Michael Doherty's Music Log: Kip Boardman and Tony Gilkyson at The Mayan Bar & Grill, 4-7-24 Concert Review


Tony Gilkyson

That great concert series at the Mayan Bar & Grill continued last night with sets by Kip Boardman, Tony Gilkyson and Mike Stinson. They are all the type of artists that other musicians make a point of seeing. Even if the gig is out in Monrovia. Which, by the way, is not as far away as it sounds. And traffic wasn’t so bad yesterday evening. But, yes, when I arrived, a bit early, there were already several accomplished musicians there ready to catch an evening of fantastic music. I had suspected the night would be memorable, but that was when I was certain of it.

Kip Boardman was up first, and performed his set outside in the courtyard. He played this concert series before. In fact, he was the first artist to do the series, opening for I See Hawks In L.A. back in October. At that show, Paul Lacques played pedal steel with him. That was one of the last times I saw Paul Lacques perform. This time it was Dan Wistrom on pedal steel and electric guitar, along with Danny McGough on bass. Kip Boardman was introduced promptly at 6 p.m., and he opened with “Where Were You,” a song from his most recent release, The Good Leave, which came out in October. His set focused on material from that excellent album, material that shows his strength as a songwriter. “Choose To Wait” was particularly moving and beautiful. “Maybe tomorrow won’t be so bad,” Kip sang toward the end of that song. After that, he joked that people have been waiting for some Procol Harum, and delivered a really good rendition of “Homburg.” That was followed by a wonderful new song, “All I Know,” which featured nice work on pedal steel. He introduced “Last Mistake” as Gwendolyn’s favorite song. She usually hosts this concert series, but was not there last night. Kip Boardman wrapped up his set with “Another One Of Them Ifs,” leaving the crowd with a fun number. His set ended at 6:49 p.m.


Kip Boardman

The crowd then moved indoors for Tony Gilkyson’s set, and right at 7 p.m. he took the stage. “Nice To be here,” he said, adding that he lives like two blocks from the venue. “So how perfect is that?” Always a great thing when you can walk to a concert. He opened his set with “Well Traveled Man,” which had a good country rock energy. Afterward, he asked how the sound was, checking to make sure it wasn’t too loud for folks. Then he went into another fun number, “Old Cracked Looking Glass,” which featured some great work on guitar. And the audience responded enthusiastically. “Thank you very much,” Tony said. “I’ve been trying to get people to come out to Monrovia, without a lot of luck.” I understand. I’ve had trouble getting friends to go out to these shows, even though the lineups have been phenomenal. And, again, Monrovia is not as far away as it sounds. “Rattlesnake Boy” had a delicious, mean country vibe, which I loved. Then in introducing “The Everyman,” Tony said, “It’s a true story, this next song.” That song also featured some strong guitar work, as did the next song, “Break Of Day,” which had a bluesy vibe and became a seriously cool jam.

Rick Shea and Tony Gilkyson were supposed to share a bill at the Mayan Bar & Grill back in November, but Tony was unable to make it. Well, last night Rick Shea joined Tony on pedal steel for a chunk of his set, beginning with the instrumental number “Tulare Hayride,” which is on Gilkyson’s most recent album, Avenging Angel, released in August last year. “We had a request for some Merle Haggard,” Tony told the crowd after that. He then added, “Actually, I was the one who made that request.” And the band delivered a great rendition of “No Reason To Quit.” That was followed by “Alligator Man,” Tony dancing up there with his guitar. Things got even better with “Death In Arkansas,” which was the last of the songs to feature Rick Shea on pedal steel. Tony followed that with “Big Red Six” and “Mirage,” and wrapped up the set with “Tear It Down,” a wildly fun number that got folks dancing. The band jammed on that last song, with Tony Gilkyson delivering some great stuff on guitar. The set ended at 8:01 p.m.

I would have loved to stay for Mike Stinson, but I had to be at work at 5:30 this morning, and decided to do the responsible thing and get some sleep. It’s not a decision I’m proud of.

Set Lists

Kip Boardman