Byrds founder, and Chicago native, Roger McGuinn returned to the area last Saturday, performing a long set of solo and acoustic tunes at the Beverly Arts Center.
The material leaned heavily on tracks recorded during his solo career, but not surprisingly featured a handful of Byrds tunes (as well as the Dylan and Pete Seeger songs that group made famous).
But it was a pleasant surprise to see Roger tackle a cover of Tom Petty's "American Girl", a song whose jingle-jangle style follows a direct lineage from the innovation that McGuinn himself had pionneered.
Seated before a set consisting of potted trees, McGuinn was talkative and personable, especially in this six song video playlist captured by Wyatt Brake (aka zepcowboy) which includes his take on the Petty classic. Have a look.
Setlist:
Roger McGuinn
Beverly Performing Arts Center
Saturday, May 3rd, 2014
So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (The Byrds)
My Back Pages (Bob Dylan)
American Girl (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
The Rock Island Line
Southbound 95
I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician
The Water Is Wide
You Showed Me
Ballad of Easy Rider (The Byrds)
Dreamland
Jolly Roger
Paddy West
Mr. Spaceman (The Byrds)
5D Fifth Dimension (The Byrds)
Randy Dandy Oh
Kathleen's Song
Lover of the Bayou
Just a Season
The Bells of Rhymney (Pete Seeger)
Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan)
Eight Miles High (The Byrds)
Turn! Turn! Turn! (Pete Seeger)
Encore:
I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better (The Byrds)
Leave Her Johnny Leave Her
May the Road Rise to Meet You
