Steve Carlson at the Hotel Cafe
On November 8, 2024 my mom and I went to see Steve Carlson at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles. The Hotel Cafe is a cool music venue. I believe it has multiple stages, but I have only seen performances on the main stage; I have seen my friends Star Eyes (formerly known as Kristen Lynn and the Foxgloves) and now Steve Carlson play there. Steve came onto my radar because of his being in a band with Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester on the TV show Supernatural... yes nearly everything in my life lately seems to connect back to Supernatural :P). That band is called Radio Company and I really enjoy their music! But back to Steve Carlson...
Steve has a lovely voice and is a very talented musician. He can play a bunch of instruments and even though I am not super familiar with his solo work (yet) I assumed I would like seeing him perform and that Mom would probably enjoy it too. I have managed to see quite a few live music performances this year, but I don't know the last one my mom went to. I figured it would be a fun outing for us, a nice adventure driving up to LA and hearing some fine tunes from a fine man. :D Mom and I arrived early enough to find good parking and the door person at the venue let us in much earlier than I expected so we caught the entire set of the band playing before Steve, though I am afraid I didn't catch their name, though if I am reading the Hotel Cafe website past shows section correctly, maybe they were called crêpe girl. I thought they were fun, but due to some technical difficulties, we were not able to hear them very clearly. I got Mom and myself some drinks from the bar and we were seated at a very tiny little table very close to the stage. Steve and his band set up, did a little sound check (which was fascinating to watch and listen to, as he described to the sound tech what he wanted turned up or down as he moved around the stage) and started playing. I am so glad this venue is so small and intimate! We were so close to the man! He's a good lookin' dude, and again, incredibly talented.
A little way into the set, he played a song from the second Radio Company album (Radio Company Vol 2) called Truly Forgotten. He introduced the song by talking about how he and Jensen write a lot of songs together and finally decided to form a band in 2018, and he pointed out in the audience, near the bar, and mentioned that Jensen was there watching. If I had not been seated with my mom I may have noticed sooner, but it was a delightful surprise to know he was there; I couldn't see him and I was not gonna awkwardly crane my head around to look becuase I wanted Jensen to maintain whatever anonymity he has while just having a night out enjoying his friend's band. Another song or two and Steve asks if we, the audience, would like to do an little singalong. Well, of course! So he starts to play the line of the song we will help with, and I happily recognize another Radio Company song from the third album (Keep on Ramblin'). He then asked, "So, would anyone like to come on up here and help me out?" at which point my mom turns to me and asks if I was gonna go up there. I chuckled and thanked her for the vote of confidence that I am cool enough for Steve to be inviting me up there to sing, but I let her know that he was just inviting Jensen up there in a cutesy way. I was over the moon to see Jensen take the stage with his friend and sing Velvet Sky. It was probably the best surprise of the whole week (and that first week of November 2024 was a doozy with a lot of emotional rollercoasters). Here is a YouTube video someone posted from the Hotel Cafe livestream:
Click to viewIt was so much fun to sing along and get to interact with such a fun and talented group, the band AND the audience! Steve played a few more songs and then the music portion of the event ended. But one of my favourite things about shows like this, especially at such small venues, is that more often than not, everyone just hangs out for a while, mingling and talking and hanging out. This means that I had a chance to talk to Steve and tell him how much I enjoyed the show, and how much I had been looking forward to bringing my mom to hear him play. He was incredibly gracious and kind, and he told us he's been performing at Hotel Cafe since it opened. He seemed so proud, like he's showing us his home. 😍
It was really cool to see Jensen so relaxed and more like he was among friends and the fans of his friend. We made eye contact several times and I just smiled, like I smile at every person I have to kinda shove past in a crowded room, and he was just a dude. At cons he probably has to be careful of people because some of his fans can be quite excited and overzealous, but I'll bet there were only a small handful of Supernatural fans even there.
As I was helping my Mom move past the knot of people so we could leave, Jensen was a little bit in our way (I didn't realize it was even him, I was so focused on Mom) and I put my hand on his upper back very lightly to let him know there were people behind him. He didn't turn around or anything, just stepped out of the way like one does in a crowded bar. Some of Steve's friends Mom had made friends with in the line for the bathroom helped her along when it looked like she was a little unsteady on her feet (she was not drunk or anything, but has some balance issues) and everyone was so friendly and sweet.
I'll definitely be going to Steve's next show there. It was one of the best nights I had in a long time!