As Falls Veronica, So Falls Veronica Falls

VERONICA FALLS

BRILLIANT COLORS

GOLDEN GRRRLS

TROUBADOUR, LA

29 MARCH, 2013

While not a patch on the Motown Revues of yore, the Slumberland caravan of stars made it's way down the west coast, landing at the venerable Troubadour for friday night's billing of Veronica Falls, with San Francisco's Brilliant Colors and Golden Grrrls from Glasgow supporting.
Veronica Falls continues to evolve as a touring unit, giving over most of the first half of their set to material from their stellar new LP, "Waiting For Something To Happen". Like the LP, their live takes show a band consolidating their strengths, and sharpening their attack. The guitar swirl of "Teenage" and "Broken Toy" were early highlights. By midway through, they started unleashing songs from their self-titled debut, and the crowd happily ate them up. "Beachy Head", their ode to a suicide destination, garnered an enthusiastic response. It was a pleasure to see the growth in the band since their last visit to LA last year, and if the performance is any indication, you can set a high ceiling on them. They're very close to perfecting their particular strain of 'mope and go', and it will be interesting to see where they venture next.

Brilliant Colors did a short, sharp set, blazing through tracks from their two LP's to date, offering up an unceasing level of intensity. Lead guitarist/singer Jess Scott is a compelling presence, holding court for what was, for me, an all too brief set. They'll be off across the pond next week, heading to the U.K. for a brief tour.

Brilliant Colors

Brilliant Colors

Golden Grrrls made the most of their set on their first trip to the States. The Glasgow outfit focused heavily on their self-titled debut, and had a nice early turnout for their set. Their infectious jangle set the tone for the whole evening. For you East Coasters, they'll be doing a string of dates next week with Sea Lions.

Golden Grrrls

Golden Grrrls

Golden Grrrls

The Unsinkable Specials

THE SPECIALS

LITTLE HURRICANE

VENTURA THEATER, VENTURA, CA

22 MARCH, 2013

Rising up in Coventry, England to spearhead the Two Tone Movement in the late '70's, The Specials preached a gospel of unity, a devotion to old ska and reggae, and cast a jaundiced eye at the Thatcher-bedeviled state of the nation. While shorn of founding member Jerry Dammers, and with Neville Staple stepping back for health reasons, it was not untoward to expect the group to be a shadow of itself. But, this is the Specials, and the flame still burns. Powering through a lengthy set resting heavily on their two albums and fistful of singles, the men showed all the energy of yore, and kept a frightening pace, turning the floor of the Ventura Theater into a seething dance party.
Stateside appearances by the band have been all too infrequent...most recently in 2010 they did a short tour around an appearance at Coachella. This year it was popping up at SXSW in Austin that found them tacking on some west coast gigs, including this one.
The faded glory of the Ventura Theater, in a city that's seen it's fair share of gang-related issues, turned out to be the perfect place to see them. All their touchstones were present and accounted for, from "Do The Dog" to "Too Much Too Young" to "Rat Race" to "Gangsters" to "Monkey Man", song after song in an unending rush. For the most part, they let the music manifest the message, but made a point to have the youngsters in the frenzied front lifted into the photo pit, then, in a touching moment, brought up onstage, and blessed with a dedication to them of: "A Message To You, Rudy".
Their epic English #1, "Ghost Town", was a fitting encore, and they polished off the night with their untouchable cover of "The Guns Of Navarone", causing one last wave of dance commotion on the floor.

 Coachella 2010

 Kicking off the evening was San Diego's Little Hurricane, a guitar(s) and drums duo that made a hellacious racket in service of debut LP, Homewreckers. Most people would plump for the obvious White Stripes comparison, but for me it was more like Two Gallants crossed with a dose of Sabbath sludge for good measure. Very much look forward to seeing them again.