Concert Review: Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women

BY ROBERT FOLSOM

I’m a girl watcher, I’m a girl watcher/Here comes one now.

Or five. And they weren’t girls. They were Dave Alvin’s Guilty Women taking the stage to the tune of the O’Kaysions’ “Girl Watcher” Friday night at the Folly Theater, just ahead of their bandleader.

Alvin formed his all-female backing band in 2008 after the death of his close friend, West Coast singer-songwriter Chris Gaffney, who had been a member of Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men.

Alvin brought the West Coast with him to Kansas City, starting with “King of California.” It was a good opener. Besides setting the mood for California songs, the instrumentation of Cindy Cashdollar’s Dobro and Amy Farris’ fiddle accompanying Alvin on acoustic guitar and vocals made for a faithful rendition of the song from his album of the same name, an album that showcased an unplugged Alvin.

But acoustic doesn’t mean mellow. After Alvin made a remark about the Folly and previous tours to KC – “Well, they really did spruce up the Grand Emporium, didn’t they? Still got the barbecue in the back?” – the Guilty Women launched full tilt into the Blasters’ classic “Marie Marie.” The beat was propelled by drummer Lisa Pankratz and bassist Sarah Brown, who, Dave Alvin said, has her own page in Blues for Dummies.