The Polysics, Io Echo and Black Gold at the Roxy Theatre

A triple bill of buzz hit the Sunset strip in the form of Black Gold, Io Echo and The Polysics. It has been awhile since I dropped by the Roxy Theatre but the huge line to get into the club alerted me to the fact that I wasn't the only person aware of the buzz.

Black Gold




Did you happen to catch the free itunes download of "Detroit" by Black Gold? Eric Ronick (Keyboards/Vocals) and Than Luu (Drums) are the masterminds behind their genre-jumping project Black Gold. They recently released an EP Tragedy and Legacy on Red Bull Records.

I was immediately impressed on how tight they were as a relatively new band. This could be attributed to Than's precise drumming as he was mixing it up behind the drum kit. Eric was energetically rocking out on his Rhodes piano. The crowd was familiar with "Detroit" and its combination of jangling guitars and layered vocals. Their live performance had a sharper edge compared to the slick production on their recorded output. Black Gold will be back with The Polysics and Jaguar Love on November 14th at the Glass House in Pomona.



Io Echo




I last caught up with Io Echo when they opened for The Duke Spirit at the Hammer Museum. It was easily the best performance by the band that I have witnessed dating back to August 2007. Io Echo raised the bar even higher as they won over the crowd with a haunting set.

"Enter To Exit" set the mood early as Leopold Ross (Guitars) was whipping his hair around on stage while crouched over his guitar. Io (Vocals) has honed her stage presence to the point that it is difficult to take your eyes off her. The bass was popping for "Addicted" as the guitars crawled across your skin. "She's So Heavy" was tighter than ever with everyone chiming in for the chorus. IO Echo debuted a new tune that had been produced by former tour mates She Wants Revenge. They capped their set with another new song "Scare Tactics" that quickly moved to the top of my favorite Io Echo tunes.


The Polysics






The Polysics destroyed the Roxy. It was chaotic. When members of the audience are dressed up in orange jumpsuits, it is guaranteed to be an interesting show. Hiroyuki Hayashi (Vocals/Guitars) was a ball of energy that could not be contained as he thrashed away on his Epiphone SG guitar dotted with energy dome Devo stickers. Kayo (Synthesizers) looked and acted as cool as a Terminator as she mechanically alternated between her Nord Lead and Roland vocoder keyboard. Fumi (Bass) could barely keep her straight-bar sunglasses on as she was banging her head all night.

The Polysics put on show that is guaranteed to make you pogo. We Ate The Machine is their latest album released by Myspace music. The electronic stuttering demented beat of "Iron Rocks" launched things into a wild frenzy as I was already won over by Kayo's vocoder vocals. I couldn't understand a word of "Peach Pie On The Beach" but was jumping along as Kayo busted out some pom poms to get the audience to cheer along. I don't know how they kept up the energy that long for an eighteen song set.

Their cover of "My Sharona" was hilarious and the younger leaning crowd seemed to know the song very well. "I Ate The Machine" was tackled with punk ferocity. The Polysics also hit my soft spot for Moog synthesizers when they played "Moog Is Love". I couldn't have agreed more. "Digital Coffee" had a girl in the front of the audience with headbanging away in her Pikachu costume. The synthesizers roared during "Electric Surfing' Go Go" as the temperature in the Roxy was quite warm. If you like synthesizers, Devo or just a good time, go see The Polysics.

Weezer at the Cox Arena

I am proud to say I was in the Weezer fan club back in 1994. My member number was #870. I first saw Weezer in 1995 with the mighty Archers of Loaf and Shufflepuck at the Hollywood Palladium. Sophia Coppola and Spike Jonze were standing next to me checking out the show.

I managed to catch Weezer numerous times over the years at the Whiskey, Universal Amphitheater, Shoreline Amphitheater, Irvine Meadows, Glass House and making a quirky appearance on the Warped Tour. Weezer has been on tour supporting the Red Album backed by Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club.

Tokyo Police Club






I just caught Tokyo Police Club less than a month ago at the Detroit Bar. Elephant Shell has been consistently popping up on my ipod with its sullen Casio keyboards and propulsive bass lines. Tokyo Police Club didn't waste anytime on stage as they feverishly tried to play as many songs in their set as possible.

I was amazed how comfortable Tokyo Police Club appeared on stage. Their sound was mixed well as Graham Wright's keyboards floated above the driving bass and guitars during "Juno". Dave Monks (Vocals/Bass) had opted for a Fender bass for a cutting round sound for "Your English Is Good" as the crowd clapped along during the intro to the song. Greg Alsop (Drums) was the driving force behind "Tessellate". Josh Hook (Guitars) added his technical noise flourishes to "Nature Of The Experiment". I only wish Tokyo Police Club were given a few more minutes to throw some in some extra songs into their set.

Angels and Airwaves







Talk about home field advantage. Cheers from the nearing capacity crowd started as a large Angels and Airwaves backdrop was revealed. Angels and Airwaves hail from San Diego and is fronted by Tom Delonge (Vocals/Guitars) who used to play in Blink-182. Tom surrounded himself with an ensemble cast of local heroes most notably Adam Willard (Drums) who used to play in Rocket From The Crypt. Angels and Airwaves are finishing up their tour behind I-Empire as they were on the Warped Tour this summer.

I think Tom likes synthesizers more than I do as I spotted a Moog Voyager, Kawai 88 and a Yamaha Motif Xs7 on stage along with massive amounts of guitar gear. Dialogue sampled from a launching of a space shuttle was pumping through the soundsystem as a swell of synthesizers started to amass. The cheers grew louder as the members of Angels and Airwaves took to the stage. Tom had his custom signature Gibson Hollowbody chiming out the notes for "Everything's Magic". David Kennedy (Guitars) and Matt Wachter (Bass) helped carry the sonic load by occasionally going to their keyboard stations to create a large wall of sound for Tom's ambitious songs.

A musical toy box intro gave way to the machine like drums and underlying piano riff for "Start The Machine". Tom seemed to be having a good time on stage, as he realized nothing beats playing to your home crowd. The marching drums and gigantic swirls of delayed guitars for "Heaven" were punctuated with blasting lights to give the song an epic feel. Tom later switched guitars to a war torn custom signature Gibson hollowbody guitar adorned with an Angels and Airwaves logo that looked pretty cool.

Tom did a little bit of VH1 storytellers when he explained the meaning behind the song "Sirens" which apparently is true to the lyrics in the song. The delay was cranked to epic again for an extended version of "The Adventure". I don't think The Edge from U2 uses that much delay. Adam was killing it on the drums as Tom's phaser pedal was set to stun. Tom announced they would be back in one year as they closed out their set to a large hometown ovation.

Weezer









I recently spun Weezer's blue album and realized how awesome their guitar tone was for that album. It was the perfect blend of fuzz and distortion. I was blown away though when I spotted two Diezel VH4 amplifiers on stage. Weezer joins the ranks of Muse, Tool, and Smashing Pumpkins as devoted users of Diezel amplifiers.

Clad in white jump suits, the men of Weezer started to crank out the chords of "My Name Is Jonas". Rivers Cuomo (Vocals/Guitars) didn't even sing the opening lines of the song as Brian Bell (Guitars), Patrick Wilson (Drums) and Scott Shriner (Bass) alternated vocal duties. I instantly had flashbacks about tuning my guitar down one half step to play the whole Weezer blue album from start to finish. The hits did not stop all night as they tore into "Pink Triangle" from the underrated Pinkerton album.

A wahstastic version of "Perfect Situation" had me singing along with the crowd during the chorus. It had been so long since I had seen Weezer live that I forgot how much I enjoyed their songs. "Susanne" was a total shock to me as I still have the Australian import cd of "Undone (The Sweater Song)" on which it was originally featured but found new life on the cult classic movie "Mallrats". Weezer had shed their white jumpsuits for some slick red track suits with Weezer emblazoned on the back to coordinate with the color of their new album.

Tom Delonge came out to assist on the vocal duties for "Undone (The Sweater Song)". Rivers would later rock the headset microphone for "Pork And Beans" as he would power slide across the stage while singing the song. Rivers absolutely shredded during the solo of "Dope Nose". The goodwill amongst the bands continued as Josh from Tokyo Police Club came out to play a little guitar for "Troublemaker" as Rivers paraded around the stage. Patrick stepped up to the microphone with his Fender Stratocaster for a ripping version of "Automatic" from the new album.

Brian showed his dexterous guitar skills for a wah soaked solo during "Hashpipe". "El Scorcho" took an interesting turn as Rivers jumped onto the shoulders of a security guard to solo in front of the crowd in true rock show fashion. The highlight of the night surprisingly was their cover of Pink Floyd's "Time" with the vocals handled superbly by Patrick. I also have to mention his guitar solo for the song was probably the best guitar solo by a drummer that I have ever witnessed.

A collection of devoted Weezer fans joined the band onstage for "Island In The Sun" as a flute solo was incorporated into the song. "Beverly Hills" and a rousing cover of Nirvana's classic B-side "Sliver" continued to keep the energy off the charts. The show hit its apex with a house burning rendition of "Buddy Holly" replete with a giant electronic flashing "W" Weezer logo. That is what I call a "Rock Show".

The Stills at the House of Blues San Diego

The dreaded photo pass mix up occurred and I was unable to obtain any pictures for the show but it was a superb line up of Kings Of Leon, We Are Scientists and The Stills. It has been awhile since I spotted ticket scalpers at a San Diego show, but I heard offers in the $100 to $150 range for a single ticket.

The Stills

Logic Will Break Your Heart was a great debut album from The Stills. I remember seeing the video for "Still In Love Song" and was hooked by the propulsive bass line and chiming guitars. "Love & Death" is hands down my favorite song from the album and also made it to my ipod running mix. My expectations for Without Feathers was extremely high and I was a little disappointed by the album but learned the songs translated better in a live setting when I saw them in 2006 at the Henry Fonda Theater.

Oceans Will Rise is the latest release from The Stills and has been spun repeatedly on my ipod. "Don't Look Down" kicked off their set which featured a darkly lit stage with the exception of some golden yellow tube lights attached to their microphone stands. Tim Fletcher (Vocals/Guitars) was slashing away on his Gibson hollowbody while Dave Hamelin (Vocals/Guitars) opted for a Gibson Les Paul. Cymbals were smashed for the intro to "Lola Stars and Stripes" which was great to hear since I didn't know if they would reach into their back catalog. The descending chromatic chords of "Eastern Europe" rocked the audience as the amount of applause grew after each completed song. A storm of jangling guitars during "Being Here" sounded divine as the overall sound was mixed superbly. It was way too short of a set but I hope to catch them on their own headlining tour when it makes its way back to Los Angeles or San Diego.

We Are Scientists

We Are Scientists dispensed their own brand of whip-smart indie rock that delighted the fans. I seem to keep missing We Are Scientists every time they come through town. I have been missing out because they can out party Bloc Party. Chris Cain (Bass) was effortlessly working over his Gibson Thunderbird bass for some hip shaking grooves as Keith Murray (Vocals/Guitars) was pulling some great sounds from his Fender Telecaster. We Are Scientists are touring in support of their latest release Brain Trust Mastery.

"Inaction" stirred some dedicated fans in the front of the audience to start dancing away. Howling synthesizers kicked off "Chick Lit" as I spotted a Moog Voyager on stage. We Are Scientists didn't let up as the vocal harmonies shined during "Impatient". Keith was tapping on his assortment of guitar pedals throughout the evening but deftly crushed his tremolo pedal in mini machine gun bursts of sounds during "Lethal Enforcer". Chris was obsessively tuning his bass after each song which, I thought was funny since it is more difficult for basses to go out of tune compared to guitars. They closed out their set with a rousing version of "The Great Escape". Could Kings of Leon match the energy of the openers?

Kings of Leon

I remember seeing Kings of Leon open for the Strokes a number of years ago. I wouldn't have guessed that the Kings of Leon would be an album ahead and questionably as big if not bigger than the Strokes. Their new album Only By The Night is plastered all over Myspace ads informing you of its availability everywhere.

A fuzz bomb bass line of "Crawl" rattled the room as a various strings of lights hanging from ceiling twinkled in the background. I was highly impressed by the energy of the crowd given that it was a Sunday night. Caleb Followill (Vocals/Guitars) seemed to be as impressed as he frequently thanked the crowd and stated he was having a good time. The energy level continued to surge with "My Party" as Jared Followill (Bass) had his own Gibson Thunderbird bass rattling the rafters. Matthew Followill (Guitars) shined all night with guitar work as he filled in all the right spaces during their set.

In the live setting, "Kings Of The Rodeo" takes on new life and burns like shot of whiskey going down your throat. "Fans" started a small wave of female crowd surfers that tried to get on stage to directly profess their love for the Followill clan. A highlight of the night was the power trio of "Molly's Chambers", "The Bucket" and "Sex On Fire" that knocked the audience off their feet. Things took a spacey turn during "Closer" as the microKorg was put into play during the song while Matthew was speaking into the humbucker of his guitar. Caleb did mention his voice was wrecked for partying in Las Vegas, but I think it added some grittiness to his vocals. They closed out the night with "Slow Night, So Long" which was a good call but I think "California Waiting" would have blown the roof off the House of Blues San Diego.

Rival Schools at the Echo

Remember when MTV showed videos? It was one of the ways that you found out about bands. I vividly remember watching Headbanger's Ball on MTV when they showed the video for "Fazer" by Quicksand. I immediately went to my local record store and picked up the cd.

Quicksand was the project of Walter Schreifels (Vocals/Guitars) who was previously in the influential hardcore band Gorilla Biscuits. I did manage to see Quicksand once back in 1995 when they opened for the Offspring. Quicksand will most likely never reunite but Walter did soldier on to form Rival Schools which tapped into the more melodic vibe of Quicksand.


Rival Schools





I think I still have my ticket stub for the cancelled Troubadour show for Rival Schools. I thoroughly enjoyed their debut album United By Fate which had Walter handling the rhythm guitars while Ian Love (Guitars) added various textures. The howling guitar octaves from "Travel By Telephone" were quickly followed by the tight rhythm section of Cache Tolman (Bass) and Sammy Siegler (Drums) as Rival Schools sounded tight from the start. It was a little disheartening that Walter's vocals seemed to be mixed too low throughout the night but I knew the lyrics well enough to fill in the gaps.

A screaming wah pedal signaled "High Acetate" as Walter was bouncing around with his Gibson Les Paul. Things slowed down for a minute as they tackled "Everything Has It's Point" but the song has a great sing along chorus. Walter thanked the crowd for coming out and announced that Rival Schools was working on a new album as they debuted a few new tracks. "A Parts for B Actors" and "Big Waves" were some of the new tracks they played .

A pit broke out at the Echo when the crowd realized they were covering "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths. As a devoted Quicksand fan, I was shocked that Rival Schools would rekindle the tune. In the Napster days, I "may" have scoured the net for Quicksand's cover of this song. Walter has long proclaimed his admiration for Morrissey and I even have his solo cover of "Ask" on the How Soon Is Now? Smiths tribute album. "Used For Glue" was the perfect closer to the evening as the devoted fans in the crowd sang along with Walter when the rest of the band purposely dropped out. Rival Schools used this show as a warm up to Liskfest and I will let everyone know when their next album is released.

Eulogies at the Hotel Cafe

It was Dangerbird Records night at Hotel Cafe with La Rocca, Eulogies and Ed Laurie. Eulogies was celebrating the release of their new EP Tempted To Do Nothing.

La Rocca




The Baillie brothers of La Rocca played a short but sweet set debuting some tracks from their new album OK Okay. Bjorn Baillie (Vocals/Guitars) was strumming his acoustic guitar and demonstrated his broad vocal range with "Non-Believer" as his brother Simon (Bass) impressively held down the background vocals, foot stomping and the melody driven bass line. Bjorn would later hop over to the piano for "Love Under Key" that resonated well with the attentive Hotel Cafe audience. If they were this good without two members of their band, I will need to check them out with the full line up.

Eulogies





I have reviewed Eulogies four times now and have never been disappointed by any of their sets. The stage was cramped as Eulogies has augmented their line up by adding Drew Phillips (Guitars) for another shade of sound. Tempted To Do Nothing is their new four song EP that is available as an awesome vinydisc that is a combination of analog(Vinyl) and digital(CD).

Eulogies exceeded the usual decibel levels at Hotel Cafe with a fully plugged in set. Peter Walker (Guitars/Vocals) led the charge with "Bad Connection" off their new EP as he played his Gibson hollowbody guitar plugged into an Orange amplifier. A few tracks from their debut album were mixed into the set as I enjoyed "Running In The Rain" and the jangling guitars of "Life Boat". The strategic wandering guitars of "Is There Anyone Here?" meshed well with Peter's lyrical content. Eulogies is heading out for a couple of shows back east for CMJ.

Ed Laurie





Having recently seen Jose Gonzalez and his nylon string guitar wizardry, I didn't know if Ed Laurie could measure up. I quickly realized that Ed is in a class by himself with his earnest heart revealing sincerity. Meanwhile In The Park is Ed's latest album and "Julia" was captivating as his songs fit the mood of Hotel Cafe. "Down To The Sea" made you forget about his nimble guitar work as Ed's voice pulled in the audience. There was a cone of silence after Ed finished his set because everyone seemed speechless. Dangerbird Records has a lot of good things going for them.