Americana In The Park, 9-15-24: Photos

The Americana In The Park music series continued today with sets by Rick Shea & Tony Gilkyson and Mustangs Of The West. It was a beautiful day in Gandara Park in Santa Monica. I missed last week’s Los Straitjackets show because it was 110 degrees in the valley that day, and I just couldn’t gather the energy to do anything or go anywhere. In fact, I believe I had melted into the cheap carpeting of my crummy apartment. But that heat wave is in the past, and things have returned to normal.

Rick Shea & Tony Gilkyson

Rick Shea & Tony Gilkyson kicked off the show just after 4 p.m. with a new song written by Rick Shea. The sound was excellent, as we’ve come to expect at these shows, and Tony remarked about how good it sounded in the monitors too. Rick and Tony took turns at lead vocals, but both musicians played on every song. Their set included “Rattlesnake Boy,” “Mexicali Train,” “Big Red Six,” “She Sang Of The Earth,” “Goodbye Guitar” (in his introduction to that one, Tony told the audience the song was well-suited for those folks who feel compelled to buy guitars), “Big Rain Is Comin’ Mama” (in the introduction to this song, Rick said he wrote it in 2020, but that it wasn’t political and rather was apocalyptic), “Well Traveled Man,” a particularly wonderful rendition of “Mariachi Hotel,” “Death In Arkansas” and “Juanita (Why Are You So Mean).” They wrapped up the set with “Man About Town,” a song written by Terry Gilkyson, Tony’s father. An excellent set by two great voices in music.

Mustangs Of The West

It was a fairly short break before Mustangs Of The West took the stage. They opened with “Sea Of Heartbreak,” the title track of one of two albums the group released in 2023, and a perfect choice to set things in motion. These guys delivered an absolutely delightful rendition. Afterward, Suzanna Spring remarked, “What a perfect day to be out here.” Indeed! She also mentioned that the show was their last gig of a short tour. A child went up to the stage to ask her to plug his lemonade stand, which she then did. Clearly, that child is not afflicted with any kind of shyness. They followed that with “How Blue” from their 2020 release, Time. Their set also included “We All Lose Sometimes,” “Anytime I Try,” “Crooked Road,” “Try, Try Again,” “Fiery Angel” (a pretty song that found Suzanna moving to keyboard), “A Little Undone” (which had a great groove – I especially loved the bass line), “Blue Rodeo” (with drummer Suzanne Morissette on melodica), “Long Gone Down The Road” (in the introduction, Suzanna said: “This is a road song. Every band has to have a road song”), “On The Other Side Of This Love,” “Bad For Each Other” (a rocking number that violinist Aubrey Richmond sang lead on, doing a little Thorogood stutter on the word “bad” at the end), “Time,” “Seven Summers,” “T-shirt From California” and “Down At The Palomino.” The Palomino Club closed before I moved to Los Angeles, but I did attend some of Ronnie Mack’s Barn Dance shows at El Cid. Not the same, I guess. It’s a shame, because I think I would have loved that place, and I live fairly close to where Palomino Club was located. Anyway, that song was written by John Beland, but with an extra verse by the Mustangs. It was a great set. Folks wanted an encore, but it was not to be.

This music series continues next week with Molly Miller Trio and The Azar Lawrence Experience. Gandara Park is located at 1819 Stewart Street in Santa Monica, California. There is a free parking lot reserved for these shows, so no worries about finding a spot.