Rick Shea & The Losin’ End at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, 7-17-24 Concert Review

Rick Shea & The Losin’ End delivered two excellent sets last night at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon in Tarzana. And in between, we were treated to a special set by The Whitmore Sisters. It was a great night of music. What made it even more memorable was Eleanor Whitmore sitting in on fiddle with Rick Shea for both sets.

Rick Shea eased into the first set with a cover of Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonk Blues,” and then focused on original material. He followed “Honky Tonk Blues” with “Mexicali Train” and then one of my personal favorites, “Mariachi Hotel.” That song has such a cool vibe, and it sounded fantastic with violin. Rick Shea can certainly write a great lyric. In “Shelter Valley Blues,” he sings, “Now I’ve got no recollection/Of my death or resurrection/But I’ve damn sure got these Shelter Valley blues.”  The first set also included “Blues Stop Knocking At My Door,” “The Starkville Blues,” and “Hold On Jake,” along with a really good song by bass player Jeff Turmes. Rick Shea wrapped it up with “Big Rain Is Comin’ Mama,” a song he wrote during the election year a few years ago. “So the song is a little apocalyptic,” he said in the introduction. “Here we go again.”  Indeed. I’ve been limiting the amount of news I read and watch, because this particular election is terrifying. I’ll keep turning to music for sanity, for humanity.

“Well, here’s a little song about alcoholism,” Bonnie Whitmore said at the beginning of the Whitmore Sisters’ set, getting a laugh from the bar crowd. The song, “Ricky,” is from their album Ghost Stories, released in 2022 and so far the only album they’ve put out together. They played songs from that album, as well as from Bonnie’s solo releases and The Mastersons’ albums (The Mastersons are the duo of Eleanor and her husband Chris Masterson). One of The Mastersons songs they performed was “Good Luck Charm,” and the line “When the television makes you want to run and hide” stood out to me. It’s a line that feels even more fitting now than when the song was first released. Their harmonies were absolutely wonderful. Bonnie was on acoustic guitar, while Eleanor played guitar, violin and Mellotron on various songs. They played mostly original material, but also delivered excellent covers of The Everly Brothers’ “On The Wings Of A Nightingale” and Aaron Lee Tasjan’s “Big Heart Sick Mind,” both with Eleanor on Mellotron. Their set was a solid hour, but not enough for the audience, who asked for an encore. For that they played a new song, “Cardiac Disaster.”

Rick Shea said he’d wait a few minutes before starting his second set, in order to give Eleanor a little break. After all, she’d been playing since 8:30, and it was then 10:42. Twelve minutes later he opened the second set with “Goodbye Alberta,” a song in which he sings “I hope your troubles pass.” I hope this nation’s troubles pass soon, but it seems like many people are becoming pessimistic about our chances. He followed that with “Sweet Bernardine,” a song about his hometown of San Bernardino, featuring a fantastic lead on guitar. The energy then increased on a fun cover of Chuck Berry’s “Thirty Days.” The set also included a wonderful rendition of Cookie & The Cupcakes’ “Matilda,” as well as a good version of The Waterboys’ “Fisherman’s Blues.” But my favorite song of the set was “Trouble Like This.” Rick Shea delivered a beautiful, moving rendition. “The whole world is crumbling/You’re down on your knees/And I’ve seen trouble like this before.”

Here are some photos from the night: