Monday, February 3, 2025

Old Californio Headlines Fantastic Benefit Concert at Route 66 Roadhouse & Tavern, 2-2-25

Old Californio
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.

Joe Bourdet and El Capitan Band
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.

I See Hawks In L.A.
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.

"Drinkers Hall Of Fame"
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.

Old Californio
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.

"Kansas City Southern"

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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