Pablo Cruise keyboardist Cory Lerios, left, and guitarist and vocalist, David Jenkins, carry out in live performance on the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, Calif., on Thursday, Might 9, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay House Information Team)
Amid the entire unbelievable musicianship, tremendous lyrical paintings and bounty of topnotch subject matter on show on the Guild Theatre on Thursday (Might 9), something changed into more and more transparent:
Pablo Cruise is essentially the most underrated band in Bay House tune historical past.
The Sausalito-born staff proved to be the entire bundle right through its roughly 90-minute set on the pretty Menlo Park venue, solidly handing over 14 songs that appealed to listeners in more than a few techniques. There have been the concise, hook-driven hits in addition to different glossy pop-rock nuggets that are meant to had been a.m. radio smashes again within the ’70s. There have been additionally folksy numbers, jammed-out rockers and a number of enthralling instrumental interludes.
And it all used to be delivered by way of a band of first-rate avid gamers — founding participants Cory Lerios on keyboards and David Jenkins on vocals and guitar in addition to bassist Larry Antonino, drummer Sergio Gonzalez and vocalist Robbie Wyckoff.
But, the band hardly ever will get the credit score for the ones varieties of issues. As an alternative, many bring to mind the crowd as a past due ’70s flash within the pan with two, possibly 3, songs it’s possible you’ll need to pay attention and a occupation that used to be resurrected largely because of Will Ferrell dressed in a Pablo Cruise blouse within the 2008 comedy “Step Brothers.”
And none of which may be farther from the reality (properly, except for for the Ferrell section). The band if truth be told has a powerful and deep songbook, constructed from seven albums that have been launched from 1975 to 1983.
Following a well-received opening set from Palo Alto bluesman AJ Crawdaddy (who as soon as used to be a member of Pablo Cruise), the lighting fixtures dimmed and a amusing seven-minute video — masking the occupation arch of Pablo Cruise — used to be proven to the target audience. (FYI: The video did comment on the Ferrell issue.)
Then the five-piece outfit took the level and opened with a charged-up model of “Worlds Away,” the name observe to Pablo Cruise’s platinum-plus-selling fourth album from 1978. It used to be straight-up pop-rock pleasure — the sort that Adventure and Toto fanatics would without a doubt admire — and carried out with each tremendous flare and meticulous care.
It used to be the primary of again and again within the night time when Jenkins would reason jaws to drop along with his mighty guitar paintings. His enjoying, which has at all times supplied the enamel to Pablo Cruise’s soft-rock hits and different recordings, has much more chunk in live performance than within the studio.
Pablo Cruise guitarist and vocalist, David Jenkins, plays in live performance on the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, Calif., on Thursday, Might 9, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay House Information Team)
From there, the band peddled some positive yacht rock — the style that championed clean a.m. radio hits of the ’70s and early ’80s — because it sailed on with a couple of lovely ballads, “Cool Love” (from 1981’s “Reflector”) and “Raging Hearth” (from 1977’s platinum-selling ruin “A Position within the Solar”).
The latter used to be highlighted by way of unbelievable unity vocal paintings and used to be so stunning that it might had been a Crosby, Stills & Nash quantity. And if it had certainly been a CSN music, it might have made it on their largest hits album.
Subsequent up used to be “Atlanta June,” which, imagine it or now not, used to be the unique A-side to the one that gave the band it’s large “Whatcha Gonna Do?” hit. And whilst that track didn’t make it at the charts, it used to be some of the absolute highlights of this live performance because it properly showcased the robust vocals of Wyckoff (who spent years making a song with Roger Waters on excursion).
Turning the calendar on “Atlanta June,” four-fifths of the band left the level and Jenkins carried out “Livin’ Inside Your Love,” a enthralling solo acoustic folk-pop providing, full of cunning and endearing lyrics, which used to be deeply harking back to the late-great John Prine. (And that’s about as giant a praise as we will be able to give any folk-pop music.)
Then Lerios — who grew up in Palo Alto, a stone’s throw (or so) clear of the Guild — took the level and presented up a humorous counterpoint to Jenkin’s softly romantic quantity along with his personal “I Get Drained Simply Considering of You.”
Pablo Cruise keyboardist Cory Lerios recognizes fanatics because the band plays in live performance on the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, Calif., on Thursday, Might 9, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay House Information Team)
Humor used to be an enormous a part of the evening, as Lerios and Jenkins playfully bickered and joked right through the night time. The individual sitting subsequent to me when compared the duo to the Smothers Brothers, a reference that most definitely says so much concerning the age of each the band and their target audience.
Lerios, for instance, would draw giant laughs when he mentioned why he break up techniques with Jenkins within the ’80s, resulting in the band’s breakup.
“We weren’t getting alongside rather well,” he mentioned, ahead of including with forged deadpan supply and a sideways look at Jenkins. “We nonetheless don’t.”
There used to be additionally a amusing self-effacing zinger that got here right through the band member introductions, after Wyckoff defined how, ahead of he were given the decision to sign up for Pablo Cruise, he used to fly in personal jets world wide whilst traveling with Roger Waters.
“After that telephone name, I needed to ask Robby, ‘Have you ever ever flown Southwest?’” Lerios joked of Pablo Cruise’s obvious method of air trip nowadays.
Lerios, alternatively, most definitely isn’t hurting for cash one bit. In the end, he went directly to have an overly a hit occupation in composing for TV and movie after Pablo Cruise known as it quits within the ’80s. His maximum notable paintings in that realm got here when he landed the gig to do the tune for “Baywatch” — and, as a reminder of such to fanatics, the band carried out that TV display’s theme right through the Guild live performance.
The display reached every other prime level with the unbelievable jam via “0 to Sixty in 5,” a standout from 1976’s “Lifeline” album that completely reminded us of the nice instrumental numbers that the crowd has recorded over time. (I if truth be told want the band had performed extra instrumental songs — particularly “El Verano” from “A Position within the Solar” and the 12-minute-plus “Ocean Breeze” from the primary album.)
From there, it used to be hit town as Pablo cruised throughout the favorites “Don’t Wish to Are living With out It,” “I Move to Rio” and, after all, the twin smashes “Love Will Discover a Method” and “Whatcha Gonna Do?”
It used to be a very good appearing by way of a gaggle that are meant to be discussed far more often every time the subject of best possible Bay House bands comes up.
Pablo Cruise performs this night (Friday, Might 10) on the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma. For more info, talk over with pablocruise.com/displays.
Setlist:
1. “Worlds Away”2. “Cool Love”3. “Raging Hearth”4. “Atlanta June”5. “Livin’ Inside Your Love”6. “I Get Drained Simply Considering of You”7. “A Position within the Solar”8. “Will You, Gained’t You”9. “Baywatch” theme10. “0 to Sixty in 5”11. “Don’t Wish to Are living With out It”12. “I Move to Rio”13. “Love Will Discover a Method”14. “Whatcha Gonna Do?”
