The Rob Carona Concert with Pastor Andrew Hopkins at Old California Coffee House & Eatery on On April 30th, 2011 was an incredible show. We are very lucky to have such a telented bunch of musicians right here in San Marcos, Ca. We have a lot of great bands playing at Old Cal Coffee, but Rob Carona is one of the best, if not the best band we have playing here, so don’t miss him when he’s here! Let me tell you why…

Pastor Andrew Hopkins, From Summit Christian Church in San Marcos, Ca. started the night off right. He is so good, I could book him as a solo act and he would rock it too. Yes, he’s that good! If you can’t tell the guy loves to play, just take a close look at his guitar. I tried to capture this picture, I hope you can see it, but Pastor Andrew plays his guitar so much, that he rubbed the paint & polish right off the guitar. Can you see it? It is where his hand would strum the strings… just above and below the hole in the middle of the guitar…. I was thinking to myslef, now, there’s a man who has played many, many hours… and he can sing too!

Well, not only did Rob sit in with Pastor Andrew, which was so cool too, but they also had a member of Summit Church sit in with them and play the Conga Drums… I think I have a picture to show you…. and I’m telling you, Pastor Andrew can sing too; his strong voice made for a great sound… All acoustic, stripped down, yet it made me feel as if I were at concert and I had floor seats!

Pastor Andrew finished his set and took a break, then Rob Carona came on with his band ….. and OMG, this is one talented individual… Singer, Songwriter, Guitar Player, he’s the real deal, the complete package! I had a chance to really sit down and enjoy the music as I had plenty of staff working, as Rob always packs the house everytime he plays, and he did not disappoint anyone! Rob played all his originals and few covers as well, but what really got me is when he played a song that he wrote for his wife Ailina. Not only did Rob sign to her, but I was watching Ailina, who was watching Rob. Now that was something really cool & let me tell you why! You can tell by the way she looks at him, that she really loves him! I mean, staring, gazing eyes that you only see once in a while in a couple. Congratulations! Hang on to that forever! My wife and I are celebrating 17 years this July… Sorry, got off track here… but seriously, Check out “A little bit of Soul”, on Rob’s album “This is the Life”. I can listen to that song over and over again…. and another song, that I didn’t catch the name of, but maybe I can update this post later with the title, but Rob was signing to Ailina and talking about how he has a real thing with her, a sure thing with her and how his love will never change for her! It was a killer song that just made you want to sing along and hug someone you love! And to the guys reading this post, it’s not a mushy love song, but something much more cool, like a modern day Jon Bon Jovi or Lifehouse “coolness and vibe” to it… Another one of my favorites is “Breathe in, Breathe Out”. Rob can really sing, I knew he could rock it like the best of the of the best, but what I didn’t realize that he could hit the falsetto too! Yea! When I said in the beginning, he’s the complete package, I meant it… and yes, we are honored to have him play here, because Rob Carona will play much larger venues than our coffee shop… But somehow, we seem to attract the talent at old California Coffee house and Eatery!

You might think I’m done writing about this night, but I’m not… there’s something that happened that night that I haven’t heard at the coffee shop before….. I backed up to the far side of the patio and sat on the little pony wall we have that encloses the patio and just watched & listened. What I saw, what I heard, to my amazment, was a group of people singing along with Rob. There was a tone in air and vibe to the coffee shop that can only come from the people that bring it…. It was like I was at a Tom Petty Concert and you know the part where he lets the audience sing, and all you can hear is the crowd signing every word in perfect harmony; well it was like that…. It was a full on concert! As I sat back on the wall, I watched as arms raised and waived in the air in harmony. I’m surprised people didn;t pull out the lighters….lol Ok, I’m showing my age, people use cell phones now! Anyways, You could hear the crown signing every word to every songs. It was almost as if the crowd was the chorus! It made for a sound that was so special, so amazing, something not duplicated by just any musician! Congratulations Rob Carona! You Rock! I can’t wait to get you back here at Old California Coffee House and Eatery for another Kickin’ A… Concert!