A Wonderful Afternoon Of Music At Music Garden L.A., 1-10-26

Los Angeles has all sorts of cool little music venues, and one I had not really known about until yesterday is Music Garden L.A., an intimate outdoor spot in Highland Park, located right next to the Highland Park Brewery. Highland Park has certainly changed a lot since I first started seeing music in that neighborhood back in 2002, and I was so happy to learn that there are still cool, loose spots like this, where it is all about the music. The lineup yesterday was something special: Mini Mendez & Tom Dunne, The Smokey Lonesome, and Kenny Jamison & The Somethin' Like Thats. The venue actually has two small stages, the second of which functions (or at least it did yesterday) as a spot for the other bands to set up some equipment while one band is performing on the main stage. There are several tables and chairs, but no bathrooms or anything (you can use the bathroom at the brewery next door, and while there, check out the Good Night L.A. black IPA, it's delicious). All the artists remarked on what a beautiful day it was. Hey, where else can you catch an outdoor show in January?

Mini Mendez & Tom Dunne

Mini Mendez & Tom Dunne were up first, taking the stage just after 3 p.m. I had seen The Glimmer Stars a few times, but had never seen Mini Mendez in this context before. Never seen him on acoustic guitar instead of electric bass, never seen him seated instead of running around on stage. Hell, I'd never seen him in daylight before. He opened the set with "Friday Night I'm Wearing Blue," and right away I was struck by the fact that he still had that terrific energy to his vocal performance, even with an acoustic guitar on. After his second song, he asked if his voice was loud, saying it felt loud to him. Well, yeah, you bet! He did a song called "I'll Be Paul," in which he sang, "I'll be Paul, you'll be John," and that led straight into a bit of "Ticket To Ride." Later in the set he added a bit of "Da Doo Ron Ron" to the end of a song. And actually he and Tom ended the set with the Glimmer Stars song "Nice" leading straight into a bit of Big Star's "In The Street." The set also included "December" and "Paulina." After "Paulina," Mini joked, "I was going to do a bass solo, but I have a guitar on me." The set ended at 3:32 p.m.

The Smokey Lonesome

The Smokey Lonesome was up next. This is a band that I had tried to see twice before (after reviewing the 2024 EP Desert Run), and was excited to finally get to see perform. The band is the duo of Dave Porter and Natalie Fratino, with Dave on electric guitar and Natalie on acoustic standup bass. After their first song, Natalie asked how the balance was. The answer coming from someone in the crowd was "More bass," to which Natalie replied that was what she liked to hear. You might not expect this duo to rock, and you'd be happily surprised. Particularly on a song like "AC Breakdown," in which Dave sings, "No air conditioning, nothing on there to crank up" while they themselves were cranking up the energy. Dave was tearing into those vocals. They dedicated a song about how cannabis is legal in California to Gloria (of The Firkins, and also a member of The Somethin' Like Thats). It was a fun song, and suddenly all I could smell was pot, though I didn't see anyone smoking. Go figure. Natalie then sang lead on a cool rendition of "Besame Mucho." They also covered Tom Petty's "Ways To Be Wicked." One of the most fun numbers of the set was "Paulito's Old Lady." At times, Dave's vocal approach reminded me of some of Chris Chandler's early work. They followed that with "The Smokey Lonesome," which Dave introduced as their theme song, and which, yes, puts them in that category of bands who have a song that shares their name (along with Bad Company, I See Hawks In L.A. and They Might Be Giants, among many others). That song had a line about rays of the falling sun, and at that moment we were reaching the golden hour. They wrapped up the set with the title track from Desert Run. The set ended at 4:40 p.m.

Kenny Jamison & The Somethin' Like Thats

Kenny Jamison & The Somethin' Like Thats then took the stage. "We're gonna have a little fun," Kenny told the crowd before starting the first song. The band included Gloria Delgado and Sophia Delgado of The Firkins on bass and lap steel respectively, as well as John Harris on drums, an excellent group of musicians. And right away it was clear that one thing all three bands on the bill had in common was high-energy vocals. This was country with a bit of punk in there. You know? The song "Widow's Waltz" featured some really pretty work on lap steel. And after that song, Kenny joked "Something like that." Sophia Delgado then switched to electric guitar for the next song, a fun number with a delicious energy. Afterward Kenny again joked, "Something like that," a running gag with the band's name. I love when artists riff on those standard band comments. I remember another artist at one point introducing a song by saying, "It goes exactly like this," playing on the oft-heard, "It goes something like this." They followed that with a song I assume is titled "Smooth Motherfucker," a song that featured some great stuff on lap steel and cool work on bass. "John Harris is the smooth motherfucker of the band," Kenny said afterward. "Life's A Hangover" was another delightfully playful number, even the false start kind of fitting in with the vibe. They then ended on a softer, prettier note, "The Girl Who Stole My Heart." "Thank you very much for staying out this late," Kenny joked at the end. It was 5:34 p.m.

"Sing Me Back Home"

James, the guy who runs the venue, then got on stage and played a little of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home" with The Somethin' Like Thats backing him. That was a great song to hear in that moment because I had just learned that Bob Weir had died. "Sing Me Back Home" is a song that the Grateful Dead played several times in the early 1970s, though it was Jerry that sang lead on it, not Bob. A wonderful afternoon of music turned much sadder with the news of the end of a wild journey.