The English Beat Rocks Temecula!

[Chris Baptiste]

Much like a gorgeous Bordeaux blend paired with an aged-to-perfection Havarti cheese, Temecula’s Wine Country has many well-known “pairings” - Wilson Creek Winery & their Almond Champagne; Masia de Yabar & their numerous Argentine Malbecs; Thornton Winery & their annual Champagne Jazz Series; and South Coast & their lovely Grapeseed Spa.  There are others, of course (name your favorite), but one “pairing” that has now climbed to the top as one of my personal favorites is without a doubt Wiens Family Cellars & The English Beat.

Known for their “Big Red” wines, Wiens has now hosted perhaps the biggest rock band ever to plug into a guitar amp on Rancho California for the - count ‘em - past 4 years!  The latest (and greatest?) Dave Wakeling-led English Beat performance took place last Friday - a warm spring evening that signaled the unofficial start of Temecula’s summer concert season.  

While the perfectly manicured grounds of Wienes served as the physical concert venue (and one of - if not the best - in our wine country), it’s Golden Crown Productions who is behind the event itself.  Partners Don Harbour and Gregg Hassler have, through Golden Crown, been able to fund raise for local families in need through producing some of the biggest concerts in the Valley.  They’ve brought us bands such as Berlin, Wild Child, Tommy Tutone, Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real, Stan Ridgeway (Wall of Voodoo), and of course, The English Beat.  As their mission statement says, they “Bring Music to the Valley and Give Hope to Families in Need and Give Back to the Valley.”  

And they spread the wealth instead of focusing on just one charitable organization - each of their concerts benefits a different local charity.  Tonight’s was Charity For Charity, founded by Charity Prestifilippo, and future shows will benefit the Animal Friends of the Valleys, California Family Life Center, The Temecula Valley Foundation for Excellence in Education, the Rotary Club of Temecula, and Our Nicholas Foundation.  On this night alone, Golden Crown helped raise over $5,000 for Charity’s two current beneficiaries - Hailey Marie Gee and Brian Klein.  Golden Crown does amazing work.

The evening’s host was none other than legendary Southern California radio DJ Richard Blade, and he started things rolling by introducing the open act - San Diego’s Stone Senses.  Their intoxicating version of soul-inspired reggae-rock inspired many in the crowd to put their dancing shoes on (or was it the wine? both??) and greeted the late arriving ticket holders.  Seeing that the show was sold out, parking was tight & spots were at a premium, with over-flow cars being directed to Monte De Oro Winery’s parking lot (a shuttle picked up and dropped off concert goers throughout the evening).  A word of advice if you’re planning on attending the next Golden Crown show at Wiens - get there early (the “gates” open at 5:30pm) or simply avoid the craziness and park at Monte De Oro from the get-go and take advantage of their shuttle.  Arriving stress-free is the only way to go, my friends.

Speaking of de-stressing, what does the trick better than the amazing wines at Wiens?  Of course they’re known for their bold & flavorful red wines (does anybody not like their 2009 Crowded?), but their whites are lovely as well (the 2010 Pinot Gris was the perfect “lead off” wine of the show as the sun dipped behind the western hills), and their champagne - Amour De L’Orange - is perhaps my favorite sparking wine in the Valley.  Don’t get me wrong - we’re all blessed with many award-winning wines from dozens of great wineries in our coveted vineyard region - but Wiens Family Cellars is definitely one of our standard bearers.  

After Stone Senses exited the stage and Richard Blade took the in-between set time to host his version of “80s Trivia Night,” it was time for the main reason we were all here - The English Beat.  

For a band whose heyday was only about 5 years (1978-83) and who only had marginal chart success (much more in the UK than here in the US), I’ll bet each one of us knows (and loves) at least 6 to 8 of their songs.  They’re one of those “oh yeah...” bands - groups whose songs you know, but didn’t know they sang them!  Check out the tunes they performed tonight:  Save It For Later, Tenderness (from Dave’s General Public days), Best Friend, I Confess, Can’t Get Used To Losing You, Too Nice To Talk To, Tears of a Clown, Stand Down Margaret, Hand’s Off...She’s Mine, and their most widely known tune, Mirror In The Bathroom, which, of course, ended the concert amongst a sea of dancers who stormed the stage with the band.  By the time The Beat had to finally call it quits for the night (ah, that 10pm wine country curfew), nary a soul was still sitting down in his or her seat.  It was an 80s dance party circa 2011!!

This show’s going to tough to top, but Golden Crown is going to try anyway. :-)  Up-coming this summer are can’t-miss concerts featuring Lee Rocker (of the Stray Cats), the Tubes, Lukas Nelson (Willie Nelson’s amazingly talented son), the Motels, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.  What a stellar line-up!  Couple these bands with the perfect concert venue at Wiens Family Cellars, and it’s easy to see why this summer’s concert season is going to rock...