Re-viewing the DIY scene

catching up & the crepe place

I should have posted this several weeks ago, but I suppose I ought to do it now. just wanted to give an update as to a few bands I saw several weeks back. I saw sad bastard book club at the bottom of the hill again, & they are still fantastic. they had a new member, a second guitarist, & played a new song. great performance & they sounded spectacular. at that show I also saw the band halcyonaire, a great four piece, rock group, with a tinge of western. a few days after that show I saw flintheart and little smoke play together at Cameron’s pub in half moon bay. aside from open mic, this was first time I had ever seen a show at Cameron’s. it was a really great show, both bands really rocked out hard. I feel like I should apologize for something I said the last time I reviewed little smoke, (which you cant read unfortunately because it was using newsgrape & those posts are all gone), I made a comment about the lyrics to a certain song, calling them juvenile, well, at this show those lyrics were put into better context as ko explained they were about his mother, and so, though they are still rather simplistic lyrics, they are heart felt & quite endearing. anyways, I apologize for this being several weeks late, but there it is.

this last Wednesday night I traveled down to santa cruz for a show at the wonderful little restaurant/bar the crepe place. ive been to the crepe place a couple times before, & it is a great little, & I mean little, venue. with a bar & open floor in front, & restaurant seating in back, as well as a large patio area, this is really quaint place, & for some reason this time I began noticing the fantastic décor. I came to the show specifically to see the new trust, who happened to be the opener for the evening. now the new trust is a three piece, punk outfit from the north bay. they write wonderfully catchy, melodic rock songs, often with very emotional or pointed lyrics. they just released a new record, entitled keep dreaming, & the majority of their set consisted of songs from this album, sprinkled with a few songs from the previous two releases. early in the set they called me out for my particularly loud clapping, which was a bit humorous. their set was short & sweet (be it bitter sweet due to the briefness), & then they moved on to let the next band set up.

the rest of the evening was full of groups fresh to my ears, starting with Olympia, Washington’s unique you are plural. a three piece, consisting of a drummer, a pianist/synth, & a cellist, they definitely stood out this night. they were a breath of fresh air, having a very signature sound, slightly folkish, indie pop, the mix of piano & cello, along with the male/female vocals, was very soothing, but eclectic enough to keep you interested. these guys certainly stuck out the most for me.

after them, was the Portland quintet, wild ones. these guys were just a lot of fun, having a poppier, more danceable indie rock sound, they definitely were the crowd pleaser. fronted by a perky young woman, with a voice that was soft & delicate, she could coax the crowd into frantic movement. driven by upbeat drums, augmented by electronic blips & booms, with hearty, funky bass lines, & guitar chops that drifted from dreamy shoe gaze to commanding solos, all of which was breezily complemented by keyboards. an all around dancy good time.

the night was closed by an amazing electronica duo from Brooklyn, named my body. these two created something utterly seductive, mixing the raw sexuality of nine inch nails, with the jazzy grove of Bjork, and topped off with sultry vocals, slightly reminiscent of regina spektor. inviting one to sway lazily as opposed to bounce around excitedly, it definitely put one in the mood to melt into bed, & drift into delicious dreams, a perfect way to end the night.

so for the time being I will be posting my reviews here, again, so stay tuned for upcoming posts, the next of which will be of deafheaven, tonight at bottom of the hill.