The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit reunited for one show this past Sunday in the band’s hometown of Oakdale, California at the incomparable Dying Breed Brewing Company. Pre-Covid, the band had announced a limited run of reunion shows that were to happen days before the initial lockdown in 2020. Fans of the band were heartbroken to see these nights cancelled as the band had not played a gig in well over a year at that point. But, Covid had its way and hopes were dashed – until October 24th, 2021.
When the band announced the show, tickets sold out in minutes, hopes were high and then, quite literally, the biggest rainstorm of 2021 came howling out of the Pacific and threatened another cancellation. But with hard work, hope and some seriously good luck, the rain held long enough to pull the whole thing off and it was amazing. The band boasted their long-silent line up Matt Cordano on Flying V, pedal steel and banjo, Taylor Webster on bass, Aaron Burtch on drums, Willy Tea Taylor (on loan from his new home of Michigan) on his new tenor guitar and vocals, and Chris Doud on rhythm guitar and vocals. Even multi-instrumentalist Chandler Pratt flew out from Germany for this one.
Entering the brewery, the vibe was so high. It was celebratory in the most exhilarating sense. The Randy Mandy Band got things going with their own special brand of Knights Ferry Americana and the beer started flowing so that by the time Good Luck took the stage, the sold out room was ready to roll. Reunions can be a tricky thing and, in the case of three years of not playing together, we wondered how it would all sound (so did the band). That question was buried with the first glorious notes. They were rehearsed and they sounded GREAT. Music came shooting off the stage, and people leapt up from their tables and started dancing. The smiles of victory were infectious, Suddenly all was familiar and we were all back doing what we had so sorely missed for so very long.
Close listeners had to acknowledge that this band was on point and as good as the old days with a sound that filled a well that had gone empty for far too long. As the storm winds howled through the venue, they heightened how special the moment felt and we were all reminded of just how damn fantastic this band is. Trading songs, both Doud and Taylor offered gem after gem of some of the finest California songwriting in the state (and if you’ve never heard Doud’s “Lost Claim” or Taylor’s “Young When I Left Home” drop what you’re doing right now and find them). Every song was like meeting up with an old friend and giving them a big hug. These are songs that mark time in our lives from drunken moments around the campfire, to the loss of a friend or a dog, love found, love lost and new love found again, they bring it all back – the good memories and the bad memories with turns of phrase that inspire hands thrown into the air or the grip of a heart out of painful beauty.
From the explosive “Classy” opener to the tenderness of “Hummingbird,” a spooky but appropriate “Burden of Sea Captains” to the reckless ravings of “Chuck,” the anthemic “Big Jim’s Guitar,” and a blistering “One Yard At A Time” encore (replete with a nod to the Beastie Boys by way of a HUGE “Sabotage” tease), it was all there. They played a massive and sprawling two hour set and we would have stayed all night basking in it’s glow. But this wasn’t all retrospection, these guys showed, beyond any doubt, that this band is still vital, capable of that singular resistless momentum and it was an honor to watch them roar back to life. Sunday night proved that this music should not stop with a one and done reunion show.
There must be more to come from these guys and there should be more to come from them. It would be criminal to deny that. There are many more good times to come from nights with these boys on the stage and countless memories waiting to be made with music that makes us all still feel young and vibrant – ready to stay up way too late on a school night. So when the last notes of the music finally lost their sustain, the crowd roared. It was pure appreciation for the innumerable hours of music given, the good times yet to be had with some of the best dudes in the business leading us down the highway through the storm. Don’t be strangers Good Luck, we need you.
2 Responses
Excellent review! I knew it would be a show not to miss. Next time I hope.
Just try sitting and not getting up and dancing all night when TGLTSO plays.. So happy I was able to go! Had the best night I’ve had in a long time. So good to see so many faces I’ve missed. Also first time at The Dying Breed, Hoarder Porter is delicious.