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| The Glimmer Stars |
Four excellent bands took the stage last night at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, delivering delicious, energetic sets to an appreciative audience. The Glimmer Stars were up first, starting just after eight o' clock. Steven Soto called out, "
Tarzana," and Mini Mendez introduced the band, "
Good evening, we're The Glimmer Stars." There were cheers and shouts from the audience, and the band launched into the first song of the night, "Better Day." And it immediately became a better day. Isn't it great how music can do that? That song is on the band's new album,
Someday's A Long Time. That song led straight into another song from that album, "I Need It Now." There was a great energy to this delicious power pop number. And I especially loved when all three band members shouted the title line, Richie Mendez pounding the drums, the song taking on a terrific punk vibe. There was barely a pause before the band then played "If I Only Could," leading us on a march into a cooler world. "
Friday night in Tarzana," Steven then said. "
Thanks for making it out tonight." It might sound strange to those who have not yet been to Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, but Tarzana is a fantastic place to be on a Friday night (or any night, for that matter). Mini Mendez offered cheers to the crowd for being there, and Steven added, "
Cheers to air conditioning." The heatwave here shows no signs of breaking, and it seems like this is our new reality. Cheers to air conditioning, indeed! "
It's going to be a good night of rock and roll," Mini Mendez said, and the band went into "Pictures Of You," which has a Cheap Trick reference, and which then led straight into "Alley Cat." I love the way the guitar responded to the line, "
You're such an alley cat," and how the guitar rocked at the end. Mini Mendez can deliver a rock and roll scream, a rock and roll snarl, and do it with a smile. "Would You" and "Nice" followed, the latter featuring some especially strong stuff on guitar. Mini mentioned the band's new album, and Steven pointed out the Glimmer Stars buttons that he'd placed on the tables for everyone (mine is now attached to my
Station 19 backpack, right next to the Jed's Dead button). The band then played "Maybe," one of my personal favorites from the new album. It is so catchy. Mini thanked Nubs for the great sound, and for pointing out that he plays three notes, not two, as he'd claimed earlier in the set (in that playfully self-deprecating way). The trio then delivered a fun rendition of "Paulina," which led straight into "I Want You" to wrap up the set, a song featuring some kick-ass drumming and finding Mini attacking that bass.
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| Tailpipe |
Tailpipe was up next. As Steven had shouted out "
Tarzana" at the beginning of the Glimmer Stars' set, Kevin Keller called out the Schlitz sign on the stage. And as Mini Mendez had announced, "
Good evening, we're The Glimmer Stars," Jeff Bossin announced, "G
ood evening, we're Tailpipe." However, this band actually has a song titled "Good Evening, We're Tailpipe," and it was that playful number that opened their set. A short number that showed the band's sense of humor and made them immediately likeable. That was followed by "I Want It All," a song with fantastic energy, and then "Beg, Borrow And Steal," which had great power, particularly in that steady beat. After that song, Nubs told the guitarist to turn up, which shocked and delighted the band. Jeff responded by saying that we are indeed living in unprecedented times. "Rock And Roll After All" had two false starts, but Jeff promised, "
Third time's a charm, everybody." And he was right. The song was a lot of fun. "
I hope that was worth the wait," he joked afterward. Yup! And that is something I loved about the night, that there was a loose, fun, friendly atmosphere, just the sort of thing that often leads to those special and memorable shows. "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" featured some cool work on bass, and "The End" followed. "
It's not the end of the set, but the song is called 'The End,'" Kevin clarified. Kevin introduced "It's Not Alright," saying he wrote the song twenty-five years ago, but that this was the first time it was being played. He'd been going through old demos, and thought this song would be a perfect Tailpipe song. No argument from anyone in the audience. That was followed by a fairly new song titled "Crash And Burn" and then "Outside Lookin' In," which featured a nice lead on guitar and Tim Jimenez switching to mallets for the song's final moments. By the way, both Jeff and Kevin were sporting Glimmer Stars buttons. That was followed by "The Boss," which led straight into "Suspicious Minds." As the trio started that final number, Kevin said the band is going to do a different cover at every show and never repeat it. It was a rocking rendition, and the set ended at 9:42 p.m.
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| Analog Saint |
Analog Saint, the only band of the night that wasn't a trio, was up next. This band got right to the music, not offering any sort of introduction, and opening with "New World," a song that rocked but also was catchy. That was followed by "Argentina," which featured some fantastic drumming. There was a surprising, mellow moment in the middle, and then, bam, they were back into the power. Then "Feeling Like You're Done" featured some very cool bass work, and then some wild stuff on guitar. One of my personal favorites was "Saturdays," which began with a delicious beat and contained some good, catchy vocal work. It was a highlight of the set. "
It would be better if we played it tomorrow night," the band acknowledged afterward. That was followed by "She's A Weapon" and then "Stacey," the latter another catchy number. Then in "Outta Control, they sang, "
You're getting that funny feeling/Like everything's outta control." I think we've all experienced that feeling lately, and the song clearly connected with folks in the audience. "
I like it," someone shouted out at the end. "
We are so glad you approve, sir," the band responded. The set also included "Nails," "Big Muff" (which is as fun as its title suggests), and "Werewolf," which just fucking rocked. They wrapped things up with "In The Moment," a high-energy number featuring some delicious drumming.
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| The Livingstones |
The final band of the night was The Livingstones, led by Mike Livingston of The Mau Maus, with John Grant on bass and Boomer Bearman (who is also in The Oddity) on drums. These guys opened with "Lizard Brain," some good solid rock, the vocals having the right amount of attitude. They followed that with "Mad Cruel Woman," which featured some great stuff on guitar, coming from that special place where all the best rock and roll originates, the beat driving everything forward. Then "Migraine Cafeteria" contained some really good work on bass. Just as I was digging that bass line, the bass cut out. It was fixed just before the end of the song. Mike then mentioned how he was in The Maus Maus, and that the next song "
is a Mau Maus song." That song was "Family Jewels," which was very cool and featured delicious stuff on guitar. "
This is another song," Mike said in introducing "Queen Of The Tweekers." "
It's not about my wife. She wanted me to mention that." Again, the night had a wonderful, loose vibe, and featured some good humor. That song contained a great groove, with some excellent drumming from Boomer, and a fantastic lead on guitar. This was one of my personal favorites of the set. It was followed by "Middle Class Crazy" and then "Meltdown," the latter a seriously fun instrumental number going into surf territory. This one also contained some excellent stuff on guitar, Mike bending notes, riding the crest of a wave. It was another highlight. "Car Bomb," which followed it, was also a highlight. A totally delicious number. The bass cut out again, but was fixed quickly. That was followed by "Yee Mee Loo," a song about a bar that used to be in Chinatown. They wrapped the night up with great pounding renditions of Vince Taylor's "Brand New Cadillac" and Chris Spedding's "Hurt By Love." The show came to a close just before midnight.
Maui Sugar Mill Saloon is located at 18389 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California.
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