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Close to 4:00 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, with a beautiful rose colored sunset beginning to form, nighttime mayor & troubadour, Brad Colerick, was waving in car after car as folks found their perfect, drive-in viewing spot for the concert. It was a new idea for South Pas; a live, outdoor concert without amplifiers (to discourage gathering) but rather transmitted through folks’ car radios.
It was a fundraiser for Union Station Homeless Services, and concert goers were encouraged to pick up some takeout from our local restaurants and pull up in a spot to take in the concert, which was also livestreamed on Colerick’s Facebook page.
It was a decidedly festive atmosphere as neighbors pulled up and waved to one another, excited to connect in real life! Some sat just outside their cars with food and wine as if they were at the Hollywood Bowl while others, like Sharon Hanna, wandered the grounds chatting while wearing a mask and distanced.
The show kicked off with a few original songs by Jessica Gerhardt accompanied by Arend Lee Jessurun. Colerick then welcomed the crowd and his “Wreckers” bandmate, David Plenn, who sang his original song “Lover’s Lullaby”. Plenn played the rest of the set with Colerick providing his unique, passionate guitar solos to Colerick’s heartfelt, storytelling tunes.
Colerick says it was Kathryn Compton who originally brought the idea of this drive-in event to him back in May and, as is Colerick’s way, he ruminated about it all these months and finally brought it to fruition Sunday night.
I caught up with Compton after the concert and she tells us, “I was looking for a way to keep live music alive in South Pasadena. Music is so healing and I can’t think of a better way to spend Valentine’s Day. We had such a great time and it was wonderful to hear live music and see friends in a safe, socially distanced setting. Thank you to Brad Colerick, Dave Plenn and all the musicians for sharing their gifts with us!” She also added that they tuned into the concert on their way to the event and could hear it clearly even at Monterey Road and Orange Grove.
Colerick and Plenn were obviously having a great time, happy to be playing live for an audience after all these months of isolation.
Although Colerick has continued to bring us his weekly Wine & Song podcast during the pandemic, nothing can take the place of live music. “It warmed my heart to see so many familiar faces, albeit through their windshields,” said Colerick, “It was such a joy to play live music again with my friend David Plenn and to see people react. Hearing the car horn applause cracked me up every time. It’s just so bizarre. But what isn’t these days?”
The audience was asked to honk their horns whenever they wanted to applaud, which was hilarious and fun and indeed cracked up Colerick and Plenn every time. Colerick went on to tell us, “We raised over a grand for Union Station Homeless Services which they’ll put to good use. I heard lots of comments that it sounded great over the car radios. I was a little worried about that so I’m thrilled.” I can attest to the terrific sound.
Encore! Encore!
