I love when an artist opens a concert with one of my favourite songs. Dave Mason did just that Monday evening at the City Winery when he began his set with "Only You Know and I Know" - an early 1970s song that caught the ear of preteen David as I listened to my parent's AM radio.

Mason came to prominence in the late 1960s as a founding member of Traffic, a band known for its psychedelic blues numbers. Mason's band performed songs from this era, including "Rock And Roll Stew," "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys," and "Dear Mr. Fantasy." He followed up this set with a rendition of "Can't Find My Way Home," a song made famous by Blind Faith, the supergroup made up of Traffic alumni and others.

Mason sang lead on some songs and let his bandmates take the lead on others. And what a band it was! Martin Fera (drums), Johnne Sambataro (guitar), Ray Cardwell (bass), and Tony Patler (keyboards) were all top-notch.

Dave Mason has been around long enough to change his musical persona multiple times, and he drew on all these styles at his performance Monday evening at the City Winery.

His solo work from the 1970s appealed to me because that is when I first discovered him. He played selections from his "Alone Together" album, which he recently re-recorded because the original master tapes were destroyed in a Universal Studios fire. He broke out a 12-string guitar solely for his megahit "We Just Disagree." He sang the love song "Every Woman" to prove, in his words, "I'm a sensitive son of a bitch!" And he closed with "Feelin' Alright?" - a song written by Mason but made famous by Joe Cocker.

This finale brought the audience to its feet for a climactic conclusion.