David Serby, John Surge, and Rob Waller Play Twang City at DiPiazza’s, 7-27-24

Rob Waller & Friends playing "Open Door"

DiPiazza’s is a pizza-and-beer spot down in Long Beach, where there is a decent-sized stage on the right side of the room. And last night there was a lineup so good that it was worth the one-and-a-half-hour drive down from the valley on the 405 freeway: David Serby, John Surge And The Haymakers, and Rob Waller & Friends. It’s an intimate room, as only half the place is set up for the music, and the other half, I guess, remains a sports bar during the show. On the wall near the stage is the famous Maxell tapes advertisement image from the 1980s, you remember, the guy on the arm chair facing the speaker. It’s still a cool image. Less cool was the price of beer at this place. An IPA that cost me $6 at the Mayan was $10.47 here. I’m not sure how they arrived at that specific price, but I’m willing to bet some sort of evil entity was consulted. I’ll tell you this, it tasted the same as a six-dollar glass. The concert was part of the Twang City series, hosted by John Surge And The Haymakers, occurring on the fourth Saturday of every month.

David Serby

David Serby was up first. He has an excellent new album out, Low Hanging Stars, and this show was in part to celebrate its release. He and his band were on the stage at 8:12, tuning up so as to be ready for their 8:15 start time. He got things off to energetic start with “Why Leave Los Angeles.” Leaving is something we’ve all considered at some point or another, and taking ninety minutes for a drive that without traffic is thirty might be an understandable reason. But, hey, the music scene makes it worth staying, no question. During the pause toward the end of “Don’t Even Try,” David Serby asked how the sound was, and said he loves it there. The sound was great. After that song, he said that those who know him won’t be surprised to learn that he left the copies of his CD in his garage. That was funny, considering that the show was, after all, a CD release party. But, hey, the focus has always been on music, not merchandise. From that disc, he then played a fun rendition of “Trying To Get To Encinitas.” Another of the set’s highlights for me was “Is It Lonely In Here,” also from the new album. It featured a great beat and an excellent vocal performance. The rest of his set featured material from that album, including ”Fishtail Cadillac,” “The Jukebox Is Broken,” “Lonely Motel Days” (which he introduced as his wife’s favorite), and the title track, “Low Hanging Stars.” His set ended at 8:56 p.m.

John Surge And The Haymakers

John Surge And The Haymakers were up next, with bass player Teresa Cowles sporting a Twang City T-shirt. They opened their set with “Your Wonderful Life,” a perfect choice to set things in motion. After the briefest of pauses, they went into “You Don’t Know Me,” keeping the energy high. A nice lead on guitar during that song received applause from the audience. That was followed by one of my favorites, “Gun Sale At The Church,” a song from the Your Wonderful Life album. Another of the set’s highlights was “I Remind You,” which John Surge said might end up on the next album. I hope it does, because I want this song in my music collection. He followed that with the title track from his most recent release, Almost Time, which he did have copies of at the merchandise table. John Surge And The Haymakers delivered a seriously fun rendition of John Stewart’s “Gold,” which has the line “California girls are the greatest in the world.” Could that line be another answer to David Serby’s question “Why Leave Los Angeles”? The band concluded the set with an excellent cover of “Six Days On The Road.” Their set ended at 10:08 p.m.

Rob Waller & Friends playing "If I Move"

Rob Waller recently posted that beginning in August, he and bandmates Paul Marshall and Victoria Jacobs will begin performing again under the name I See Hawks In L.A., so last night’s set might possibly have been the final of the Rob Waller & Friends shows. Dan Wistrom was not with them this time. Instead, Ed Tree (from David Serby’s band) was on electric guitar (but not backing vocals), and Richie Lawrence was on accordion. They opened their set with “If I Move,” and that song’s line about a memory lurking in any direction they might choose stood out last night. It feels that those memories are a strong part of their music, and the band is embracing them and even breathing fresh energy into them. They followed that with “White Cross,” which featured a nice lead on accordion, and then a fun version of “Poour Me,” which was an early highlight of the set. “Highway Down” is a song that I’m always happy to hear, and last night it had a somewhat different sound than usual. They also delivered a delightful rendition of “Ohio.” One element I always love about that song is Victoria Jacobs’ backing vocal part. It was a particularly good rendition of the song, and afterward Rob Waller talked a bit about where that song came from. “Can you ever go back home? So far, the answer is no.” Interestingly, that once again put us in mind of the very first song of the night, David Serby’s “Why Leave Los Angeles.”

"Drinkers Hall Of Fame"

As good as all of that was, the real heart of the set began with Paul Marshall singing lead on “Drinkers Hall Of Fame,” a wonderful country number he wrote way back in the days before he met Rob Waller. Victoria Jacobs then sang lead on “Open Door,” a song from Hallowed Ground, released several years before she joined the band. It was so good to hear that one, and Richie delivered some wonderful stuff on accordion. That was followed by yet another treat, a beautiful rendition of “Know Just What To Do,” one of the best songs from On Our Way, but one I’ve rarely heard them do. Afterward, Rob Waller mentioned missing Paul Lacques and how he was nervous about doing that song. Well, it was unquestionably a highlight of the show. That was followed by a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Me And Paul,” played in tribute to Paul Lacques. They wrapped up the show with “Good And Foolish Times.” When Rob Waller called it out to his bandmates, someone in the audience cheered and shouted, “It’s my favorite one.” And it felt like a celebration, a perfect ending to a fantastic night of music. The show ended at 11:32 p.m.

Here are some photos from the night:

"Why Leave Los Angeles"

"Trying To Get To Encinitas"

"Is It Lonely In Here"

"Your Wonderful Life"

"Gun Sale At The Church"

"Gun Sale At The Church"

"If I Move"

"Poour Me"

"Open Door"

"Me And Paul"