Squad House Wins Again...

ROSES

DUNES
SANDLOT
DYGL

SQUAD HOUSE, EAST LA

27 JUNE, 2015

DYGL takes it to the air...

Another Saturday night in East LA, swinging wide around the prowling ice cream trucks in the shadow of Roosevelt High...it's an area whose contributions to music are constantly overlooked, but remains, generation after generation, a cauldron of creation. Our introduction to Squad House came last year, with a dynamite house party bill featuring Radiator Hospital, Upset, Benny The Jet Rodriguez, and Girlpool. This latest edition focused on LA, with Roses providing the firepower, and support from Dunes and Sandlot, plus special guests DYGL (Dayglow) from Tokyo, launching their first American tour.

It waa a rare treat to have a whole bill of bands I haven't seen, and Sandlot got the evening buzzing. The brutal  and focused guitar trio provided the perfect soundtrack to the slow throb of planes leaving LAX, creasing the palms en route to the beyond. Dunes followed up with a solid set. Lacking their bass player, who was pulling a shift at UPS, the drummer seemed hell bent on single-handedly making up for his absence. Roses was the the centerpiece of the evening, and it was fascinating to hear the playing of Juan Velasquez, (ex-Abe Vigoda), in a different context. Working in a dance-pop vein, without a drummer, the depth to the songs begs for a well-deserved crossover success. Putting a final exclamation point on the night, Tokyo's DYGL (Dayglow) romped through their set, pulling out a Strokes cover that proved the perfect diplomatic bridge, and the amount of crowd surfers limbo-ing under powerlines in the packed driveway served as a testament to their power. All told, another raucous evening at the Squad House. Thanks again to the House, and the Braintrust, who made possible this special night.

ROSES

DUNES

SANDLOT

DYGL

Misc.