Old Californio and The Firkins at Highpoint Brewing Company, 9-27-26

I don't know how everyone else is dealing with our current reality, but one thing I've done to keep myself relatively sane is shorten my give-a-shit list. I've shortened it considerably. Goodbye, politics. Goodbye, news. I've even stopped caring about baseball (all the recently imposed rules are awful, and the sport is no longer the thing I fell in love with). As a result, I'm pretty damn happy. Focusing on what is truly important. And that is friends and family. And music. Music, music, music. Old Californio headlined a fantastic show yesterday at Highpoint Brewing Company (one of my favorite places, thanks to its first-rate beer, friendly staff, and, of course, excellent lineup of music), delivering an exceptional set that included "Shorten Your List," a song that encourages us all to shorten our give-a-shit lists. 

The Firkins

The show started with a great set from The Firkins, with Gloria Delgado first acknowledging the heat. "It feels like summer." Indeed. While some of the country has moved into autumn, Los Angeles and its surrounding areas have clearly decided that summer is not yet over. The band then opened the set with "I Like Beer," a delightful choice. And if you like beer, Highpoint Brewing Company is the place for you. I've had several different selections there, and enjoyed them all. "I Like Beer" was followed by "Adventures At Bootleggers," a highlight of the set, Sophia Delgado delivering some wonderful guitar work with a cheerful, classic vibe. "Straight Out Of The Barrel" was another fun number with a good vibe, in part because of Sophia's guitar work, but also because of that rhythm. Gloria then told the crowd that all the band's songs are love songs. That is, love of beer. And she delivered some especially good work on bass on the next song, "Fiending For Hops," which had a sweet pop sound. She mentioned that the band will release an album before the end of the year, good news for fans of music and beer. Sophia switched to lap steel for "The Ticker." Then, interestingly, after the song was briefly halted, she switched back to electric guitar for the song. She then went to lap steel for "My Dad's Drinking Gene," delivering some really nice work. That song also had a catchy rhythm.

Another highlight of the set was "Pliny The Younger," which Gloria introduced as a song about a seasonal beer, one she recommends. The song featured some great work by Danny Ruiz on acoustic guitar, and some fantastic drumming by John Harris. It got a big (and deserved) reaction from the crowd. Gloria dedicated "San Diego" to Albert, who used to play drums in the band and was in the audience. She added that it was his favorite song to play, which makes total sense, as it featured a delicious beat. And Sophia delivered some wonderful work on electric guitar. She also delivered some great work on "High Speed Chase," a song that also featured excellent stuff on bass. That was followed by "Mr. Odd,"  which was met with cheers from several in the audience the moment it began. A catchy, cool number. The band then played "Victory At Sea." "Sing along if you know it," Gloria said when introducing it, and it seemed that a good number of folks did know it. The band gave us a beautiful rendition, and followed that with a cover of "One Hundred Years From Now," which Gloria said was in honor of Gram Parsons. They followed that with "A Few Rounds," a fun, rowdy number to close the set, which ended just before five o' clock.

Old Californio

Old Californio had done a few shows in recent weeks billed as Old Californio Quartet, a variation on the band's usual lineup, but yesterday was a full-band show, though with Bob Roach sitting in on bass and backing vocals in place of Jason Chesney. And the band's choice of opening number showed they meant business, and they weren't about to hold anything back. That first song was a glorious rendition of "Lean Into It," the guys jamming a bit at the start to set the tone, and then soon cooking. There was an especially delicious power on the chorus, but the whole song contained a great pulse and featured some excellent playing. Jon Niemann in particular was shining, during his lead on keys, but also during the jam. And Woody Aplanalp let loose on the guitar. This was an absolutely phenomenal start to the show, a ten-minute "Lean Into It." "Happy Sunday," Rich Dembowski then greeted the crowd, also joking that he'd pitch for the Dodgers if necessary. "Millard Canyon Run" followed, which Rich introduced as an old tune, the first he wrote. This one had a much sweeter vibe, with a Neil Young thing happening at times. And, yes, it was the weekend. 

This set featured quite a few covers, including an excellent version of Little Feat's "Willin'" that began with a good little jam and contained a nice lead on keys. Woody eased into his lead, and delivered some fantastic work, doing it rather softly, beautifully, at one moment sounding like drops of water from a heavenly source. Rich also delivered some great stuff on guitar. The section featuring the two guitars was superb, and received applause from the crowd. On top of all that, the song featured some wonderful harmonies. That was followed by a cover of "Fine Artiste Blues," which was a delight. I think it had been a little while since I'd last seen them do that one, and again Jon was delivering some strong work on keyboard. A cover of Lucinda Williams' "I Lost It" followed, Rich acknowleding Bob's great work on bass afterward. And then they delivered their special take on The Beatles' "Because," and this was a particularly good rendition, with Woody delivering some absolutely wonderful work on guitar. Of course, it's the vocal work that always stands out when they do that song. Beautiful harmonies. That was followed by a cover of The Byrds' "Lover Of The Bayou," a song I don't recall seeing the band do before. Their rendition rocked, featuring some phenomenal work on guitar and keys. 

As soon as the band started "Shorten Your List," several people in the audience cheered, so I guess I'm not alone both in my love for this song and in my need to eliminate excess craziness from my life. "Shorten your give-a-shit list/Accept the world for the mess that it is." There was a time there not too long ago when the world seemed to be moving closer to our ideal vision of it, but that time has passed (and likely won't come around again). So here we are. "That's my response to the current political environment," Rich said afterward. That was followed by "Ring Of Fire." I know I've mentioned this before, but this band's version of that classic number is incredible. These guys have a knack for taking songs and making them their own, and this song in particular always manages to stand out. It is consistently a highlight of their sets, and so expectations are high when they start it. Yesterday they surpassed all those expectations, and delivered a rendition so bloody good that many of us were left gobsmacked. This song felt more forceful than usual, the band taking it to new places. Woody's guitar work was outstanding. And the rhythm was great, Bob delivering a delicious bass line. And then later in the song, he had an opportunity to take a lead on bass. By then, we already knew we were in special, perhaps uncharted territory. Did anyone record the show? I hope so, because people need to hear this rendition. How do you follow that song? The band made a good choice, "Warmth Of The Sun," which came on strong, Justin Smith's rhythm quickly taking hold. And later in the song, there was that Bo Diddley thing happening. For me, this song is all about the rhythm, not just the great stuff on drums, but the rhythm of the guitars and even the keys too. And that's how the set ended. But folks called out for an encore, and the band obliged with a high-energy rendition of "Mother Road," featuring some cool stuff on bass. The show ended at 6:33 p.m.

Old Californio Set List

1. Lean Into It
2. Millard Canyon Run
3. Willin'
4. Fine Artiste Blues
5. I Lost It
6. Because
7. Lover Of The Bayou
8. Shorten Your List
9. Ring Of Fire
10. Warmth Of The Sun

Encore:

1. Mother Road

Highpoint Brewing Company is located at 402 W. Arrow Highway in San Dimas, California.