Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Maria Huizinga & Ron Lyon
Video Interviews by Junkman
Video Captured by Tom Riehl
It’s not every day you get an eclectic package in sweet home Santa Ana, but that’s what happened when the Babys — yeah the Babys! — came to town to play at a very special venue. The Yost Theater has been standing since 1913 and it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once a movie house for the “Golden Age of Mexican Cinema,” but now it’s a nightclub and concert venue. For the Babys, who reunited in 2012, it served as the perfect place for their first show of 2016.
Four years earlier, guitarist Wally Stocker told me the band wasn’t keen on playing the small clubs. “We’ve got a seven-piece band. When we play live, it’s a really full sound. It’s the sound that we’ve got on the records.” So, to match that vision, it only made sense to have a bigger stage with a nice, big LED on the backdrop and their name in lights — which is exactly what the Yost had.
And to make it even more of an event, the Babys invited some friends to the bill — The Kelly Bowlin Band, an alt-country five-piece group from the Inland Empire with a huge local following, and singer Dilana, who made a splash on TV’s Rock Star Supernova, and has gone to a successful solo career with three albums and numerous world tours to her credit. Needless to say, it was a variety-filled night spearheaded by one of the most underrated bands of the classic rock era.
Dilana took the stage first, an acoustic guitar in her hand, accompanied by second guitarist Michael Martinsson for a short 30-minute set. A few weeks before, I’d seen her rocking hard and steady with The All Girls Band SHÍ, but here she was singing soft, heartfelt songs before a crowd that wanted to rock, and winning them over with a style and voice you can’t turn away from.
The Kelly Bowlin was next, and they wowed the crowd with a tight set, spiked with elements of ugly-country and rock swimming in swing and style. The award-winning band likely won over many converts there for the headliner simply by their graciousness and superb musicianship. They even brought up Dilana for a number.
Along with a bountiful range of originals, they pumped out a show-stopping version of Steve Earl’s “Copperhead Road,” driven by Bowlin’s vocals with a tangy drawl and rhythmic mandolin, supported by Russell Berkley’s in-the-pocket keyboards, guitarist Darren Faller’s sizzling lead, and drummer Jim Moreland and bassist Pat Raymond’s booming bottom end. They’ve opened for lots of big acts and it’s easy to see why because the music goes down nice and easy.
As expected, the Babys came on and blasted through a 17-song set that had the room swaying. Singer John Bisaha, stepping into the big shoes of John Waite, picked up the reigns immediately, telling everyone the band would be covering material from all five albums in their storied catalog from 1977 to 1980, plus a few cuts from the 2012 comeback album, I’ll Have Some Of That.
True to Bisaha’s word, they did just that, playing classic rockers like “Back On My Feet Again” and “Midnight Rendezvous” alongside the evergreen power ballads “Isn’t It Time” and “Everytime I Think of You.” Guitarist Wally Stocker and drummer Tony Brock, both original members, remain the foundation while Bisaha, doubling on bass, guitarist Joey Sykes, keyboardist Brian Johnson,
and back-up singers (aka the Babettes) Holly Bisaha and Elisa Chadbourne, enhance the sound to the highest standards.
The addition of deeper tracks you wouldn’t expect to hear really opened up the possibilities. “Looking For Love,” the first song from the band’s
1976 self-titled debut, and “Love Don’t Prove I’m Right,” from 1979’s Head First, brought Brock’s snappy, in-the-groove drum work to the fore. Others like “Postcard” and “Turn And Walk Away,” both from 1980’s On The Edge, are prime examples of the breadth of material the band was churning out up until the end of their first run.
“I See You There,” “Sunrise & Goodbyes” and “Not Ready To Say Goodbye,” all from I’ll Have Some Of That, seamlessly blended into the rest of the setlist, spotlighting Stocker’s penchant for concise riffs, framed by exceptional musicianship and vocals. By the time they stepped up for an encore of “Head First,” the Babys had the audience in the palm of their hands, triumphant in presenting timeless songs in a fresh, redemptive light. Having already had “some of that,” everyone was clearly craving for more at the end of the night.
