Local favorites Full House, Joe Walla, and Burnin’ Sky joined the boys in EverBlue on Saturday, August 25, to rock the house for another evening in All Access Magazine’s Summer Concert Series. Held at Harper’s Bar & Grille in Northridge, the event provided a lively mix of original and cover music. Full House helped to stimulate the festivities by bringing some of their close personal friends on a specially-chartered Party Bus, so good spirits were flowing about as plentifully as the bottled kind, since the bus-riders didn’t have to worry about drinking and driving.
The show began around 8:30 with the new, improved version of keyboardist Adam Exler’s band, EverBlue. A former teen tennis star turned musician, Adam is a singer-singwriter with an ear for appealing melodies and lyrics, and the Harper’s gig was an excellent opportunity for bringing the songs on EverBlue’s debut CD to life in an intimate setting. Adam and bassist Russell Anguiano were joined by new drummer Kenwood Anderson and guitarists Alex Lankert and Paul Pranske, for a set in which they played a good portion of that debut disk. In fact, the band set out by playing several songs in the same sequence as on the CD, showing off excellent harmony and precision in songs such as “Somebody Like Me,” “Someday,” 
“Sunday Morning,” and “No Pain.” Alex and Paul each proved to be competent pickers, taking turns on leads from song to song, while Adam maintained the melodic foundation on his Roland Fantom X6 keyboard. Kenwood proved to be a rock-steady percussionist, right on time without being overbearing, like Charlie Watts. He was well-paired on rhythm duty with Russell, whose harmonic backup vocals were smooth and tuneful.
A song called “On Top of the World” found at least a few dancers out on the floor, for EverBlue’s music is easy to nod, tap, and clap to. EverBlue summed things up with a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Oreo Cookie Blues,” during which Adam opened up his jamming chops.
The clean-cut frontman reported that he has about 120 or so original songs on tap in his goodie bag, so maybe next time the Harper’s crowd will get an even thicker coat of EverBlue.
Next up was ever-popular guitar-slinger Joe Walla, appearing with faithful bandmates Ricco Calende on Bass and George Nowicki on Drums. An old-West tone was laid down with Joe’s version of “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” followed by the biting social commentary of “Breadline,” and then the band unveiled a new original song, “One More Reason.” Response was strong, and enthusiasm kept up through old Walla favorites such as “Outlaw” and “Down to Business.” T-shirts and picks were tossed to fans, and Joe played guitar hero during his set-closer, “Voodoo 
Chile,” by playing this guitar with his teeth, and then behind his back. Joe Walla Band’s latest release is called The Reverend J. Wicked III, and Joe and the boys promise to unleash more new tracks on the mob real soon, during their next live performance.
And then, of course, Full House was in the house, along with a lot of close, personal, very happy friends. This is a band with a deep repertoire of varied cover songs, plus a good grip of stimulating originals. Powerfully-piped singer Shannon Moore shouted out “1-2-3 Drink!” to the crowd, then kicked it off with Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell.” Next, ace guitarist Eileen Nieto had a chance to shred on the band’s own “Into the Shadows,” solidly supported by the band’s other expert axe-wielder, Mike E. Stone. Then came a new song, a poignant little ditty about high school drama and trauma, entitled “Mary’s Dirty Little Secret.” Shannon gave it her all, bringing the story alive with her breathy, gritty delivery. A couple more originals were laid down, after which Full House went on a cover-song tour which included both Ozzy- and Dio-era Sabbath songs, followed by some Judas Priest and Metallica before the surprising inclusion of No Doubt’s “Keep On Dancing.” The Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right to Party,” came into play, ably anchored by the steady combined beat of bassist Rudy Castaneda and smiling drummer
Gary Lee Gomez. Finally, Full House closed ever-so-sweetly with Guns-’N-Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”
The headline band for this night at Harpers was Burnin’ Sky, covering the music of Paul Rodgers from the various projects he’s been in, focusing mainly on Bad Company, but also including Free and The Firm. Singer Christ Post, who looked like a Seventies club-goer updated for modern times, in blue jeans topped by a black shirt and satin vest and big hair, handled Rodgers’ lead-vocal lines most credibly. “Rock-&-Roll Fantasy” was a suitable starting point for the tribute, and then the house got to hear a lesser-known Bad Co. cut, “Sweet Little Sister.” Thomas LeBlanc and Bobby Koch were “Rock Steady” on drums and bass, as Burnin’ Sky went down the parade of hits. During “Can’t Get Enough,” guitarist Rob Gainey did a very faithful version of Mick Ralphs’ original jam. Towards the end, the band covered The Firm’s reassuring “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” and at last, by popular demand from the floor, Burnin’ Sky let the house know that it was “All Right Now.” Indeed, as the evening wound down from another happy All Access Magazine show at Harper’s, everything and everyone was all right, all right now.
