dada: yes, rock still matters

dada and the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano share a bond that is legendary among fans of the Los Angelesbased original rock outfit. Little did bassist-singer Joie Calio and guitarist-singer Michael Gurley know that when they took the stage for the first time together to open for Mary’s Danish at the legendary venue in 1991, that it was the beginning of something very special.

dada – completed several months later with the addition of drummer Phil Leavitt and which has never boasted any other lineup – has gone on to record some of the most original and powerful albums of the 1990s and ‘00s. And there have always been performances at the Coach House to reconnect with fans who love seeing Calio, Gurley and Leavitt deliver marathon-length shows that stretch long into the night. dada returns to headline at the Coach House on Saturday night, November 19th.

In addition to performing songs from the trio’s acclaimed debut "Puzzle" (including tracks such as “Dizz Knee Land,” “Dim” and “Dorina”), dada will likely be performing material from the trio’s latest full-length release. “How To Be Found,” released in March 2004, finds the band exploring the vast stretches of the rock universe with excellent songs such as “The Next Train Out Of My Mind,” “Nothing Like You” and the accessible “Any Day The Wind Blows.”

The band’s catalog also includes 2003’s “Live: Official Bootleg (Vol. 1),” released by Coach House Records. “There is no other show for us like the Coach House; it has all the emotions of being the first show,” Calio told me in a May 2004 phone interview. “We were never that big in California, but we’ve done really well at the Coach House. It’s a very good synergy between us as a band and the Coach House as a venue.”

Audiences catching dada this Saturday night will get to see something increasingly rare in modern rock; musicians who exhibit equal measures of skill as songwriters, experts on their instruments and singers capable of dazzling with harmonies that recall the magic of the Byrds, Badfinger and – yes – even the Beatles.

Songs such as “Ask the Dust,” “Feet to the Sun” and “Hollow Man” are among the great songs that dada frequently features in concert. dada, Boxcar and Thriving Ivory will perform at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, SJC, at 8 p.m. on Nov. 19. Admission is $17.50. Information: (949) 496-8930.