On Sunday, August 9, 2026 I headed to the HopMonk Novato in Novato, California. The traffic was horrible getting there but I persisted. It was a matinee show of The Rubinoos presented by KC Turner. I showed up about 5-10 minutes late but it was an incredible show.
When I arrived, The Rubinoos had already started, but the song that they played was fun. It was a classic doo wop sound that was a lot of fun. The next song they played was a rock ‘n’ roll song that was really fun. They sang about pinball machines and the “Arcade Queen,” and the song had an impressive guitar solo. Up next was the song “Hard To Get,” and that song was awesome. That song was catchy and has been stuck in my brain for days, and I don’t mind.
Following that song was “Nothing A Little Love Won’t Cure,” a lovely diddy that was very heartfelt as they jammed through it. The next song featured Donn Spendt’s torturous vocal ejaculations, which featured Donn’s vocals. That song was “Peek a Boo,” and it was a hoot—a rockin’ little tune with Donn giving the low vocal lines for an awesome touch to the music. From there, they played the hit “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” one of their bigger hits, and it resonated with the crowd.
“Walk Don’t Run” was up next. Originally by The Ventures, they played it as if it were theirs, and the crowd agreed. It was fabulous. The next song was by P. J. Proby called “Hold Me”. It was his biggest single and a welcome track for the set. The next song was a soccer song that they wrote in 1978. They knew so little about soccer that they didn’t know to call it football, as it’s called in the rest of the world. That song was marvelous; it was called “1,2,3 Forever”. Following that song was “I Think We’re Alone Now”. Originally a Tommy James and the Shondells song, it had everyone singing along—a great way to engage the crowd and get everyone involved.
From there, they took a bit of a break. But on to round two of the set. For the first song of set two, they played “I’m Not A Juvenile Delinquent,” a fun song that told the story of how they got their name. A street gang, of course. It was a catchy ditty that had the crowd tapping their feet and dancing in the aisles.
The next song was “Girl of a Mission,” a well-put-together song with an incredible hook. It was stellar as they played it. They immediately went to “Honey From a Honeycomb,” where a few people were dancing in the aisles. It was great seeing the crowd get so into them. From there, they played “Do I Love You,” a heartfelt song that had them all singing along.
After a slight drum mishap, they played a song that Al sang. It was a song by The Hollies called “Carrie Ann”. They slayed it, and the crowd agreed. Their playing enthralled the crowd, and they gave a huge round of applause when they were done. Anyway, that one brought us into “Stingray,” and that song was one of my favorites, as it was a solid tune. A serious hit indeed. After that song, they played “Java Jive,” a 1940s song originally by The Ink Spots, revisited today by the Rubinoos! It was a fabulous song, and they played it very well.
With that one done, they played “Early Winter” and followed it up with “Must Be a Word”. From there, they played “How Fast,” a song co-written and produced by Chuck Prophet for their latest album, From Home. It was a marvelous song that had the band all hopped up. The finale of the set was “Shake Some Action” by the Flamin’ Groovies, which was an awesome song. I am sure the Flamin’ Groovies would approve of that very much. They played it very well, so well that the crowd kept cheering until they came back on stage and pleased us with one more song. That song was “Eight Mile High”. Originally played by The Birds, they brought a smile to everyone’s face as they rocked that tune. It was nice to hear old songs combined with new ones that sounded so well put together. It was an awesome show!
Follow The Rubinoos band members on social media
Jon Rubin – lead vocals, guitar
Tommy Dunbar – vocals, guitar
Donn Spendt – drums, vocals
Al Chan – bass, vocals
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