The Brian Kinler Band at Kulak’s Woodshed, 4-9-22 Concert Review

It’s always a special night when The Brian Kinler Band performs, partly because they’ve never really kept a regular concert schedule in the fifteen years of the band’s existence, but mostly because of the incredible amount of talent and joy on the stage when they play. Last night’s concert at Kulak’s Woodshed was particularly special, because it was the final show before Brian Kinler moves out of Los Angeles. Originally from the New Orleans area, pianist and composer Brian Kinler has made Los Angeles his home for more than two decades. Now he and his husband are moving to Florida to make a new home there. What that means for the band remains to be seen, but everyone last night was hopeful that the show didn’t signify the end. Still, it was an emotional night.

The band started a little after 8 p.m., launching into the always-fun opener “Wookiee Boogie” to set things in motion. Brian Kinler did not wait long to mention the significance of the night, after that first song telling the audience that he was moving. Most of the people in the room were likely already aware, but the show was also being broadcast live on the internet for those unable to get into the rather small venue (by the way, you can visit the Kulak’s Woodshed site to watch the show, along with other shows performed there). Brian turned to his bandmates to address them, choking up a bit in the process: “Jon, Matt and Andrea, you three have made me just a better musician and a better songwriter, and you guys are family and I love you. I’m going to miss you guys.” He then introduced “Makes Me Smile,” which only the previous night Matt had suggested they add to the set list. It’s a beautiful piece of music, and like “Wookiee Boogie,” it was included on Stories From The Quarter. Andrea’s work on violin was particularly moving.

In introducing “Mama’s Gumbo Pot,” a song from Not Your Everyday Amateur, Brian talked about originally wanting to be a drummer, and how at a gig his snare drum rolled right off the flatbed truck on which he’d been performing, and how after that his mom began teaching him piano. “Mama’s Gumbo Pot,” as you might guess from its title, is a fun one. It was followed by “Lay You Down,” featuring some cool work by Matt on bass and a gorgeous section led by piano and violin.

Considering that this was the last show (at least for a while), no one was probably expecting new material. But Brian played a couple of new tunes last night. The first, “The Napkin,” was written during the height of the pandemic when everything was shut down and no one was working. The inspiration for this piece is the napkin on which Brian had written his phone number the night he met Steven, a napkin that much later Brian learned Steven had kept. While it was a surprise to be treated to new material, after hearing the story of the song’s inspiration, it was no surprise that this song was beautiful and sweet and joyous and moving, a highlight of the set. Then his introduction to “The Fall” got a laugh from the audience, coming as it did right on the heels of such a moving moment: “This next song is about my ex.”

Brian Kinler has had several vocalists join him in concert over the years, and last night two of them made special appearances. From Kelly’s Lot, vocalist Kelly Zirbes and guitarist Perry Robertson joined the band for an excellent rendition of “Give It Up Or Let Me Go,” a song written by Bonnie Raitt. Before tearing into the song vocally, Kelly Zirbes provided a little soulful whistling, accompanied by Perry on acoustic guitar. And then the energy behind her vocal performance was tremendous, and Perry delivered a great lead on guitar. Then Francesca Capasso, who co-wrote “Bombshell” with Brian Kinler, joined the group for a seriously cool version of “Chain Of Fools.” In introducing her, Brian said: “There’s one word I have to describe this lady, and it is ‘powerhouse.’ She don’t need a mic.” No exaggeration there. Before playing “Chain Of Fools,” they reminisced about meeting on the set of a television series. And then they rocked the place with an electric rendition, Francesca sometimes holding the microphone quite a distance from her as she belted out certain lines.

Brian followed that fantastic couple of covers with the second new song of the evening, “The World Is A Big Place.” This one too came out of the pandemic, inspired by one of those eerie and oddly magical moments when the streets of the world’s cities were empty, but people were connected by music. Specifically, Brian was watching Andrea Bocelli perform “Amazing Grace” at the Milan cathedral in April of 2020, with footage from other major cities, which were all basically empty of people. “That’s what I was thinking of when I was writing this song,” Brian told the audience. It’s a stunningly beautiful song, performed by Brian with just Andrea on violin. The band followed that with another of Brian’s beautiful and powerful compositions, “Rosedown.” There was a brief pause before they went into a cover of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” which at the end contained a brief return to “Rosedown.” Then, after the briefest of pauses, they followed that with “Orange Blossom Special,” giving Andrea another opportunity to shine. They then wrapped up the set with an early favorite, “Slobbertongue,” a tune that really showcases Brian’s incredible agility on the keys and gives the audience a chance to snap along, and also gives Jon a chance to get loose on the drums.

Kelly Zirbes, Perry Robertson and Francesca Capasso all returned to the stage for the encore, Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.” “It’s been a pleasure playing for you guys all these years,” Brian said before the band launched into the song. And it was an incredible pleasure for all of us who have been able to see him play, last night and all the other nights over the last couple of decades. The show ended at 9:39 p.m. Brian told the crowd, “I’ll see you when I see you.”

Set List

1. Wookiee Boogie
2. Makes Me Smile
3. Mama’s Gumbo Pot
4. Lay You Down
5. The Napkin
6. The Fall
7. Give It Up Or Let Me Go
8. Chain Of Fools
9. The World Is A Big Place
10. Rosedown
11. The Devil Went Down To Georgia >
12. Rosedown >
13. The Devil Went Down To Georgia
14. Orange Blossom Special
15. Slobbertongue

Encore

1. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours

Here are a few photos from the show:

"Wookiee Boogie"

 

"Wookiee Boogie"

"Makes Me Smile"

"Makes Me Smile"

"Mama's Gumbo Pot"

"The Fall"

"Give It Up Or Let Me Go"

"Give It Up Or Let Me Go"

"Give It Up Or Let Me Go"

"Chain Of Fools"

"Chain Of Fools"

"Slobbertongue"

 

"Slobbertongue"

"Slobbertongue"

 

Kulak’s Woodshed is located at 5230 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in North Hollywood, California.