Chastity Belt: Greetings From I-5

CHASTITY BELT

TÜLIPS

CEDAR CENTER FOR THE ARTS, LANCASTER, CA

18 OCTOBER, 2014

Chastity Belt (Seattle)

Tulips (Los Angeles)

This weekend brought an embarrassment of musical riches to California, leaving one to regretfully pick from SF's Treasure Island Music Festival, the Moon Block Party in Pomona, my town's own New Noise Music Conference, or Filter's Culture Collide party in LA. So how did I find myself tracking the back roads across the state and up highway 14 en route to the high desert? Seattle's Chastity Belt holds the answer to that question. In the midst of a west coast swing, they hit up Lancaster, CA to do an all ages show with Tülips, from Los Angeles. Spearheaded by Acerogami in Pomona, the foray into bringing curated shows to Lancaster drew a modest crowd in numbers, but they more than made up for it with enthusiasm, and stellar dance moves, to burn. The venue was the Memorial Hall at the newly renovated Cedar Center For The Arts, and it was breathtaking. While makeshift venues have their own special charm, every now and again it's nice to go upscale, and the bright sounding room would hold both bands in good stead. Tülips was a fine discovery, an LA quartet that holds down the garage punk end of the spectrum with verve, alternating between two songwriters, Taleen Kali and Angie Bloom. "Spring" was a highlight, appearing late in their set. Their sole release to date is a cassette single: "Hotspur/Wait" on Love You Just Records.
Formed in Walla Walla, and relocated across the state to Seattle, Chastity Belt have spun out a pair of EP's, Fuck Chastity Belt and Dude, and one full-length: No Regerts, on Help Yourself Records, with the album making the cut for our Top 25 last year, Their second LP is in the can and being readied for next spring. The set found Chastity Belt in an interesting place, with what would have been easy crowd pleasers such as "James Dean" or "Pussy, Weed, Beer" cast aside for more emotive tracks. Leading off with "Seattle Party", they didn't wait long to take a left turn, dropping in a new song before moving on to "Black Sail". With the tone established, they kept to it, turning in a set more melodic than raucous, including a moving version of "Full". The real eye-opener was the band interplay, with the quartet showing an impressive growth over the last few years. Guitarist and lead vocalist Julia Shapiro was an entrancing focal point, but attention to the rest of the band: guitarist Lydia Lund, and the rhythm section of Annie Truscott and Gretchen Grimm rewarded attention time and again, particularly Truscott's bass lines, which brought out the underlying melancholy. Shapiro's side project Childbirth remains a worthy repository for the more vehement songs in her output, and we had the pleasure of crossing paths with Childbirth not too long ago. Based on the evidence of this evening, the next Chastity Belt record should be one well worth keeping an eye on.

CHASTITY BELT

Julia Shapiro

Gretchen Grimm

Lydia Lund

Annie Truscott

TÜLIPS

miscellaneous

Becky (Acerogami) and the evening's DJ plot world domination...

Tacocat: Right On Time (live in LA)

TACOCAT

BOOTLEG THEATER, LA

11 OCTOBER, 2014

Returning to Southern California for the first time since a spring jaunt, Tacocat were the perfect pick for a Saturday night at the Bootleg Bar, tearing through a dozen songs and ending perfectly with a Ramones cover. Short, sharp, and shocked, Tacocat did not overstay their welcome and were the perfect party guests. With S and Colleen Green nearby in Claremont for the evening, it was a Southern California invasion for Seattle-based Hardly Art, with Green also opening up for Tacocat at Friday night's show in San Diego.

Hard to believe it was already half a year ago when last we caught up with Tacocat, perched precariously in the loft of Origami Vinyl. Setting the tone for the evening with "Cat Fancy", they moved on to the pure sugar rush of "Bridge To Hawaii", one of a clutch from their most recent LP, NVM. Following up with the one-two punch of "Party Trap" and the mass transit ode "FU#8", they sprung "Psychedelic Quincienera", before reaching back to the Tonya Harding inspired "Skate Or Die". Throughout, the trio kept up with vocalist Emily Nokes nonstop gyrations, wrapping airtight harmonies on top of Eric Randall's charging guitar work, more than making up for the missing horns that adorn some of the studio versions. The driving rhythm section of Bree McKenna (bass) and Lelah Maupin (drums) kept things in check. Past the halfway point, "Hey Girl" got a huge response, and "Spring Breakup", from the Take Me To Your Dealer EP, set the stage for the final rush led by menstruation ditty "Crimson Wave" and topped off with a deep cut Ramones cover, "I Can't Make It On Time", from their End Of The Century album. It was brief, it was brutal, and it was funny as hell. Ladies and Gentlemen: Tacocat.

Sad note to an otherwise brilliant night from bassist Bree: "Lelah got mugged at gunpoint last night-she is ok besides some scrapes from falling, but they took her purse/passport/money. Fucking lame :( "