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Old Californio |
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The recent fires here in Los Angeles have had a horrible
impact on the music community, with many musicians having lost everything –
their homes, their instruments, their equipment, their recording studios. But
it is the music community that is rising and coming together to offer help.
There have been a couple of big benefit concerts in recent days (at The Forum
and Intuit Dome), and more are to come. There are also some smaller, more
intimate concerts benefiting victims of the fires, and last night a truly
special benefit concert was held at the Route 66 Roadhouse & Tavern in
Duarte, California. Organized by Shell Saurer, this special show was put on to
help two specific people who are important members of the Los Angeles music
community, Kim Grant and Justin Smith, who lost their home in Altadena. Kim
Grant works in music publicity, and is also the creative force behind such
events as the Grand Ole Echo concert series. Justin Smith, as you likely know,
is the drummer of Old Californio, one of the city’s best bands. All of the
money collected at the door went straight to Kim and Justin, and much of the
music community showed up to support them.
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Joe Bourdet and El Capitan Band
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The lineup for the evening featured Joe Bourdet And El
Capitan Band, I See Hawks In L.A. and Old Californio. Chris Morris was the MC.
Even if you don’t know Chris Morris by name, you’ve likely read some of his
work, for he has been writing about music for a quite some time, and has
written liner notes for some excellent releases, including the recent Phil
Alvin reissues. Before introducing Joe Bourdet, Chris Morris mentioned that
this was the first time that anyone he knew had lost everything in a fire. I
bet that’s true of a lot of us. There are fires every year in the Los Angeles
area, but this was the first time I knew anyone who was really affected by
them. Nine people I know lost everything in the fires. Joe Bourdet And El
Capitan Band kicked off their set with “El Capitan,” and toward the end of that
song the band jammed on it a bit, with Joe delivering a nice lead on acoustic
guitar. By the way, this band also features Justin Smith on drums, so he played
two of the three sets last night. The drum kit he’s using now is one that was
given to him by a friend. Because, no matter how spread out Los Angeles might
be, the music community is still fairly tight. Joe Bourdet delivered some
impressive work on guitar throughout the set, moving from acoustic to electric
partway through. It was a great set to kick off the evening, featuring some
really nice jams, including one song that had more of a psychedelic vibe. And
at one point, a few guests joined the band, including the keyboardist from Old
Californio.
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I See Hawks In L.A. |
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After that set, Chris Morris reminded the crowd that it
was legal to dance at that venue, and fifteen minutes
later he introduced I See Hawks In L.A., who opened with “Hope Against Hope.” A
perfect set opener, don’t you agree? And as Rob Waller sang that song’s first
lines, “
I know we’ll never see/The trees
that used to be,” I couldn’t help but think back to those images of trees
aflame. Dan Wistrom, in his “Mama Tried” T-shirt, delivered some nice work on
pedal steel. “
So great to see everybody,”
Rob said after that song. And, indeed, it was great to look around the room and
realize I knew maybe half the people there. The venue had taken on the vibe of
a great back yard party, and it seems that was the intention. I See Hawks In
L.A. followed “Hope Against Hope” with “California Country.” “
But I’m still standing in California country.”
That line took on more meaning last night, almost joyfully defiant in spirit.
And certainly there was a great joy in the room. Rob then joked with Old
Californio member Jason Chesney that the next song was appropriate for line
dancing, and some folks did take Rob up on the suggestion, though Jason was not
one of them. The song in question was “White Cross.” That was followed by
“Carbon Dated Love,” and this time the line “
Tragedies unfold” stood out, though again the mood in the room was
one of great cheer.
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"Drinkers Hall Of Fame" |
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“
So nice to see so
many friends here,” Rob said. “
And
now it’s time for a drinking song.” Before starting it, he took off his
outer layer, leading Paul Marshall to joke, “
Careful, Rob’s getting a little too comfortable now.” The line from
“Poour Me” that always make me laugh is “
Wednesday
I ate a bad burrito.” We all know exactly what’s happening there. “
Keep pouring,” Rob said after that song.
The band followed that with the fun “Ohio,” a song that has not yet appeared on
a Hawks album. I love Victoria Jacobs’ delivery of the line “
Sweet home” in that one. She then sang
lead on the totally enjoyable “My Parka Saved Me,” a song where she spins a
true tale that becomes somewhat less true when hijacked by the backing vocals. Give
a listen to that song when you have a chance, and you’ll know precisely what I’m
talking about. Paul Marshall then took a turn at lead vocals on “Drinkers’ Hall
Of Fame.” In introducing the song, he said he played at this bar quite a bit in
the 1970s and 1980s and into the 1990s. “
And
everything is exactly the same, which I find reassuring.”
He said he figured he must have played “Drinkers’
Hall Of Fame” there back then. It’s a perfect song for a bar, with a delicious
country sound and a good deal of humor. The band then concluded the set with a
couple of energetic numbers that had everyone dancing – “Good And Foolish Times”
and “Humboldt.” Old Californio’s Woody Aplanalp joined the band on guitar for “Humboldt.”
It was a fantastic way to wrap up the set, with great energy and lots of joy.
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Old Californio |
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Old Californio took the stage a few minutes before 8
p.m., opening with “From The Mouths Of Babes,” a good, somewhat mellow number
that featured some nice jamming. “Old Kings Road” followed, with that line “
It’s that California sound” standing out
because that delicious sound pervaded the evening, the room and our hearts.
They then did one of my favorites, “Destining Again,” a song from
Metaterranea, released in
2023. Again, I find it interesting how certain lines will catch our ears
because of what’s happening at the moment, and how a song will gather different
meanings at different times. Last night the line “
I’ve got to find out what’s important to me” stood out. This is a
time when we are forced to look at our priorities. Certainly it was something
we thought about when that warning went out to be ready to evacuate. What
things are important? What will we take? What can we leave behind? Guy Clark’s “Stuff
That Works” was a great choice of songs to follow that, with the line “
I got an old guitar, won’t ever stay in tune.”
There is a sort of inventory at the beginning of that song, perhaps the very
things one discovered, or decided, were the important things. But it is the
line “
The kind of stuff you reach for
when you fall” that especially strikes us, and Old Californio repeated the
line at the end, which was perfect. The band delivered a beautiful, moving
rendition, and the crowd responded enthusiastically.
There was a fantastic energy to “Allon Camerado” last
night. I love the peaks and valleys of this song. Rich Dembowski then strapped
on his harmonica, while Jason Chesney joked about him doing so, this in
preparation for the band’s cover of The Beatles’ “Because.” This is one of the
songs the band does that really demonstrate their incredible voices. That in
turn was followed by a cover of “Lonesome, On’ry And Mean,” the Waylon Jennings
song. Rich played harmonica on that one as well, and Jon delivered some great
stuff on keys. Rich thanked the audience for coming out. “So many familiar faces that we haven’t seen in a while.” The band
then went into “Ring Of Fire.” I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Old
Californio does a particularly great version of this song, and last night the
jam was very cool. The band did a lot of covers in the second half of the set,
following “Ring Of Fire” with Neil Young’s “Hawks & Doves.” “I know right now it’s hard to celebrate
America,” Rich said in introducing that one. “She’s struggling. But we’re going to celebrate anyway.” The crowd
certainly appreciated those words and that spirit, and many of them had been up
and dancing already. More folks got up and were singing along. Brandon Jay, who
also lost everything in the Altadena fire, joined the band on backing vocals
and hand percussion, and remained with the band for the rest of the set, which
included a cover of Little Feat’s “Willin’” and a rocking rendition of Gene
Clark’s “Kansas City Southern,” leaving everybody feeling good.
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"Kansas City Southern" |
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It was an absolutely beautiful and wonderful night. If
you were unable to make it, but would like to help Kim Grant and Justin Smith,
the crowdfunding page is still up, and you can access it by clicking
here.
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