I See Hawks In L.A., John Surge And The Haymakers, and Old Californio at DiPiazza's, 5-2-26

I experienced a bit of heaven in Long Beach last night, as three of the best bands around were all on the same bill, each delivering a special sort of magic. I'm always looking for those moments when the music transports me, when all worries and concerns are left behind, when the music becomes everything and I'm just completely in the present, immersed in the sound, in the emotion. That happened during each band's set last night, which is outstanding and rare.

Old Californio

Old Californio started the night, beginning the show promptly at eight. There was a somewhat different lineup for this show. Rich Dembowski and Justin Smith were on guitar and drums respectively, as usual, and Bob Roach was on bass, as he often fills in for Jason Chesney. Neither Woody Aplanalp nor Jon Niemann were present, and instead the band had Dan Wistrom sitting in on pedal steel. They opened with "Mother Road," and immediately the flavor of the pedal steel was appreciated. Dan delivered a good lead. Rich then strapped on his harmonica for a wonderful rendition of "City Lines," Dan's pedal steel helping to set the tone. This song featured some really nice stuff on both harmonica and bass. Rich kept the harmonica on for the third song, a new one titled "Free Ain't Easy," which was beautiful from the start, and soon kicked in to become a glorious number. Dan's lead toward the end was wonderful, especially the way it eased out, with room to breathe, the spaces between just as potent as the notes. Just absolutely beautiful. One of those moments when the music completely took over. You could feel it, the way everyone in the room was experiencing it. Then Justin's delicious rhythm drove the next song. Someone in the audience shouted out, "Old Californio!" Overcome in the moment, you understand.

The band delivered a good cover of "I Never Picked Cotton," the pedal steel being a prominent force from the beginning, setting the song in motion. There was also some great drumming there. Before "California Goodness," Rich told the crowd, "We're going to do something real pretty now." And indeed, that song was pretty, with the pedal steel adding another beautiful layer. The harmonica and pedal steel sounded so good together. Rich then introduced the band. When he mentioned Bob, there was an especially large cheer. Rich, pretending to be taken aback, remarked that Bob's fan club was here, and then joked, "Fired." Bob delivered some fantastic work throughout the set. Old Californio wrapped up the set with a really good rendition of "Kansas City Southern."

John Surge And The Haymakers

John Surge And The Haymakers were up next. John Surge is the host of this music series. And the band's set opened in wonderful fashion, with guitarist Chris Motter and drummer Kevin Jarvis first taking the stage, delivering a cool instrumental introduction. There was no formal introduction, and the guitar work at first seemed to grow out of the soundcheck, but quickly the audience caught on that the set had begun and their conversations ceased as they became rapt in the guitar work. Then the other band members joined them, one by one, first Teresa Cowles on bass, then Carl Byron on keyboard, and finally John Surge himself, and the band eased into a slow, beautiful rendition of "I Remind You." What a stunning way to open. The song featured a great lead on guitar. John then told the crowd, "Now we rock," and led the band into "Ricochet." And, as promised, the energy was there, with a great, strong beat. That was followed by "Almost Time," featuring some excellent harmonies, John and Teresa always sounding so damn good singing together.

John mentioned that David Serby is going to having his album release show at DiPiazza's on June 27th, and then played "Barstow To Baker," a song he wrote with him. There was barely a pause before the band went into "One Promise At A Time," a song with great energy. "Passing Through" followed, this song featuring some fantastic stuff on keys. The keyboard also helped to create the cool atmosphere of the song. Another highlight of the set was "Marisol," the band delivering a particularly fun rendition. The fun continued with "Don't Need No Man," a song with an excellent beat and featuring some delicious stuff on keys. They wrapped up the set with "Your Wonderful Life" and "Mercury Blues."

I See Hawks In L.A.

I See Hawks In L.A. kicked off the final set of this fantastic night with "Ohio." Yeah, right into the blazing fun with that one, no easing in. Victoria Jacobs didn't have a vocal microphone, so we couldn't hear her first "Sweet home" part, which is one of my favorite elements of the song. Dan Wistrom looked over at her, and seeing the problem, got up in the middle of the song, set up her vocal microphone stand and got back to his spot in time to deliver an excellent lead on electric guitar. It was that moment right there when we all knew this was going to be a special set. And Dan delivered a nice, extended guitar lead on "White Cross," which followed "Ohio." Rob Waller then mentioned a gig that was alluded to earlier in the evening, when he was supposed to play with John Surge, but had to cancel because his first kid was born that day. "Only gig I had to cancel," he added. And speaking of gigs, Rob told the crowd how this set was Dan Wistrom's third gig of the day (he almost had four). Earlier, his band Generic Clapton played in Sierra Madre (Justin, of Old Californio, is the drummer in that band). A totally delightful version of "Poour Me" followed, with Dan on pedal steel. "Thank you. Keep on pouring," Rob said afterward.

The band treated us to a new song, "Global Pandemic," Dan back on electric guitar for that one. Rob mentioned that they had challenged themselves to come up with an upbeat positive song about the pandemic. Well, they succeeded. The song had a fantastic energy, and the "La la la" vocal part was hilarious, with then a little nod to Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" (the "fa fa fa" bit). That was followed by another of the set's highlights, a cover of "St. James Infirmary," with Paul Marshall on lead vocals. These guys did such a cool rendition, and Paul threw in lyrics about the venue and the band itself. Not only that, but Paul delivered a bass lead at the end, which received a big (and deserved) cheer from the crowd. That was followed by "Carbon Dated Love" and then "Grapevine," which featured an excellent vocal performance from Rob. After that, Victoria sang lead on "Skipping Stones," a fun song with a beat you can't help but love, and yet another of the set's highlights. Then "Hippie On The Road" had a terrific energy, especially to Rob's vocal performance. That was followed by a sweet rendition of Willie Nelson's "Me And Paul." It was really nice to see the band play this one again. Paul Marshall then delivered an absolutely wonderful vocal performance on "Drinker's Hall Of Fame." The band wrapped up the set with "Good And Foolish Times," which is always fun, even when they don't do that extended ending. It seemed like that was the intended ending, but the crowd wanted more, and John Surge urged the band to play "Humboldt." This was a phenomenal version of "Humboldt," with some excellent stuff on bass. And Dan Wistrom's guitar work was wild!

This is what life is all about.