Timing is everything; we got back from Guatemala just two days before Davy Knowles and his band played the Haymarket Lounge at City Winery Boston.
It was our first time going to a show in this room (I had been to the main room at City Winery, which has reserved seats, but Craig had never been at all). We got there early and were the first ones there. We hung out outside the room near the merch table, and ran into Tod Bowers, the bassist. He said hello and gave us each a quick hug while Facetiming his girlfriend. We stood near the closed door entrance to the entrance to the lounge. We could apparently be seen through the windows of the green room, and before we knew it, Davy in street clothes came running out waving to us. He greeted us by name and said that it was lovely to see us. We chatted for a few minutes about our recent trip to Guatemala and my 50th birthday party (he knows about our godchildren there). Craig said we were excited to see him with the band and new drummer Mike Hansen. The last time we had seen him was solo acoustic at the Bull Run in 2023. Davy laughed and said that it would be louder tonight. A few other guests showed up and he greeted them, then said that he would get back to his food backstage and would catch up with us after the show.
Shortly after 6 pm the door opened. It was general admission, but there were two tiers of tickets. We had "stage premiere" tickets, which meant that we could choose seats at the tables closest to the stage. We snagged two seats at the front center table. There is a $25 food/drink minimum per person, which was easy to meet. We got a hot honey flatbread pizza, Greek sliders, and fries. Craig had Lord Hobo BoomSauce IPA and I had a Downeast Cider followed by a Sangria Rouge. We chatted with the folks sharing our table as we waited for the show to begin. The only bummer was that it was hot in the room. The AC worked well as soon as you stepped out the door of the lounge, but it didn't make it inside. On the way to the restroom, Craig ran into Tod again and they had a brief chat. He told him we were right up front, almost as close as when Davy played a house concert in our living room after the pandemic in 2021. Tod had been there too, as well as their then-drummer Jeremy Cunningham.
The band was blisteringly good, and Davy was on fire with his solos. He also did a couple of acoustic songs while Mike and Tod took a short break. They came back for a cool version of "Roll Away" with Davy on acoustic guitar, and then resumed rocking. They did a new song from Davy's collaboration with Gerry McAvoy and Brendan O'Neill from Rory Gallagher's band (an album will be released later this year under the name MKO). Davy was very playful with his banter. The crowd was very into it and was very respectful, very much enjoying the new songs as well as the old favorites.
Davy had the crowd on its feet for the last couple of songs, including "Ain't Much of Nothing", David Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair", and Sam and Dave's "I Take What I Want."
After the show, I got a set list from Tod. We chatted with him for a few minutes and he signed the set list and posed for a selfie. Craig bought a new tour shirt, and I bought a lapel pin. We chatted with Davy, asking how Amber and the girls are doing. He said that he can't believe that Emmy is almost 7 years old already. We told him that our goddaughter in Guatemala recently had a baby, and he said we are grand Godparents now. We had brought the four CD's of his that we don't have signed. Craig said that we had a favor to ask. Davy said "Anything, what do you need?" Craig joked that somehow when he was at our house we had neglected to ask him to sign them. He signed all four, as well as the set list. He is so gracious and sweet. We also took a selfie.
Then we spoke with Mike, telling him it was our first time seeing him with the band, and that they really gelled. He asked if we had seen Tod before and we said that both of them had been to our home for a house concert, and he said "OK, I know exactly who you are now! Davy saw you and got up from his food saying 'I know them!' and ran out to see you." Awww! We had a nice chat with him and he signed our setlist and posed for a selfie.
It was a wonderful night of music and friendship. Thanks, Davy, Tod, and Mike for the music and for being so gracious and kind to us!
Set List:
- Prove It
- Catch the Moon
- Riverbed
- Tell Me What You Want Me to Be
- The Invisible Man
- Running Out of Moonlight
- Drunk Mind Sober Heart
- If I Ever Meet My Maker
- The Great Charade
- Roll Away
- Oxford, MS
- Walk in My Shadow
- No More to Weep
- Around Here
- Ain't Much of Nothing
- Almost Cut My Hair
- I Take What I Want
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