“Final” Acoustic Mess at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, 12-26-24

Pat Todd and Loren Molinare

Last Saturday, at a special concert put on by Dave Gleason & The Californio Trio in Duarte, I ran into Dave Porter and Natalie Fratino of The Smokey Lonesome, and they mentioned they’d be doing a few songs the day after Christmas at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon. I had reviewed their recent EP, but hadn’t yet had a chance to see them perform, and when I took a glance at what I thought was the full lineup of artists playing at the show, I was even more enthusiastic about attending. The show was listed as the final concert in the Acoustic Mess series, but it turned out that it was the final one put on by Gabriel John, but not the last in the series. The series will continue under new leadership next year. Still, last night’s show held the promise of being something special.

Carla Olson

According to the notice online, the show had a 7 p.m. start time, but it turns out that wasn’t quite accurate. Still, that gave me time to settle in with an IPA. I forgot the name almost immediately, except that it was a little long and the word “werewolf” was part of it. It was not hairy, but it did have a bit of a bite. As folks came in and began to fill up the place, there was an excitement in the air. Musicians and audience members alike seemed to be in high spirits. Sure, perhaps part of it was carrying over from the holiday, but part of it was the growing mass of guitar cases in the room. All those guitars were ready, and eager, to make some noise, to create a little joy, and to unite us in the process. I went back to the bar to order another werewolf, but the regular bartender had taken over and he gave me a funny look. I ended up with something called Beaver, I think, a hazy IPA. But it was good too.

Kevin Keller

At 7:38 p.m., Gabriel took the stage to announce that this marked the end of a two-year stint for him, hosting this music series at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon. “We’re talking about the greatest bar on Earth,” he said. He then amended that statement slightly: “Not Earth, but Tarzana.” He then introduced the first artist of the night, Kevin Keller, who performed solo acoustic. “It’s the beginning of the end” was the first line sung last night, which seemed just exactly right. “This next one isn’t mine, but I get a lot of requests for it,” Kevin said in introducing “Shenandoah.” He joked that he wished people would request his songs. But my favorite was his next song, which featured a particularly passionate vocal performance. Gabriel then joined him for a cover of a rather sweet, slow rendition of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender.” It was perhaps a bit messy, leading Gabriel to say, “And that’s why I call it the Acoustic Mess.”

Gabriel John

Gabriel has a band called Slamdinistas, and Michael Gavigan, guitarist in that band, joined him for a couple of songs, including “Roll On Babe,” a Ronnie Lane song. Then Loren Molinare, also a member of Slamdinistas, but whom you probably know from The Dogs, took the stage. “I thought this would be one hell of a special night,” he said. Well, he wasn’t wrong, and he was part of what made it a special night, opening his short set with a solo acoustic rendition of The Dogs’ “Nothing Lasts 4 Ever.” “This one goes back a few moons,” he said in introducing “Rainy Wednesday,” a song that got the crowd singing along. Then Pat Todd joined him on vocals and harmonica for “I Want To Live Before I Die,” a song that came about from a conversation the two had. “I want to live before I die/It’s all gone in the blink of an eye.” Loren is also in a band called Gilt Lily, and fellow band members Paul Ill on bass, Danny Isaacs on guitar and Jody Hamilton on vocals joined him for the last song of his set, “What About You.” Some feedback and forgotten lyrics didn’t really detract from the crowd’s enjoyment of the song.

Loren Molinare

Pat Todd

Pat Todd was up next, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. As he did a quick soundcheck, he asked the crowd, “Is that good and loud? Is it obnoxiously loud?” He added, “That’s what I want it to be.” He then opened his set with “West Of Your Last Chance,” which he dedicated to Townes Van Zandt. I love when I get the chance to see Pat Todd rocking the acoustic guitar. His set was one of the highlights of the night. He followed “West Of Your Last Chance” with “Where Is She Now” and then “Here And Gone Again,” wrapping it up with “The Ambulance Is Here,” a particularly striking song. “The ambulance is here/The undertaker’s sure to follow.” Gary Twinn followed, with Javier joining him on percussion. Apparently, they had just met while some of the other artists were performing. Yeah, the night had that sort of delicious looseness to it, which often leads to a certain magic happening. And his set was a lot of fun. Gabriel John and Michael Gavigan joined him on his last song, a cover of “Debris,” written by Ronnie Lane.

Gary Twinn

Carla Olson and Todd Wolfe

Carla Olson and Todd Wolfe then took the stage. Yeah, the show was just getting better and better. Gabriel expressed some surprise that Carla Olson was willing to do this particular music series, and it seemed that everyone in the crowd knew this was something special indeed. The duo opened with “Long Road Back,” which was the title track to the Todd Wolfe Band’s 2015 album. They followed that with “Burn For You,” a cool bluesy number. Carla told the crowd they were going to rock it up a little, and she and Todd went into “Shackles & Chains,” a song that was included on Carla Olson’s Have Harmony, Will Travel 2. That song featured some excellent guitar work from Todd Wolfe. They wrapped up the set with a really nice rendition of The Beatles’ “Two Of Us.” What a treat this was, and I wish they’d been able to play a little longer. But then Johnny Angel (also known as Johnny Angel Wendell) was up. Gabriel introduced him as “My favorite Bostonian.” I had talked with him briefly a bit earlier in the evening after he noticed my Red Sox cap. He opened his set with a song about not wanting to go to the DMV, but some crazy feedback stopped him. “You can turn the monitors off,” he offered. “I can hear myself.” The trouble persisted long enough that when it was finally over he decided to give up on that song and instead play “Do The Otter.” Yes, a fun (and funny) new dance. “You break a little shellfish on your chest.” This song also mentions Welcome Back, Kotter. He followed that with “Loralei,” which he introduced as a song about being in the smut capital of the world. Does the valley still hold that distinction? I’m not sure, but I enjoyed the song. He followed that with “My Lesbian Friend.” Then Gabriel joined him on vocals for a cover of “Poor Side Of Town.”

Johnny Angel

Ray Williams

You’d think that would be enough to call the night a total success, but there were still several performers on the bill. Ray Williams was up next. She’s a young singer/songwriter, someone I wasn’t familiar with, but someone I look forward to hearing more from. Her set featured some new material, including “You Don’t Mean It” and “Fantasy,” as well as “For The Night.” She wrapped up with “Pure Evil.” Dylan Thomas, who I’d seen play with Lisa Finnie in October, then took the stage with a full band. As he did a soundcheck, he asked John McDuffie, who was in the crowd but not playing last night, how the mix was. Everything was soon right, and Dylan Thomas delivered a great set that included “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory,” The Who’s “Substitute” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Then Mike Williamson took the stage, joined by Dylan Thomas on electric guitar for the first couple of songs, including a cover of The Band’s “Ophelia.” There really was something of a party atmosphere the whole night. Mike Williamson’s set also included “Around The Block,” with Adam Levine from Lights Out Levine joining him on electric guitar. And this was an epic night indeed. At this point, the show had already been going for four hours, and featured some of the most interesting and storied musicians living in Los Angeles. Michael Gavigan joined Mike Williamson for a cover of “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight,” which had been a hit for The Oak Ridge Boys. Gabriel John jumped in partway through the song, singing along, though needing to read the lyrics on his phone.

Dylan Thomas

Mike Williamson

Roger Romeo

Roger Romeo (from Legs Diamond) next took the stage, joined by Ray Burke on bass. Apparently at the urging of Gabriel, a drummer joined them toward the end of their first song. It was a fun set, including some original songs and then a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason.”  Then Ray Burke left the stage so that Roger and Gabriel could do a duet on “Let It Be Me,” which was a hit for The Everly Brothers. It was after their set, as I was getting a bit tired, I learned that The Smokey Lonesome (remember, that was the group that I had gone there to see) had actually left because the show was behind schedule. It was 12:17 a.m. when I learned this. So I still haven’t seen those guys perform. Lights Out Levine was up next, a group that rocked and energized the crowd. I caught the first part of the band’s set, but at 12:30 a.m., nearly five hours into the show, I had to call it a night. I’m not sure how many artists were still to come, but I needed to get to bed. Yeah, I sound old. But it was a great night nonetheless.

Lights Out Levine