As portmanteaus go, “rockabilly” is definitely my favorite, followed closely by “brunch.” Mm … brunch. There’s something about the rock and hillbilly mashup that speaks to me. It feels like a hayride, a barn dance, and a tug off a jug of moonshine all rolled into one. Carl Perkins, Johnny Burnette, Jerry Lee Lewis—these guys understood how to rev blues and country into a hot humming motor of sound.
This Thursday, May 11, The Siren will host two contemporary rockabilly greats when Shaun Young featuring Dave Stuckey bring their old-school sounds to Morro Bay with opening act The Bonneville Phantoms. Blue suede shoes are optional.
Also this week at The Siren, two Lompoc bands—indie post-punk alt-rock duo The Only Ocean and pop punk/emo act goodgrief play a free show on Friday, May 12 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older). The Only Ocean blends “the pop style of the Spice Girls with My Bloody Valentine and Ride guitars,” according to their bio, and goodgrief mixes “punk, surf rock, pop, grunge, and indie all tied together with catchy melodies and grooves.”
More rockabilly is headed your way when Deke Dickerson & the Whippersnappers play The Siren next Thursday, May 18 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15.50 at eventbrite.com). He’s a helluva guitar player. The Bonneville Phantoms open this one too.
Numbskull and Good Medicine bring reggae artists Alborosie & The Shengen Clan to The Siren on Sunday, May 14 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Alborosie was born in Sicily but now lives in Kingston, Jamaica.
“I never came here to be popular,” he said in press materials. “I never wanted to top the charts or be a billionaire. I don’t care about that. I just wanted to be close to the music that I loved, and that I couldn’t find in Italy. That is the main story behind my journey, so all I want to do now is contribute to the genre and bring it to the next level—to carry the flag.”
Good Medicine and Numbskull also are bringing Bay Area progressive bluegrass act Hot Buttered Rum with Chuck Peligroso to The Siren on Wednesday, May 17, as part of their Spring Meltdown Tour (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18 at goodmedicinepresents.com). With “roots in Appalachia and branches in California,” HBR delivers “five-string banjo and five-alarm fiddle” fun according to their bio.
Also from Numbskull and Good Medicine, Ryan Montbleau plays solo on Saturday, May 13, in Atascadero’s Bristols Cider House (7 p.m.; all ages; $20 at goodmedicienpresents.com). The singer-songwriter recently rolled out four EPs, Wood, Fire, Water, and Air, which combined collects 17 brilliantly written tracks, like “Perfect”: “And I know I feel a different kind of right/ When I ease up on expectations/ When I’m in my underwear by refrigerator light/ And I forget about all of my graces.”
“I’ve been through a lot over these past few years,” Montbleau said in press materials, “and I’ve experienced some monumental shifts in my perspective. The only way for me to write about it was to just get as honest and vulnerable as I could.”
Local ingenious songsmith Derek Senn opens. He’s witty AF.
Vina Robles Amphitheatre
French electronic music act M83 opens the concert season at Vina Robles Amphitheatre this Sunday, May 14 (8 p.m.; $39.50 to $65 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Fronted by Anthony Gonzalez, formerly of Paris but now based in Los Angles, M83 released its ninth studio album, Fantasy, on March 17. If you dig shoegazing ’80s synth sounds, this is the place to be. His first video from the new album is trippy as heck!
“Very proud to present the first track of my new album Fantasy,” Gonzalez said in press materials. “It’s called ‘Oceans Niagara,’ and it’s the very first collaboration between my brother Yann Gonzalez and myself on a music video. I wanted to create this sense of friendship. Listening to that song, I imagine people running, driving fast, or riding spaceships together. It’s this sense of going forward, like a magic potion that you take to discover new worlds. Beyond adventure!”
Fremont Theater
Filipino-American Bay Area rapper P-Lo (aka Paolo Rodriguez) plays this Thursday, May 11 (9 p.m.; all ages; $25 at seetickets.us). Part of the hip-hop collective The HBK Gang, an abbreviation of the heartbreak gang, P-Lo is a founding member along with Chief, Skipper, and Iamsu!
The Emo Night Tour returns on Friday, May 12 (8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $18 at seetickets.us). Hear your DJed favorites by Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, and many more.
“The Emo Night Tour DJs will be spinning all the angst your teenage dirtbag heart desires all night long, and a special guest band will make you feel like you’re at Warped Tour ’08 minus all the dust and melting in the sun!” press materials said.
Amazing Americana and roots singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jackie Greene plays on Sunday, May 14 (9 p.m.; all ages; $25 at seetickets.us). I saw him once with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and he rips on both the guitar and Hammond B3 organ. He also spent some time as lead guitarist for The Black Crowes. The dude has chops! He’s terrific live, and he’s got 10 albums of material to draw from, most recently The Modern Lives Vol. 1 and 2. Marty O’Reilly opens.
Finally, Classic Albums Live on Thursday, May 18, will play Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon “note for note, cut for cut” (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $45 at eventbrite.com).
SLO Brew Rock
SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) present The Babe Rainbow on Friday, May 12 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $28 at ticketweb.com). This stoner pop band hails from Down Under and is known for their “boogie psychedelia and throwback surf cult imagery,” according to press materials. Their newest video for the song “Super Ego” depicts vintage-looking hang glider footage over a beachy tune.
Levitation Room plays Sunday, May 14 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $20 at ticketweb.com). The Los Angeles band immerses itself in a ’60s garage rock aesthetic with a psychedelic twist—pure hallucinogenic, fuzzy, lo-fi, dreamgazing joy. Pancho & The Wizards opens.
SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) also team up to present Oakland-based retro-rockers Shannon and the Clams on Tuesday, May 16 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $28 at ticketweb.com). They mix elements of doo-wop, old-school R&B, psych, and surf rock. Check out their video for the song “Year of the Spider” and you’ll get the idea.
“I am terrified of spiders,” Shannon Shaw said in press materials. “My mom always told me that they’re drawn to me. Like, they would drop down and dangle in my face as a baby, or they’d get in my bed.”
After a meeting with an astrologer, Shaw now summons the Hindu goddess Durga whenever she’s afraid. She’s got a big voice and big personality.
Shana Cleveland opens. She’s also got some really cool new dreampop songs out like “Faces in the Firelight,” “A Ghost,” and “Walking Through Morning Dew.”
Mapache returns next Thursday, May 18 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $23 at ticketweb.com), bringing their harmony vocals and cosmic West Coast folk sounds. These guys are old-fashion groovy.
More music …
Local musician Josh Ottum is emerging from his studio with a new record, Edge Effects, out this month on BIG EGO Records and filled with 11 breezy, easy-on-the-ears songs sung with a breathless urgency. “Erase the Bar” is a propulsive, hooky little toe-tapping gem that bops along with surfing imagery and summer beach sounds. Hear for yourself!
“I’m playing live on The Road Home on KCBX on Thursday, May 11, Ottum said, “and I have a record release show Friday, May 12, at Satellite of Love.”
Festival Mozaic comes to the North County this Saturday, May 13, when Scott Yoo presents a Notable Insight concert about Poulenc’s Sonata for cello and piano with cellist Sophie Shao and pianist Orion Weiss (11 a.m.; tickets start at $25 at festivalmozaic.org). Yoo will discuss the piece during the informal one-hour event in the Community Church of Atascadero. Later than day, Scott Yoo & Guests will present an afternoon of chamber music in Templeton Performing Arts Center (4 p.m.; tickets start at $35 at festivalmozaic.org). Hear works by Debussy, Schumann, Poulenc, and Brahms.
The Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly presents Johann Strauss Jr.’s comedic operatta Die Fledermaus this Saturday and Sunday, May 13 and 14 (2 p.m.; $30 to $87 at pacslo.org), sung in English by OperaSLO. To spice it up and update it, instead of being set in 1890s Vienna on New Year’s Eve, it’s now set in New York City’s Studio 54 during disco’s heyday.
“As the story unfolds, pranks unravel, identities are mistaken, and in the true spirit of comedy, the hilarious farce ends with a happy ending for all!” OperaSLO announced. Sounds like a hoot.
Damon Castillo plays a free Mother’s Day show this Sunday, May 14, at the Dinosaur Caves Park in Pismo Beach (1 p.m.).
“I cannot wait to climb out of the studio and see some sunshine and you!” Castillo said. “My buddy, Mark Wilder, will join us for a set of his singular comedy. Lots of music, laughs, food, drinks, family, and friends in a singularly beautiful spot here on the coast. Oh, and it’s free, with fun stuff for the kids to do. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets, and let’s celebrate!” Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 11-21, 2023.