August 6, 2009: Paul Thorn and Dave Alvin along with his Guilty Women perform at Santa Monica pier

As the evening sun slowly slipped down casting its shade on the Santa Monica pier, Paul Thorn strung his guitar, to a cheering crowd. While many in the audience, according to their admission had never heard of the singer, the Mississippi singer-songwriter effortlessly paved his way to their heart through his powerful live performance and wicked sense of humor. The singers theme song “I rather be a hammer than a nail” (don’t we all!) rocked as he narrated the story behind the song – his time working at a furniture store, about the girl who cheated on him 150 times and his illustrious career and defeat at the hands of Roberto Duran. According to his biography, “His songs are conduits for that gritty part of the South where beleaguered wisdom is as likely from the bottom of a bottle of Johnny Walker Red as it is from the pulpit of an old country church.”

Rocking the stage next was LA rock and roots music legend Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (though it was pointed out one of the guilty woman had fallen sick and was replaced by an equally guilty man). According to Lookout NewsAlvin, who founded The Blasters with his brother Phil, started his new band as a one-off performance at a bluegrass festival last fall, after having played with several Guilty Women in the past was confident the chemistry would be right.At the concert, Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women — comprised of Sarah Brown, Cindy Cashdollar, Amy Farris, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Christy McWilson and Lisa Pankratz. While for many the day had ended, for those at the pier it was just the beginning.