Old Californio at The Mayan Bar And Grill, 5-25-24 Concert Review

Old Californio performing "Old Kings Road"

The Mayan Bar And Grill in Monrovia is becoming one of my favorite places to see a concert. Partly it’s because of the atmosphere and the type of crowd the venue draws. Might the perceived distance from town have something to do with the folks who patronize the place? People who are going to put in that extra effort are going to be people to whom it is important to be there, people who love the music. Though, really, it’s not at all that far. I got there in less than thirty minutes last night. There was no traffic, and I was able to go 75 the whole way. And the beer is reasonably priced (cheap by Los Angeles standards). But the main reason for my love of this venue is the music. I’ve not yet seen a bad lineup, or even a mediocre band. For whatever reason, this place attracts some of the best groups around. Old Californio clearly is among their number, the band feeling like an intrinsic part of the southern California sound.

The Geraldos

The Geraldos opened the show, taking the stage at the scheduled time of 8 p.m. (yes, that’s another thing I appreciate about this venue – there is no bullshit about start times). This was my first time seeing the trio, and they opened their set with “Don’t Cry No Tears,” the Neil Young song. They would do a few more Neil Young songs at the end of the set, but before that they covered songs from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles and James Gang. One of the highlights for me was the group’s rendition of “Summertime Blues,” which was certainly inspired by the Blue Cheer version rather than the original Eddie Cochran recording. It was a lot of fun. The Geraldos closed out their set with three Neil Young songs, “Cinnamon Girl,” “Ohio” (a CSNY song written by Neil Young), and “Down By The River.”

"Old Kings Road"

Old Californio was scheduled to start at 9 p.m., and at 8:58 kicked off the set with “Old Kings Road,” the lead track from the band’s 2023 release Metaterranea. The crowd was immediately into it, digging it. “It’s that California sound, it’s got some California soul,” they sing here. Yes, exactly. That line makes it a good choice of set opener, and the energy is just right. They followed that with “City Lines,” a song from Westering Again. I love how this band makes me feel, their music like a wind blowing in from the desert to remind us that life is good. This song featured some great stuff on keys during the jam. The band’s vocal work is certainly a part of its appeal, and last night their rendition of The Beatles’ “Because” featured some particularly good vocals. This band does such a nice rendition of that song. You can hear it on the 2022 release Old Californio Country. Then “Keep On Rollin’” had a sweet vibe, and was followed by “Harmony,” which had such a cool feel to it. I especially loved when the guitar cut loose. There was more excellent vocal work on the beautiful “Saint Cecilia.”

As much as I love this band’s original material, sometimes it is the covers that really stand out. Such was the case with “Ring Of Fire” last night, which got folks dancing and was a highlight of the set. The band really put its own spin on this song, and the jam featured some nice stuff on keys. That was followed by another excellent cover, “Midnight Moonlight,” the Peter Rowan song that was included on that great Old & In The Way album. Old Californio’s rendition last night was a whole lot of fun. And I love how it then concluded gently with vocals. The band followed that with “I Won’t Cry,” a song that was included on Old Californio Country, and another that featured some strong and wonderful vocal work. The band acknowledged the joy of the crowd, thanking folks for dancing. Then “Destining Again,” a song from Metaterranea, featured some great stuff on guitar. “I wonder where it will leave us, this road we’re on/Can’t go back/‘Cause nothing lives in the past.” And when they sang, “Ain’t taking nothing that I don’t need,” I couldn’t help but think that I need very little more than good music, good company and good beer, all of which were present at the Mayan last night. They followed that with “Allon Camerado,” which featured some great drumming.

"Lie To Me"

At 9:58, rather than taking the planned set break, the band announced that they’d roll right into the second set. And why not? The energy was high, and the momentum was strong. The first song of what would have been the second set was “Mother Road,” a rocking number featuring some fantastic work on keys. That was followed by “Just Like Joseph Campbell,” and then a cover of Lucinda Williams’ “I Lost It,” which was another highlight. Combining the two sets into one long set, they ended up not playing everything that had been planned for the second set. A few tunes were skipped, and they then rocked the place with “Lean Into It,” delivering a good jam with outstanding energy. This song contains a reference to Macbeth, as they sing “Something wicked this way blows,” a play on the witch’s lines “By the pricking of my thumbs/Something wicked this way comes.” They kept the energy up with a cover of Gene Clark’s “Kansas City Southern.” The set concluded with a totally fun cover of Kaleidoscope’s “Lie To Me,” each of the band members getting a chance to shine. The set ended at 10:36 p.m.,  and the house music came on, but the crowd overpowered it, calling for an encore. Hell yeah, this was my kind of crowd! The band chose one of the songs they’d skipped earlier, “Warmth Of The Sun,” an excellent song from Westering Again. The show ended at 10:43 p.m. What a great night of music.

Set List

1. Old Kings Road
2. City Lines
3. Because
4. Keep On Rollin’
5. Harmony
6. Saint Cecilia
7. Ring Of Fire
8. Midnight Moonlight
9. I Won’t Cry
10. Destining Again
11. Allon Camerado
12. Mother Road
13. Just Like Joseph Campbell
14. I Lost It
15. Lean Into It
16. Kansas City Southern
17. Lie To Me

Encore

1. Warmth Of The Sun

Here are a few photos from the show:

The Geraldos

The Geraldos

"Because"

 

"Allon Camerado"

"Allon Camerado"

"Allon Camerado"

"Allon Camerado"

"Lie To Me"

The Mayan Bar And Grill is located at 317 W. Foothill Blvd, in Monrovia, California.