Sweet Relief Benefit at the Echo

Benefit shows can be hit or miss but the line up of Karin Tatoyan, Afternoons, The Franks, and The Pity Party was a hit. The show was a benefit for the Sweet Relief Organization which provides financial assistance to musicians with illness, disability and age-related problems.

Karin Tatoyan





Karin Tatoyan raised many eyebrows when I saw her Spaceland show opening for the Pity Party. Karin's voice is distinctive and attention grabbing as she is backed by an extremely capable band that mixes various ingredients of French horn, Cello, electronic glitches and ethereal keyboards. The comparisons to Bjork's voice will be referenced throughout her career but on this particular night I also heard some influence of Dolores O'Riordan from the Cranberries. "Someday I Will Inform You" started off the evening with a slow ember burning build of musical sounds as Karin commands your attention with her voice. "Fit In" is hypnotic with its psychosis fueled piano keys. I also enjoyed a portion of the show that had Karin sing into the pickup of the cello as it was sampled and played back. I envision her show at the Wiltern with a larger backing band in the near future.

The Franks




The Franks seemed really familiar to me for some reason and I couldn't put my finger on it for some reason. I later realized that The Franks are led by Colin Stutz (Vocals/Guitars) who I met at a Beck secret show a few years ago. Colin wanted a photo of my Beck setlist for his article for Filter magazine. It was funny to see Colin on TV later on as part of the "I'm From Rolling Stone" reality show. Colin now fronts the rambling garage rock of The Franks. The songs didn't last past a few minutes and came in rapid fire. They were not necessarily tight, but I think that was the point. It was a sloppy fun filled set.

Afternoons




Irving unfortunately has split up since Alex Church went on to form Sea Wolf. The rest of Irving have moved on to start the Afternoons. I was eager to check out the Afternoons since I really enjoyed all of Irving's material. The Afternoons delivered a sparkling set that strayed only slightly from the musical styles of Irving. A propulsive bass riff kicked off "Graffiti Artist" as the jangling guitars glided into place. My ears were already perked when a trumpet sounded to fill out their sound. Brian Canning and Steven Scott handled the guitars and vocals with Claire Mckeown adding another layer of opera like vocals. The Afternoons only have four songs on their Myspace page but I assume they will have some more material in time for their Spaceland residency in June. It won't take long for the Afternoons to reconstitute the buzz they had with Irving and propel them to greater heights.

The Pity Party






The Pity Party continues to rock my world. M (Guitars/Vocals) and Heisenflei (Drums/Vocals) are embarking on a mini tour of the UK so I figured I would catch their show before NME gets wind of their fiery live act and puts them on the cover of their magazine. "Every A.M." has been their trademark opening song that melted in a barrage of feedback by M as they segued into the drum machine beat of "The Natural Want". The crackling feedback continued to snarl as "Yr Life=Nice" taxed the speaker cones of the house system. "Love Lies" is as warm and fuzzy as it sounds in a bizarre Pity Party fashion as the guitars and drums are mashed together. I still can't put my finger on why I like "HOTS" so much but I think it lies somewhere in the drum beat and the multitude of tempo changes. The Pity Party don't have anymore Los Angeles dates scheduled anytime soon, but I recommend all my UK readers do whatever they can to see one of Los Angeles's finest bands.

The Pity Party at Spaceland

If was difficult to miss The Pity Party debut Monday residency show at Spaceland. I was flattered that Spaceland took my review of their New Year's performance at Little Radio as an advertisement to attend their residency this month. The Pity Party is also celebrating the release of their new lovingly handmade EP "Orgy Porgy". I was also interested in checking out some their musical comrades Karin Tatoyan, Twilight Sleep, and The Human Value.

Karin Tatoyan



Karin Tatoyan set the bar high early in the evening. Bronson from the LA Times was impressed and I would agree. Karin combines various elements of classical and electronic music to forge an eclectic sound. Karin's musical stew contained elements of French Horn, Cello, MicroKorg keyboard, and Theremin. The main ingredient though would be Karin as she is an extremely compelling performer writhing on the ground at moments exorcising her demons in the form of song. I was impressed with her band though as they provided the framework for Karin's sonic tapestry. Andrew Carter (Cello/Theremin) added some nice flourishes of cello to add the odd juxtaposition of classical and electronic music. Andrew's cello strings were literally smoking at the end of the show. Karin's EP "The History of Stains" is available for download from itunes. She is on the verge of bigger things.

Twilight Sleep




Twilight Sleep has come a long way since I saw them open for the Silversun PIckups back in December of 2006. I was even more impressed by their performance with Great Northern back in August of 2007. Twilight Sleep blew me away this time with a batch of tunes from their upcoming EP "Race To The Bottom of The Sea". Tracy Marcellino (Vocals/Keyboards) seduced the audience with her sultry voice as the keyboards laid you down into a literal twilight sleep. "Broken Record" was one of the new songs that was absolutely hypnotic with percolating synths and dreamy delayed guitars.
"Don't Fire Your Guns" was a faster paced song with slightly overdriven guitars countered by cloud like synth lines. Twilight Sleep will be having an EP release party at the Echo on March 6th. I recommend that you swing by and pick it up.

The Pity Party





The Pity Party continues to pull out surprises and new tricks that makes seeing them live a new experience every time. Heisenflei (Vocals/Drums/Keyboards) started the evening hunched over her augmented keyboard rack that included a microKorg keyboard along with her trusty Yamaha DX7. Heisenflei was conjuring up a new theme to the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland with a downright spooky track entitled "Every A.M.". It seems like The Pity Party continue their refusal of sonic classification with my only description being they sound like "The Pity Party". M (Vocals/Guitars) had an weird Effector 13 tremolo pedal for which I couldn't find any information on to add even more complexity to his already baffling guitar sounds. "Dronebots and Peons for Eons and Eons" had its usual drunk shuffle with an excellent exchange of vocals harmonies between M and Heisenflei. "H.O.T.S" from their "Orgy Porgy" EP is one of my many favorite songs from the Pity Party and borders on punk intensity with its off kilter guitars thrown against a flu stricken hi hat shuffle. The Pity Party will continue their Monday night residency on the 18th with Film School. I still can't believe it will be free.

The Human Value




The Human Value didn't mess around. They rocked the audience from start to finish holding a good majority of the Spaceland audience with an all out performance that I have rarely witnessed in the late slot. The Human Value is composed of the dynamic duo of Turu (Vocals) and Hiram Fleites(Guitars). Hiram was carrying the sonic load with his Epiphone hollowbody guitar that doubled as guitar and bass. "Pleasant Town" from their album "Push and Pull" served as the first punch to the face with its brutal guitar/bass lead as Turu raced around the stage manically. The Human Value would fall into the realm of high octane garage rock with gothic inspiration from Siouxsie and the Banshees. Turu pulled out the cowbell and stated she won a Grammy for "Pretty Mouth" as they continued to bludgeon the audience with Hiram's heavy riffs. Turu also grabbed Heisenflei in front of the stage and gave her a personal dedication as they tore into song. Their set had a sense of unpredictability and danger that is rarely seen in live shows. I especially enjoyed Hiram's leap from his amp to punctuate the set. That is what I call a rock and roll show.