Old Californio at The Buccaneer Lounge, 4-19-25 Concert Review

Lately I've been learning about all kinds of cool, smaller venues out east of Pasadena, in an area where many Los Angeles residents refuse to tread, strangely and erroneously believing that land to be far away. Last night I went to The Buccaneer, a bar in Sierra Madre, to see Old Californio. This band is responsible for my going to quite a few of these places, actually. These guys don't play out all that often, so whenever they do have a gig, I try to make it, wherever it is (their next one is in Claremont). Certainly it's worth the extra couple of minutes in travel time. If you haven't seen Old Californio yet, I highly recommend taking the time to get familiar with the band's music. This is one of the best groups in southern California, delivering a mix of excellent original material and some incredible renditions of other artists' songs.

Last night, The Geraldos opened the show at 9 p.m. with a good set of covers. The Geraldos and Old Californio have shared several bills over the years, including last year at The Mayan (another of those cool venues east of Pasadena, though sadly this one is no more). They opened with "Brand New Cadillac," and their set also included a really nice rendition of "Happiness Is A Warm Gun," a version of "Funk 49" that featured a good jam but ended prematurely, a fun version of "Summertime Blues" and a fantastic rendition of Neil Young's "Down By The River." Their set ended at 9:46 p.m.

As The Geraldos did, Old Californio put out a sheet with the intended set list. As I took a glance at it, drummer Justin Smith warned me not to put too much credence in it. And while The Geraldos largely stuck to their planned set (just dropping "Ohio"), Old Californio parted from it on the very first song. I'm not sure they've ever stuck to a set list. Certainly not at any of the shows I've been to. This is a band that likes to feel things out, let the course of the evening sort of determine itself. I've even seen at least one show where a planned two sets became one long set. The first song on the written set list was "Lyre Of Orpheus," but the band decided to open with a totally delightful cover of "Fine Artiste Blues," setting a very different tone. That song featured some really nice stuff by Jon Niemann on keyboard. That was followed by "Old Kings Road," the lead track from Metaterranea, the band's most recent album. In the introduction for that song, lead singer Rich Dembowski mentioned that the album "quickly descended into oblivion." If that's true, then it is a crime that the music-buying public is guilty of, for it's a great album. This band deserves a wide and devoted audience. One reason is their vocal work, which was highlighted on their cover of The Beatles' "Because" last night. These guys put their own wonderful spin on the song, heard in that delicious rhythm, but it is their vocal performance that makes this song a standout of any set where they include it. "Did you guys write that?" someone playfully shouted out afterward. "Yeah" was the response.

In "Come Undone," another song off Metaterranea, they sing, "Everything comes undone by design." Seems that way, doesn't it? And maybe we can find some comfort in that. "Believe what you will, believe what you like." This band always makes me feel good, and it was around this point in the set when I realized just how happy I was. And that is something in these weird days. That was followed by "Allon Camerado," which featured some really great drumming and just an overall cool vibe. This was a particularly good rendition last night, with some wonderful peaks and valleys, making for an interesting ride. And that's what we're after, right? There was some banter about which album the next song is on. The song, "Lyre Of Orpheus" (yes, the song that was going to open the night), for the record, is from Songs From The Sea Of Cortez. There was a really good jam at the end, which led straight into a cover of "Ring Of Fire." Even if there weren't many other reasons to catch this band in concert, just seeing them perform "Ring Of Fire" is enough. Seriously. You think you know this song, but just wait until you see Old Californio deliver it. I love what these guys do with it. Last night, the song featured some great work on keys and some phenomenal work by Woody Aplanalp on lead guitar. It was a fantastic rendition.

Rich introduced "City Lines" as a song "off our first album, unless I'm corrected," jokingly referring to the earlier disagreement about which album "Lyre Of Orpheus" was on. "City Lines" is on Westering Again. But actually, wasn't there at least one album before that? Didn't Along The Cosmic Grass come out a few years before Westering Again? So, maybe he should have been corrected. No matter. This was a sweeter number that still found its own ways to rock and to groove. "I turned to my lover, said 'Let's get lost.'" Ah, yes. This song featured some exceptional work by Jason Chesney on bass. Last night, if I heard correctly, they sang, "Roll down your windows and turn off your phone." And that line expresses the very feel of this band so well. This song was a highlight of the set. That was followed by "Saint Cecilia." "Since it's Easter tomorrow, we're going to do a song called 'Saint Cecilia,'" Rich said in the song's introduction.This song is a softer, slower number, and it featured some gorgeous, impressive vocal work. I also loved that moment at the end when Woody and Jason kind of answered each other.

The rest of the set focused on covers, beginning with Neil Young's "Hawks & Doves," which featured some dueling guitars at the end, which was cool. After that one, Rich commented, "It's a hard time to be proud of the USA." Indeed. Who would have guessed this country would eagerly embrace fascists? In my most cynical moments (and I've had many), I never would have thought this would happen. That was followed by "Midnight Moonlight," a song I was particularly excited and happy to hear. It was a totally fun jam, a great one to dance to. It was a song that was included on that wonderful Old & In The Way album, and is a song that I saw Jerry Garcia Band do back in the early 1990s. That was followed by "The Cuckoo," which Old Californio included on the 2022 album Old Californio Country. Rich then announced they would do two more songs, decided because the amount of wine left in his glass would last the length of two songs. A guy behind me suggested refilling his glass. "This is an old song off of... one of our albums," Rich then said in introducing the next song, "Just Like Joseph Campbell," continuing the earlier joke. The band wrapped up the set with covers of Gene Clark's "Kansas City Southern" and New Riders Of The Purple Sage's "Lonesome LA Cowboy." (Yes, there was another song, presumably because there was more wine.) It was a great set, no question, but we wanted a little more, and the band gave us a ridiculously fun number to finish the night, "Styrofoam," which had been recorded by both Loose Gravel and The Charlatans. Jason mentioned beforehand, "You know, we used to play this song a long time ago," and went on to clarify that they would just do the first verse over and over. Well, last night the song included a fun jam with a cool lead on bass, and some back-and-forth with Woody and Jon. What a treat! The show ended at 11:54 p.m.

Set List

1. Fine Artiste Blues
2. Old Kings Road
3. Because
4. Come Undone
5. Allon Camerado
6. Lyre Of Orpheus >
7. Ring Of Fire
8. City Lines
9. Saint Cecilia
10. Hawks & Doves
11. Midnight Moonlight
12. The Cuckoo
13. Just Like Joseph Campbell
14. Kansas City Southern
15. Lonesome LA Cowboy

Encore

1. Styrofoam

The Buccaneer Lounge is located at 70 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre, California.