The Pepper Moons at Brand Library & Art Center, 7-12-24 Concert Review

The summer concert series at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale began last night with a wonderful set by The Pepper Moons, the band delivering delightful renditions of some classic numbers. The group is led by vocalist Eva Mikhailovna, whom you might know from her other band, Eva And The Vagabond Tales, a group that, coincidentally, played the final night of this music series last year. My girlfriend and I wondered briefly if changing the name was a way for them to get to play the series again, and the group itself later made that exact joke. The two groups share more than just vocalist Eva, with Kully Stiles and Mark San Filippo also playing in both bands.

"Bei Mir Bisto Shein"

The band took the stage at 7 p.m., and began with an instrumental tune before Eva joined them on stage, each member getting a chance to take a solo. Interestingly, when Eva did join her bandmates on stage, the first song they did together was “Bei Mir Bistu Shein,” which is the song that Eva And The Vagabond Tales chose to open their show last August, adding to the sense that we were seeing basically the same band (which was not a bad thing). But, if I recall correctly, that was the only song that was played at both shows. There was a lot of playful banter during set, and that began after this first number, establishing a loose, fun vibe and a good rapport with the crowd. They followed “Bei Mir Bistu Shein” with a good rendition of “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” with Kully Stiles switching from clarinet to saxophone partway through the song. “You Let Me Down” was a highlight, Eva delivering a fantastic vocal performance. They followed that with “After You’ve Gone,” with Kully Stiles back on clarinet. Drummer Mark San Filippo joked afterward that they did all four endings to the song, as they couldn’t decide which one to do. “Moon River” did not include clarinet or saxophone, but it did feature some really nice stuff from Phil Small on keys. One of my favorite songs of the evening was “Sleep Walk,” with Kully Stiles then on lap steel. It began as an instrumental, featuring some beautiful work on lap steel, before Eva came in to deliver yet another wonderful vocal performance.

"Summertime"

 

It was after that song that the band joked about coming to this music series each year under a different name. Eva said they actually do perform under another name, The Prairie Moons, when they feel like doing honky tonk tunes. They gave us a taste of that last night by playing “Hello Mary Lou,” a song that was a big hit for Ricky Nelson. Eva played guitar on that one, and Kully was on lap steel. They followed that with a gorgeous rendition of “You Belong To Me,” a song that was a hit for Jo Stafford, and more recently was done by Bob Dylan. Eva introduced “Heartaches” as being one of her favorite songs, and she delivered a great version last night. That was followed by a rendition of “Summertime” that had a special life to it. It began with the saxophone, and grew from there, with Eva playing clarinet for a moment, saying afterward that she had just had her first lesson earlier in the day. Mark San Filippo said afterward they would have to have her play a bit of clarinet every time. Whether that ends up happening or not, it was a nice moment last night that kept things fresh. You can never go wrong with Gershwin, and this song was yet another of the set’s highlights. And the band gave it a cha-cha-cha ending.

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out"

Eva introduced “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” by saying that she performs the song in a USC film about mobsters. She couldn’t recall the movie’s title, but thought it was “Jack and something,” which led the other band members to joke that it was called “Jack and Coke” and “Jack And Diane.” Bass player Marquis Howell joined Eva on vocals. That led straight into “All Of Me,” which began as an instrumental before Marquis sang the first lines while Eva was out dancing in the audience. There were a lot of folks dancing at this show, especially off to the side of the stage, and Eva led many of them in a conga line. She then soon took over on vocals. That was followed by the only original song of the evening, “If I Loved Myself At All,” which Eva wrote after a car accident while waiting for the tow truck to arrive. It was a cool, slower, rather beautiful number, and she played guitar on it. Kully was on lap steel. That song was in turn followed by the most surprising, and perhaps the oddest, choice of the set, Cher’s “Believe.” But these guys did their own arrangement of the song, a swinging rendition that included lap steel, and it was wonderful (so much better than the original version). They then wrapped up the set with a sweet rendition of “Bye Bye Blackbird.” The show ended at 8:33 p.m.

This was the first of eight concerts to be held outside at the Brand Library & Art Center. Each Friday through August 30th the venue will host a different group (or perhaps each week will feature Eva And The Vagabond Tales under a different name; you’ll have to attend to find out). The Brand Library & Art Center is located at 1601 West Mountain Street in Glendale, California.

Here are a few photos from last night’s performance:

"Bei Mir Bisto Shein"

"You Let Me Down"

"Sleep Walk"

"You Belong To Me"

"Nobody Knows You..."