit East Beach in Santa Barbara just as snugly as it will Bakersfield at the end of the 5-date mini-tour. Shiflett utilized a gap in Foo Fighter’s headlining tour to squeeze in some gigs to bring to life his new album Lost at Sea. The band brought arena-level energy and enthusiasm – opening with the opening tracks from two of his albums with “Liar’s Word” off 2019’s Hard Lessons and then “Sticks and Stones” from 2017’s West Coast Town.
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| Chris Shiflett @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“We’ve never played up here before and didn’t know what to expect,” Shiflett told the audience. “We sure didn’t expect this reaction. When they said it was sold out, I was like ‘How the F*#k is it sold out? Then, we came up here and saw all of this and got it.” It was a fitting recognition to both the venue, which continues to pull in artists that would be expected to be in larger venues and bringing them to Marin County. It was also recognition to KC Turner, the hardest-working promoter in the Bay Area, who through his hard work, has continually raised the bar of acts coming to the North Bay. Turner has created an audience group who trust his musical sensibilities and turns out large crowds for artists many of the crowd may not even recognize.
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| Chris Shiflett @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Shiflett and his mates would treat Thursday night’s crowd to twenty-two songs and nearly two hours of music. As he introduced “Goodnight Little Rock” from 2017, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer told the story of how he was working in San Francisco when a band about to tour came looking for a guitarist. At first declining to throw his hand up, he was encouraged to give it a go. “Two weeks later, I was in a van going down the road on my first tour and I’ve never stopped since then. In fact, tonight - with this tour - I’m back to van touring again!” Shiflett, locked into stage right when playing with the Foo Fighters, displayed plenty of front man charisma and likability.
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| Chris Shiflett @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Damage Control” was the first song off the new album to be brought to life. In all, the band would play the first four songs off the October 20, 2023, release. “Dead and Gone” – one of the more country boogie songs caused Shiflett to remark “It’s so weird to see a roomful of people boot scootin’ to a song about your dead friends from High School.” “Black Top White Lines” rode a solid Nashville rock line with a super catchy chorus and hooks. Both Jolly and Fagan had a chance to shine as Jolly drummed at a breakneck pace with arena pounding rhythm and Fagan laid down repeated bass bombs. The song was a complete standout that combined some of the best elements of Chris Stapleton and ZZ Top. If you closed your eyes, you could almost see Shiflett flying down a California highway in a vintage roadster. The yet-to-be released “Overboard” was also taken for a spin.
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| Chris Shiflett @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The group also performed three covers – a slow dance cover of Buck Owens’ “Together Again” found couples finding a few feet of space to dance. Merle Haggard’s “Honkytonk Nighttime Band” was given a first attempt with Shiflett pronouncing at the end “We got close! Almost pulled that one off. By Bakersfield that shit will be tight!” After finishing the main set with a knockout version of “West Coast Town,” the band returned for what seemed to be an unexpected encore. “We’re out of what we know how to play, but who gives a f*#k? It’s Thursday night in Novato!” To cap off a wonderful evening, they covered The Rolling Stones “Dead Flowers” and exited with wide smiles both on the stage and in the audience.
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| The Sam Chase w/ Chandra Johnson @ the Hopmonk Tavern (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Earlier in the night, vocalist/guitarist The Sam Chase – accompanied by violist Chandra Johnson – provided a memorable opening set as he saved the day by accepting a last-minute invitation when the original opener came down with Covid. Songs like “All I’ve Ever Done” displayed the excellent chemistry between Chase and Johnson. “This is called a ‘Goddamn It’ song he said before they dove into “What is All the Rage?” a song written just a few weeks before Trump declared himself a candidate for the 2016 Presidential Election. “I thought this was a heroic and victorious drinking song” Chase said in introducing “Cold Night.” He then relayed the story of how this thought was turned upside down by an attendee who insinuated that it was more of an alcoholic story and asked “Are you OK Sam? Do you need help?” It was a wonderful opening set – exposing Chase to many fans who didn’t seem to know him before the show but were buzzing about Chase and Johnson afterward.
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