Michael Doherty's Music Log: Rick Shea & The Losin' End at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, 7-16-25 Concert Review

Rick Shea & The Losin' End

While Los Angeles may be known primarily for its film and television industry, this city has a tremendous music scene. On any given day, there are multiple great artists performing at various spots all over the city. And here we get the opportunity to see some incredible musicians and singers in rather small venues, and often for little or no money. Rick Shea & The Losin' End have a monthly residency at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, a nice little club in Tarzana where there is no cover. The band backing Rick, for those who don't know, includes Tony Gilkyson on guitar, Jeff Turmes on bass, and Dale Daniel on drums. Yeah, it's one of those fantastic groups made of musicians you likely know, and they get together once a month at this club (the series is called "Swingin' Doors"), playing mainly for the joy of it, theirs and ours. And these days most people are in search of such joy. And speaking of joy, the band that joined them last night was The Jolenes. This is a band you might not know, for these guys do not play very often, but you probably know all its members: David Serby, Dan Janisch, Grant Langston, and Dale Daniel (so no rest for Dale last night). It was a treat to get to see these guys perform together.


"Midnight Shift"

Rick Shea & The Losin' End started the show at 8:30, with Rick saying there were some shifty-looking fellows there, referring to The Jolenes, and setting a kind of playful tone for the night before playing even the first note. They opened the show with "Shelter Valley Blues," with Rick singing, "Well, I walked into the fire/Slightly stoned and slightly wired." After a quick sound adjustment, Rick counted off the next song, "Midnight Shift," which featured an excellent guitar section. They went further into the blues territory (though sticking with that time of night) with "Blues At Midnight," a cool number. This was a particularly good rendition, featuring some nice work on guitar, first by Rick and then by Tony. That was followed by "The Starkville Blues," with Tony delivering some delicious stuff on guitar. Jeff then took a turn at lead vocals on his "Early Train." The line that always grabs me from this song is "Summer's coming and I love someone," and last night he delivered that line with increasing intensity toward the end, making it stand out all the more. Rick and Tony took turns delivering excellent leads on guitar, each lead having its own cool, distinctive style. "They're dreaming still."

Rick also gave the crowd some good news, that he is working on a new album. Not only that, but both Tony and Jeff are also at work on new albums. So there are three albums to look forward to. He then played "Down At The Bar At Gypsy Sally's," a song from his last album, Love & Desperation. This song had such a good groove. I love the whole atmosphere of this song. The band then raised the energy a bit with "Hold On Jake." They followed that with "Papa Don't Sleep," an instrumental number from Tony Gilkyson's 2023 album Avenging Angel. It was a fun rendition, and I particularly enjoyed the way the two guitars answered each other. Rick Shea wrapped up the first set with a sweet, gentle number, "A Tenderhearted Love," a song he wrote for his wife. The set ended at 9:14 p.m.

The Jolenes performing "Grown-Ass Man"

Less than fifteen minutes later, The Jolenes were on the stage. Grant Langston said it was a handsome crowd, joking that it was not always the case at their shows. He then led the band in their first song, "Grown-Ass Man," a fun way to get things going. The song featured some great stuff by Dan Janisch on guitar. The fun continued with "Mexican Beer," with David Serby, sporting a Nocona T-shirt, on lead vocals. By the way, in this group, David is on bass. "And they serve Mexican beers here," David said at the end of the song, holding up a bottle. Dan then sang lead on "Baby, Give Me One More Shot," a cool country number. After Dan introduced the song, he asked the others what key it was in. This became a running joke through much of the set. "Is this in A?" Dan asked before the next song. And Grant asked the crowd, "Who wants to dance?" Yes, the song had several folks on their feet and dancing. Their entire set was a lot of fun, with the band seeming to have as much of a good time as the audience was. You could hear it in their playing, and in the way they introduced songs and complimented each other. Dan introduced "Ramblin' Wreck," a song David sang lead on, by saying it was such a fun journey.

"Aisle #4"

One of my favorite songs was "Patiently," with Dan on lead vocals, singing, "Hoping to see you someplace beside my dreams." David joked afterward, "Dan's the sensitive Jolene." David then delivered one of the set's most delightful numbers, "Aisle #4." "If you ever saw your ex in the supermarket, this song's for you," he told the crowd during the song's introduction. "There's gonna be a cleanup in aisle #4." That was followed by "Higher Education," with Dan singing, "I'm getting a higher education/The longer I sit at the bar." Those are the song's opening lines, and the song featured a really nice lead by Grant on guitar. Grant then introduced the next song, saying it was for anyone who found his wife's number on a bathroom wall. That song had the playful title "Hello, I'm Your Husband." Grant told the crowd, "You're gonna want to sing along with this one," and indeed, most of the people joined Dan, Grant and David in singing "45 Miles To The Graveyard." "Knocked Up Knockout" was a high-energy number with a Chuck Berry-type intro, the band really rocking on this one. They wrapped up their set with "Just Stay Gone," another fun song. "Don't come back/Baby, just stay gone." The audience wanted an encore, and the band chose to do a cover of "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," with Grant on lead vocals. I hope these guys play together more often. Their set ended at 10:26 p.m.

"Honky Tonk Blues"

Ten minutes later, Rick Shea & The Losin' End were back on stage, kicking off their second set with "Honky Tonk Blues," featuring a rather pretty guitar lead from Tony. They followed that with "Mexicali Train." There's something about that song, it always feels so good, the kind of song that puts you in touch with the life you thought you might be living. It has that kind of feel, you know? Then we got the always fun "Juanita (Why Are You So Mean)." Someone called out a request for Tony's "Tear It Down," which interestingly was on the set list anyway. The song is seriously cool, with that vibe, that rhythm. And they delivered a nice jam on it last night. That was followed by one of my personal favorites, "Mariachi Hotel," another cool song. Jeff took a turn at lead vocals with "Rickety Men," also delivering a wonderful bass line. This song also featured a good jam. That was followed by "Blues Stop Knockin' At My Door." In the song's introduction, Rick mentioned he first heard this song from Lazy Lester. "Blues Stop Knockin' At My Door" led straight into "Sweet Bernardine," another song that is always great to hear. There was a nice little jam on this one too.

"Man About Town"

Tony switched guitars for "Man About Town," yet another cool number. "Each night a new love/Never a true love." And this song contains the wonderfully depressing line "It's too late to be sorry now." Tony remained on that guitar then as Rick led the band into "Sweet Little Mama." This one also has wonderfully sad lines, such as these: "I'm standing in the shadows/All I ever had is gone." Jeff then sang lead on two more songs, first a cover of "Turn Your Damper Down," a rock and roll number, and then on a new song, "Things I'm Not Gonna Think About." "There are some things I'm not gonna think about/Not gonna think about right now." Those lines stand out in these strange days when there are several things we probably don't want to think about. That was followed by "Big Rain Is Comin' Mama." They wrapped up the night with "(You're Gonna Miss Me) When I'm Gone," an energetic number featuring a nice jam at the end. The show ended at 11:50 p.m.

Set List

Set I