I’ve made my move from coast to coast, so I’ll probably be writing about more west coast bands now, although this post bridges the gap.
Hello! L dot A dot Californ-I-A
2.23.2012
Reporting from Los Angeles’ historical music venue, The Troubadour.
Line up:
Line And Circle
This LA band of 5 started out lukewarm, but progressively got hotter. The audience started getting into it during the last couple songs. Even the band members seemed more energetic towards the end. They announced that a new 7″ would be available soon.
The Californian
Hear the name of this band and immediately you begin to think about what they’re going to sound like. What does a Californian sound like? This Californian captured Surf inspirations with a rock influence and a lead vocalist that sounds like a cross between Matthew Bellamy of MUSE and Brandon Boyd of Incubus. Can you imagine that? If not, go take a listen to The Californian. Musically, it was very interesting. Each song varied stylistically, yet all were vintage sounding. One song seemed to mimic a sitar while another was a slower rock ballad with a 50s vibe. Unfortunately, the only song title I happened to write down was “The Whole World Died Dancing”; a song that really showed the virtuosity of the lead singer’s voice. I think he mentioned they were also coming out with a new record.
Wye Oak
Baltimore band, Wye Oak, has been on my most “recently played” tracks on iTunes for quite a while now. I’ve written about them in previous blog posts, and was lucky enough to buy tickets for my father and I while still in NYC. The show was sold out. Let me just say that the live show exceeded my expectations. The album sounds good. It has the fibers of interesting, catchy, well written and studied playing. But it is woven loosely enough on their latest album, Civilian, that it could be considered by the listener as some sort of indie singer with an occasional swell of electric guitar. The live show rocked. Literally. Singer and electric guitarist, Jenn Wassner, was spot on even with a cognac glass full of whiskey. She shyly attempted stage banter–praising LA for it’s ‘sun, friendly people, t-rex tar pits and 30 mph dramatic car chases’. Her live musical performance out-shined the album; it was both dreamy and intense. Drummer and keyboardist, Andy Stack, made The Troubador shake and the audience rock out. Just by listening to the album, you’d never know that only 2 people were creating all of that music.
If you haven’t heard Wye Oak’s latest album (it came out in March 2011), do it, but if they are playing in your city, I highly recommend the live performance.
Aural Fixation 