O’Sullivan’s Pub in Santa Maria has meant a lot of things to a lot of people. Some saw it as a place to avoid, while others found it a simple sanctuary for enjoying brews with friends. For local musicians, O’Sullivan’s was the one place you could play, even if your band was loud, rowdy, and unkown.
That’s why the small, rectangular bar was packed to capacity on Feb. 18, when friends and bands came together to celebrate the venue’s last live concert before it remodels and reopens as a restaurant called The Liberty.
The pub’s owner, Josh Snow, was out front collecting the cover charge and fastening wristbands on attendees. He’s owned the bar for nine years, he explained, and included live music and bands—no matter how loud or weird—ever since then.
“We changed the culture—we brought something to Santa Maria that was very unique, very different,” Snow said. “But it’s always been my desire and my passion to bring the food into this.”
Inside O’Sullivan’s, it was just like the beginning of any other show there: too many people crowded the bar trying to get a beer (there’s never been liquor at the pub); friends reunited with hugs and loud conversation; and the first band didn’t begin until a full hour after the posted start time.
But that’s just the attitude at O’Sullivan’s Pub, often called O’Sully’s for short, when there’s live music. The rules are meant to be bent, and the volume dial only turns up.
Hayley and the Crushers were the first to the stage. You might recognize Hayley Thomas Cain, lead singer/songwriter for the group, from the pages of the New Times and the Sun as food writer and contributor, respectively. Her group started the evening off with some great, loud rock ’n’ roll.
Hayley got going something that I call the “O’Sullivan’s steam,” or the sweaty mist of hot air that creeps off the beer-drinking crowd and then bathes them in turn. Usually, this doesn’t begin until the second band or so, but the last show at O’Sully’s was packed in tight, like a bunch of IPA-loving sardines.
The second band up to bat was one of O’Sullivan’s Pub’s favorites, Joe Kidd and The Gash. Headed by Joe Kidd—who self-describes their sound as a surf-punk hybrid—the four-piece band electrified the audience with favorite tunes that have rocked the pub on many nights before.
Between two songs, Kidd mentioned that O’Sullivan’s Pub was the first place his band ever performed, a big deal for any musician. But O’Sullivan’s was just the kind of place for Kidd and other groups to test their sound and explore. Kidd’s band has many different members now—Ben Cabreana on drums, Miguel Socias on bass, and Greg Lloyd on lead guitar—but it still has that same spirit and sound that found a home there.
Cabreana actually flew to Santa Maria from Seattle, Wash., where he currently lives, to be a part of the last show at O’Sully’s. He worked at the pub for several years tending bar and organizing shows, but Cabreana wasn’t there just to drum for Joe Kidd and The Gash, but the closing band as well, The Dogons.
“This night is very sentimental to me, because I got to come out here for the last of it,” he said. “This is a reunion. It’s kind of bittersweet. It’s very awesome that I’m here for the last of it, but it’s really sad that a kind of legacy is coming to an end.”
Cabreana shared his thoughts between his set with Joe Kidd and The Dogons, to close out the night. He shed his jeans and sweat-drenched T-shirt for a loincloth and African tribal mask—the uniform for The Dogons’ members.
The bassist for the band, Jeremy Goodman, also hopped a flight, from Georgia to California, to make the show, Cabreana said.
With Blake Davis on guitar, Goodman on bass, and Cabreana rocking the drums, The Dogons performed what may very well be the group’s last show, at what was definitely the last show to happen at O’Sullivan’s Pub.
The crowd dwindled out, inebriated by drink and decibels, before Snow locked the door on the last concert to happen at O’Sullivan’s Pub, closing a chapter of Santa Maria music history.
“If you look around tonight, there are people of all walks of life,” he said. “Race, religion, creed—whatever you want to call it—they’re all different, they’re all here with one commonality, and it’s the music.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne played more than a couple shows at O’Sullivan’s over the years. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 2, 2017.