Mac McCaughan
May 16, 2015
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY
By Johnny Spice
Anyone would feel trepidation when they go see a solo performance by an artist who usually is part of a
band, especially someone like Mac McCaughan, somebody fans are accustomed to seeing perform as
part of one of the bands he is a member of. This was different, Mac has a solo record and is going out on
the road to promote it, and boy am I glad he did.
Firstly, in the interest of full disclosure, Superchunk is one of the two bands I regularly say is my favorite
band, so getting to see this show in a venue as intimate as Baby’s All Right was a special treat. Prior to
the show, I had the pleasure of meeting Mac and after initially being rendered speechless, I recovered
enough to thank him for taking 5 minutes to talk to me. Meeting one of you all‐time heroes could
definitely skewer opinions in most circumstances, fortunately, this was not one of those moments.
The show opened with a six song set featuring Mac McCaughan & The Non‐Believers (The opening act
Flesh Wounds but with Montgomery Morris on bass instead of Guitar and Jefe Schilling on Rhythm
Guitar ) that got the crowd pumped. Then things got interesting.
The Non‐Believers departed at this point to let Mac take center stage by himself for seven songs. Maybe
I was the only one, but I swear my mind was filling in all the missing instruments around his amazing
“Rock God‐esqe” rocking.
Finally the Non‐Believers rejoined for an 8 song closing sequence that sent everybody home happy and
wishing for more.
If you have an opportunity to see this show I cannot recommend it enough. Featuring a nice mixture of
songs off his debut solo LP “Non‐Believers,” Superchunk classics like “Driveway to Driveway,” Learned to
Surf” and “Tiny Bubbles” and several Portastatic numbers, it is a musical journey through the life and
career of Mac McCaughan and one trip that is worth every minute of it.