The Hobart Brothers and Lil’ Sis Hobart at McCabes

Sunday night was one of those unforgettable nights at McCabes. The music was actually overshadowed by the craziness of the evening; which is tough to do since the music is so good. It was the perfect storm (if I can use that pun right now). Susan Cowsill, the woman in the middle of this semi-famous threesum, had some family in the audience. It was the last night of the tour. It was at McCabes (a room so intimate, artists can have conversations with people in the back row). And tonight Jon Dee Graham (the most represented songwriter in the group) decided to start telling tour bus secrets. By the end of the evening, John Cowsill was on stage sort of singing the Cowsill hit “I Love the Flower Girl”, or as Susan called it “F***ing Flower Girl”, and using Jon Dee’s running jokes to mercilessly attack his sister.
But enough about the fun. We came for the music and we got all of it and a few more. The band, which also includes Freedy Johnston, performed their entire new CD, which I love. This was the stripped down version, since it was just the three of them (Freedy singing and on guitar, Jon Dee singing and on guitar and doing most of the leads and Susan singing, playing tambourine and playing guitar on “...Flower Girl”). This is Austin Americana at its best as they sang and told stories about their lives and the people around them. Just great music. Along with “...Flower Girl” they did two excellent covers; “Wichita Lineman” and “Thirteen” (from Big Star in tribute to Alex Chilton). We laughed. We sang. We had a great time. Thanks Hobart family.