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Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concerts
“People respect the artist. They respect the house. They respect the neighbors.”
Palo Verde House Concerts: Jeff Berkley and The Banned
Video:
BLURT: Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concerts
Michael Rennie cut his teeth playing in local bands Roxy Monoxide, AM Vibe, and INIGO in the 2000s. By the end of that decade, he had decided that a change was in order. “I was mostly in originals bands playing 40-minute sets on a bill with three to five bands on it and splitting zero money at the end of the night, and I enjoyed it immensely. I just had this moment in the late 2000s where I was just, like, I want to do this for crowds. I want there to be people in the room, but I don’t want to play ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’ and ‘Mustang Sally.’” His concept was a cover band, Rio Peligroso, that would focus on material that fit under the Americana umbrella. Included were songs by the likes of Wilco, Steve Earle, Camper Van Beethoven, REM, the Stones, and The Band. “I was really amazed. When I just described the band to people, we would get bookings.”
Rennie also spent many years working for the Poway Center for The Performing Arts Foundation and booking local talent to play there. “I was a suit to the punk rockers and a scrappy musician to my board members, which was great. It was kind of a nice balance.”
Michael Rennie brings the bands to his backyard.
Both experiences would help prepare him for hosting his own backyard gigs in Rolando: the Palo Verde House Concerts. The first show to go down was Jeff Berkley and the Banned in June 2023. The seven-piece jam band provided a true test for the setting of an outdoor house gig, but everything proceeded without incident. The sound was handled by professionals, the feedback from the neighbors was positive, and the attendees were well-behaved.
“When you open up your house to 60-some odd people, many of whom you may not even know, it can be a little stressful,” Rennie says. “I announce this from the stage every time: ‘We only have one rule here and it requires a little critical thinking on your part. Please don’t do anything that would make us regret doing this.’ People seem to get that. They respect each other. They respect the artist. They respect the house. They respect the neighbors. And as long as they keep doing that, we will keep doing this.”
Rennie mentions a reunion gig for another local 2000s band, Billy Midnight, and a solo set by former Replacements (and Guns N Roses) bassist Tommy Stinson as two of his favorite Palo Verde House gigs so far. National artists Stinson, Mary Gauthier, and an upcoming February show featuring Wesley Stace all landed in Rennie’s backyard via basic social media connections. “They all put something on their Facebook page saying, ‘Hey, I’m looking for dates in southern California during this run,’ and then some friend of mine who happens to follow that artist tagged me in the post. So, it’s kind of the best version of social media.”
Part of the draw for solo acoustic touring artists to play in a backyard — as opposed to a club — may be that they are less likely to be competing to be heard over boozing patrons chatting at a bar. “I have never been so flush with cash that I could just pay the cover charges attached to bands just to go hang out at a bar,” Rennie says. “Yet, I’m amazed at how many times I go to shows and I’m surrounded by people who seem absolutely disinterested by what is happening on stage. I have to imagine that house concerts are clearly a listening environment. Nobody is gonna just drop by my backyard to talk loudly over the band. That wouldn’t fly.”
Rennie jokes that he is terrible at remembering peoples’ names and faces, and that he has accidentally re-introduced himself to patrons who have attended previous shows at his house. Return visits are a good sign though, and some comforting features may be bringing them back. “To be able to just chill in somebody’s yard with the beer you brought from home and a sandwich you bought at the store…it’s just a very relaxed evening. I always try to make sure that there is time for people to socialize too. I think that community is a big part of it. So we always make sure that there is a break in the middle so people can connect with each other, and they don’t just come in watch a show and then leave.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concerts
“People respect the artist. They respect the house. They respect the neighbors.”
Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concerts
“People respect the artist. They respect the house. They respect the neighbors.”
Palo Verde House Concerts: Jeff Berkley and The Banned
Video:
BLURT: Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concerts
Michael Rennie cut his teeth playing in local bands Roxy Monoxide, AM Vibe, and INIGO in the 2000s. By the end of that decade, he had decided that a change was in order. “I was mostly in originals bands playing 40-minute sets on a bill with three to five bands on it and splitting zero money at the end of the night, and I enjoyed it immensely. I just had this moment in the late 2000s where I was just, like, I want to do this for crowds. I want there to be people in the room, but I don’t want to play ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’ and ‘Mustang Sally.’” His concept was a cover band, Rio Peligroso, that would focus on material that fit under the Americana umbrella. Included were songs by the likes of Wilco, Steve Earle, Camper Van Beethoven, REM, the Stones, and The Band. “I was really amazed. When I just described the band to people, we would get bookings.”
Rennie also spent many years working for the Poway Center for The Performing Arts Foundation and booking local talent to play there. “I was a suit to the punk rockers and a scrappy musician to my board members, which was great. It was kind of a nice balance.”
Michael Rennie brings the bands to his backyard.
Both experiences would help prepare him for hosting his own backyard gigs in Rolando: the Palo Verde House Concerts. The first show to go down was Jeff Berkley and the Banned in June 2023. The seven-piece jam band provided a true test for the setting of an outdoor house gig, but everything proceeded without incident. The sound was handled by professionals, the feedback from the neighbors was positive, and the attendees were well-behaved.
“When you open up your house to 60-some odd people, many of whom you may not even know, it can be a little stressful,” Rennie says. “I announce this from the stage every time: ‘We only have one rule here and it requires a little critical thinking on your part. Please don’t do anything that would make us regret doing this.’ People seem to get that. They respect each other. They respect the artist. They respect the house. They respect the neighbors. And as long as they keep doing that, we will keep doing this.”
Rennie mentions a reunion gig for another local 2000s band, Billy Midnight, and a solo set by former Replacements (and Guns N Roses) bassist Tommy Stinson as two of his favorite Palo Verde House gigs so far. National artists Stinson, Mary Gauthier, and an upcoming February show featuring Wesley Stace all landed in Rennie’s backyard via basic social media connections. “They all put something on their Facebook page saying, ‘Hey, I’m looking for dates in southern California during this run,’ and then some friend of mine who happens to follow that artist tagged me in the post. So, it’s kind of the best version of social media.”
Part of the draw for solo acoustic touring artists to play in a backyard — as opposed to a club — may be that they are less likely to be competing to be heard over boozing patrons chatting at a bar. “I have never been so flush with cash that I could just pay the cover charges attached to bands just to go hang out at a bar,” Rennie says. “Yet, I’m amazed at how many times I go to shows and I’m surrounded by people who seem absolutely disinterested by what is happening on stage. I have to imagine that house concerts are clearly a listening environment. Nobody is gonna just drop by my backyard to talk loudly over the band. That wouldn’t fly.”
Rennie jokes that he is terrible at remembering peoples’ names and faces, and that he has accidentally re-introduced himself to patrons who have attended previous shows at his house. Return visits are a good sign though, and some comforting features may be bringing them back. “To be able to just chill in somebody’s yard with the beer you brought from home and a sandwich you bought at the store…it’s just a very relaxed evening. I always try to make sure that there is time for people to socialize too. I think that community is a big part of it. So we always make sure that there is a break in the middle so people can connect with each other, and they don’t just come in watch a show and then leave.”
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