speed of dark

On Saturday, alt-gramma and I attended the Silversun Pickups show at the Troubadour. It was a cold and rainy night, at least by Los Angeles standards, and we ended up in line next to some serious SSPU fans and a kid who was featured in SSPU's "Lazy Eye" video, which you can view here. But I told alt-gramma that she could post the SSPU review, and I would post about the amazing bands that opened for them.


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First up was Twilight Sleep, an L.A.-based band consisting of lead singer Tracy Marcellino, keyboardist Raj Lathigara, drummer Brian Thornell, and Eddy Ebel on bass. They had an assortment of technical problems throughout their show, but they did a great job of recovering from them and putting on a great show. Unfortunately, most of the pictures from their set weren't that great. Tracy Marcellino has a voice reminiscent of Beth Gibbons of Portishead and the effect of her sound combined with the keyboards was dreamy and very nice. I talked with Tracy a little bit after their set and she said that they are in the process of recording some of the songs that they performed, which were excellent. She was very nice and gracious and I picked up their 2004 self-titled release from the merch table after the show. Check em out.

twilight sleep: the other one
twilight sleep: cocoon


buy the album | buy the single and other merch | official website | myspace

What's better than having a hot female lead singer/organist and a hot female drummer? When the hot lead singer and the hot drummer switch places and still rock hard. Midnight Movies is that band. Lead singer/organist Gena Olivier, guitarist Larry Schemel, drummer Sandra Vu, and bassist Ryan Wood played an outstanding set, encompassing their older and new, unreleased material. Their finale was a cover of the Moody Blues' Nights in White Satin that was absolutely amazing, featuring drummer Sandra on flute and vocalist Gena on drums. I'd really like to hear that again, if someone has it. I'm looking forward to their new album, to be released in March 2007. Watch their videos for Patient Eye, Mirage, and Persimmon Tree.

midnight movies: patient eye

More pictures from the Midnight Movies show here (click image for full size):


And then, after all of that was Silversun Pickups, who displayed one of the best, most energetic and fun shows I've ever attended. After the show, the band came out and gave autographs, talked to their fans, and were just generally gracious to the people of their hometown. SSPU just finished a tour supporting Wolfmother, and will be out on the road again in February supporting Snow Patrol. Lead singer Bryan Aubert told me that the band was playing Coachella, and so we'll see them again soon. Look out for alt-gramma's review and make sure to catch all of these bands when next they pass through your town.