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| The Talent Pool |
We were treated to another strong lineup last night at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, including Lights Out Levine, The Glimmer Stars and Vanessa McNiel. Making the show even more special was The Smokey Lonesome, who did short sets throughout the night, acting as wild country punk hosts, which I'm now convinced should be present at every party. So keep that in mind if you're planning on throwing one. And last night certainly became a party, particularly as it ended with The Talent Pool, a group of musicians covering some beloved punk and rock numbers, a fun and loose set to close out the night.
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| The Smokey Lonesome |
The Smokey Lonesome was up first, getting the night into gear with that special energy that seems a natural part of all that duo's music. During the soundcheck, sound man Nubs joked with Dave Porter about his suit, saying his jacket would make Herb Tarlek proud. Those of you who are around my age will know just what that's about. For those of you who are younger, check out the great
WKRP In Cincinnati when you get a chance. Dave and Natalie were ready to start, but Nubs informed them they weren't scheduled to start until 8:30 p.m. "
Really?" Dave asked. It was news to them, and to us in the audience. Soundcheck was a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Green River," and the audience was ready. A brief discussion ensued, and it was decided the show would start at 8:15. And at 8:15, it did, the duo opening their short set with "Jasmine" and following it with "Frontera," a song from 2024's
Desert Run. And everything seemed to be moving in just the direction they desired, into that realm of delightful weirdness, with the right energy. Their short opening set concluded with "Koa Box." Yup, three songs in nine minutes. I remarked that it was one of the shortest sets I've seen, and Dave said their sets were to get even shorter after that.
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| Vanessa McNiel |
Vanessa McNiel was the only artist of the night I hadn't seen before. She was in the all-woman band Glam Skanks, and now has gone solo, leading her own band. Her set included a mix of covers and original material. The first cover she did was the Deftones' "Sextape," which had an odd start, until Vanessa realized she'd forgotten her capo. Laughing at herself (which of course endeared her even more to the audience), she got the song going. I was especially digging the bass player's work, his bass at times like another lead instrument. Some very cool stuff. Her original song "Keep The Memories" she introduced by saying, "
It's about not looking back." It was one of the highlights for me. "
These lights, I'm already a sweaty monster," she said after that song, referring to the stage lights, Then, getting her beer, she offered a toast to "
everyone in this room." Her original numbers also included "Please Don't Tell Me" and "Hey Beautiful." She ended her set with a couple of fun covers: Pretenders' "Middle Of The Road" straight into Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker." The band's drummer was especially having a great time with "Middle Of The Road," and "Heartbreaker" featured some really good stuff on electric guitar. It was on these last two songs that Vanessa really cut loose, which was great.
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| "Ophelia" |
The Smokey Lonesome were soon back on stage, and as Dave had indicated, this set was even shorter than the duo's first set. Only two songs: a good cover of The Band's "Ophelia," with Natalie on lead vocals, and "Cannabis," a fun and wild number about how pot is legal in this state. Yes, a song the crowd appreciated. "
You're welcome to join me on the word 'California,'" Natalie told the crowd before that song. A six-minute set, ending at 9:41 p.m. The duo then introduced The Glimmer Stars, with Dave calling Mini Menez the "
Number one heartthrob in America."
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| The Glimmer Stars |
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Thanks so much for hanging out," Mini said at the start of The Glimmer Stars' set. And that's what folks were doing: hanging out. There was a wonderfully casual and friendly vibe to the whole night, like a group of friends hanging out and enjoying some great music. The Glimmer Stars opened with "Better Day," and it's always a better day when this band plays. That song led straight into "I Need It Now," some good, fun, loud rock and roll with a great joy, particularly from Mini. That in turn led straight into "If I Only Could." After that song, the band actually paused for a moment. "
Let me tune up real quick," Mini said. They then played "Pictures Of You," a song that contains a nod to Cheap Trick's "Surrender." After "Alley Cat," Mini asked, "
Is the bass too loud?" Sure, it was loud. But too loud? Nope. He then drank from the glass of beer that Vanessa had left on stage. Because, again, the night had that kind of loose vibe to it. He introduced the next song, "
This is called 'Would You,'" and a guy in the audience yelled back, "
Yes, I would." Because the audience was loose too, you understand. Mini mentioned that The Glimmer Stars have a new album coming out, so there is that to look forward to, and the band then played a song from that new album, "Maybe." It was totally catchy, feeling like a hit. Do rock bands still have hits? They followed that with a cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," which was a hit for Tommy James And The Shondells. They wrapped up the set with "Paulina" leading straight into "I Want You." The set ended at 10:23 p.m.
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| "AC Breakdown" |
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We've got another two-song set for you," Dave said soon after The Glimmer Stars had left the stage. The first was "AC Breakdown." In February you might think an air conditioner breaking down would be no big deal, but many of us had ours on a couple of days last week. Crazy, right? "AC Breakdown" is another fun song. The second was a great cover of "Silver Threads And Golden Needles," with Natalie on lead vocals.
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| Lights Out Levine |
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Welcome to the rising-from-the-ashes kind of night," Adam Levine, sporting a gold jacket, told the eager crowd at the beginning of the Lights Out Levine set. By this point in the night, the room was packed. Adam and his band opened with "Run From The Moon," so there was a great rock energy right out of the gate, which the audience fed on. They followed that with "Crosshairs." "
Too many voices inside my brain/They're all bound to drive me insane." Adam mentioned a bit about what The Talent Pool is, a group of musicians from his favorite bands coming together for a fun set. It was clear he was excited about that upcoming set, and we'd soon know just why. The band then delivered good renditions of "Forever Filthy" and "Fantasy." Adam told the audience that when ordering drinks to order them without ice, because "
Fuck ICE." Indeed. Some day, I assume, that organization will be destroyed if this nation is to at least pretend to retain a bit of its ideals. And will the violent shitheads who make up its numbers simply go on with their lives as most Nazis did after World War II? "Reapers Rodeo" had a very cool vibe. When introducing "I Like It With The Lights Out," Adam said, "
This is based on a true story." That was after downing a shot provided by Vanessa. Vanessa was, one way or another, providing her fellow artists with alcohol. "I Like It With The Lights Out" was such a fun number. "Breaking Point" followed, and the set wrapped up with "Tingles." The set ended at 11:41 p.m.
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| "Paulito's Old Lady" |
At a minute before midnight, The Smokey Lonesome came out to do one last short set, opening it with "Paulito's Old Lady" and following that with "The Smokey Lonesome." I have been keeping a list of all the bands who have a song that shares the band's name, so, yeah, The Smokey Lonesome is on it. It's kind of a fun list. Here are a few of the other bands on it: 7 Walkers, Bad Company, Beastie Boys, The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown, Black Sabbath, Blue Mink, Broken Sound, Bullied By Strings, Double Naught Spy Car, Focus, General Public, I See Hawks In L.A., Kanary, Kool And The Gang, Motorhead (someone had a Motorhead T-shirt at the show, by the way), Rotondi, and They Might Be Giants. The Smokey Lonesome introduced the song as "
our theme song," and it was a highlight of the set. They wrapped it up with the title track from
Desert Run. Yes, three songs this time. Their longest set of the night, at twelve minutes.
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| The Talent Pool |
The Talent Pool then took the stage, opening the set with a high-energy cover of The Ramones' "I Just Want To Have Something To Do." That was followed by "Beat On The Brat," and in fact a good chunk of the set was made up of Ramones songs. In addition to those two, the band delivered "Cretin Hop," "Do You Wanna Dance" (that one of course not originally a Ramones number, but this band was doing the Ramones version), "Danny Says" (that one with Adam Levine on lead vocals; at one point, he squeezed the lime from his drink onto his neck), "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World," and "Why Is It Always This Way" (with Adam again on lead vocals). We were also treated to The Dictators' "Who Will Save Rock And Roll," Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You" (with Vanessa on lead vocals), Jonathan Richman's "Pablo Picasso," and 999's "Homicide" (with Dylan Thomas on lead vocals). The set, and the night, ended with a fantastic rendition of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died," with Adam Levine on lead vocals, and a lot of folks joining in on backing vocals, both on stage and in the audience. This party came to an end at 1:11 a.m.
Here are some more photos:
Maui Sugar Mill Saloon is located at 18389 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California.
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