I was at a disadvantage at the Bob Schneider concert at Brighton Music Hall the other night; I seemed to be the only person in the audience who was not intimately familiar with Bob’s songs!

Bob Schneider

That did not spoil my enjoyment of the show, however.

It had been a number of years since Bob had graced Boston with his presence, so his fans flocked to the venue for this sold-out show.  The band was late taking the stage and the crowd was almost in a frenzy by the time they did!

Bob

Bob is best known for his songwriting, especially his lyrics. I was told that Bob frequently ‘writes’ lyrics during his shows; it was hard for me to know which ones he wrote that night, but there was one song with lyrics about Boston that I presume was written that night.

Bob

The members of the talented band are Clint Wells on guitar, Bruce Hughes on bass, Oliver Steck on trumpet, accordion and keyboards, and Wayne Salzmann on drums.

Clint Wells

Bruce Hughes

Oliver Steck

Wayne Salzmann

I especially enjoyed watching Ollie; at times, his expressions were almost robotic and at other times he sported a broad smile. He plays a wide variety of instruments and that added to my enjoyment, as did his choice of attire (a mechanic’s coverall).

Oliver

Bob has a large discography; I believe the set list included songs from many of his albums. They played a lot of songs – this is not a jam band, although there was one song in particular when Ollie took a walkabout through the crowd with his trumpet. The encore was ’40 Dogs’, arguably his best-known song.

Bob

I loved one of his guitars which was festooned with gambling items!

Bob’s gambling-themed guitar

The tuning pegs on one of Bob’s guitars

I have some friends who think Bob is the cat’s meow, and I can finally understand why. He’s a smart songwriter, his live show is full of energy, and he’s fun to watch! I’m glad I saw this show, and I look forward to getting to know his music and seeing him again, maybe in his home base of Austin, Texas!

Ticket courtesy of Bob Schneider; all opinions are my own.