Date: Friday July 13th, 2012
Line up:Mike Pinto Band, Bodhi ROck & Micah Brown
Location: Winstons. Ocean Beach, CA
After starting the morning off with my first surf session, that was by far one of the most enlightening and exhilarating sports to participate in, the road trip from Long Beach to San Diego, California began! My friend, Daniel Garcia and I hit the road for a venue we both had never attended: Winston’s in the heart of Ocean Beach. Arriving about an hour before doors opened at 9:30, we were left with time to cruise the streets of OB.
Micah Brown hit the stage first around 9:45. He started the night out with an all-time classic cover of “Little Wing” by Jimi Hendrix. Micah’s smooth moves on the acoustic guitar easily grabbed the attention of the noisy crowd. With the bluesy rock sound that Micah jammed out to was absolutely impressive.
Micah Brown rocked his own tunes in the 8-song set including, “Coming of Age,” “Isle of Her,” “Wasted Days,” and “Good Feelings.” Throwing in a crowd favorite, “Is This Love,” by Bob Marley, the residents of OB were singing and dancing along to another great cover by Brown. Micah closed out with his “Finally Free” tune from his latest release Down Like Hail.
Starting around 10:15, Bodhi Rock got cozy on the stage with their 8-person band. After attending Citrus College music program together, the Los Angeles band full of down to earth musicians rocked the night away. “Is It the Way” showed off the vocal talents of Arianah Harville, showcased the horns section, the power behind the drum and bass line, as well as the fine playing on the keys and guitar.
An Aretha Franklin cover of “Rocksteady” concluded the set & showing off the capabilities that Bodhi Rock has under their sleeves for the reggae-rock community!
At 11:21, Mike Pinto, bassist Matt Brein, and drummer Todd Elrod started the set off with a groovy dub which smoothly moved straight into “Darlin’”. The small 200-person venue was completely packed with Ocean Beach residents that were ready to party with the Mike Pinto Band, who is a community favorite.
“Dear Senoritas,” “Temptation,” and hit tune “The West is Still Wild” got the crowd dancing in the small bar, which quickly got hot but thankfully compromised by that ocean breeze!
The band played new unreleased songs “Find My Way” and “It Ain’t Easy” highlighting Mike Pinto’s remarkable music writing abilities. With lyrics and music that bring light to Pinto’s exceptional voice, the band has new songs that fans will be rockin’ in their cars and iPods in no time!
Mike slowed down the pace of the night with a solo acoustic intermission of “A Thousand Years Ago,” “Shades of Brown,” and another unreleased tune, “When I’m With You.”
Mike shared that he wrote “A Thousand Years Ago” 10 years prior but in his passionate manner, continues to move the fans with his capabilities. Matt and Todd joined back up with Pinto on stage mid “Shades of Brown” to continue on with the 24-song set. The band rocked “Never Hold Me Down,” “Everything I Got,” “The Cool and the Deadly,” and “Addictions,” which without a doubt got the temperature back up in the building.
Pinto and the band finished out the night with “Tricky Nicky,” one of the songs that fans kept shouting for all night, followed up by the loyal closing of, “Full Speed.” With ska dancing, mosh pits, pushing, shoving, and picking up those that fell, the crowd went wild! Mike Pinto Band closed down the bar but the night was still up for grabs as the locals stood outside planning their next moves.
24 songs later, the night was complete. With my favorite songs stuck in my head and another great show for the books, reggae-rock overpowered the stigmatized Friday the 13th! Mike Pinto Band will be heading to Northern California, Oregon, and Colorado over the next few weeks for those that are in need of an amazing reggae-rock experience!
Bodhi Rock Set List:
1. Intro – Cali Life
2. Babylon
3. Is It the Way
4. Dub
5. Seven Steps
6. New Song – Untitled
7. Rocksteady
Mike Pinto Band Set List:
1. Dub
2. Darlin’
3. Dear Senoritas
4. The West is Still Wild
5. Temptation
6. Find My Way
7. It Ain’t Easy
8. Bad Luck
9. One More Time
10. A Thousand Years Ago
11. When I’m With You
12. Shades of Brown
13. Never Hold Me Down
14. Everything I Got
15. The Cool and the Deadly
16. Addictions
17. Feet Don’t Fail Me Now
18. Backburner
19. Turn You On
20. Tornado
21. Chilean Lover
22. Bill’s Song
23. Tricky Nicky
24. Full Speed
Article By: Alyssa Torres
Photo By: Daniel Garcia