Alone Together: Chastity Belt live

CHASTITY BELT

NEVER YOUNG

VELVET JONES, SANTA BARBARA, CA

08 AUGUST, 2017

Waking up from the citywide hangover that constitutes the immediate aftermath of the post-Old Spanish Days/Fiesta madness that envelopes Santa Barbara every year, Chastity Belt rolls into town, like that first restorative Bloody Mary the morning after. With new LP I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone out now on Hardly Art, the band is currently on the West Coast swing of the tour, supported by Never Young. The Oakland quartet set a noisy high bar early on, and proved an eye-opener worth following up on. Their sound gave hints of many different scenes, from classic shoegaze to DC post-hardcore, but remained defiantly their own. Their latest release, last fall's Singles Tape II: Soft Bank EP is out on Father/Daughter Records.

Front-loading hard and barely looking back, Chastity Belt has come a long ways from their formation in Walla Walla, Washington, and eight of the ten songs in their main set were from their newest release, with the remainder coming from their previous, Time To Go Home. It speaks to the strength of the proceedings that they could ignore the ostensible title track of the LP, such was the depth. Underpinned by Annie Truscott's bass, "Caught In A Lie" was an early highlight, and Julia Shapiro took over drums to bring Gretchen Grimm forward for her song "Stuck". Guitarist Lydia Lund took her share of the spotlight on her track "Lydia", and the inclusion of the delicately intense "What The Hell" proved a winner. Shapiro led the jam in an unhinged set closer, "5AM", and the band returned to encore "Joke". After chasing Chastity Belt around this great state, it was a pleasure to welcome them to Santa Barbara.

CHASTITY BELT

NEVER YOUNG

Previous Chastity Belt features:
LA, March '16
LA, May '15
Lancaster CA, October '14

Tacocat Takes Santa Barbara

TACOCAT

REGRETTES

HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS

VELVET JONES, SANTA BARBARA

16 JULY, 2016

Tacocat brought their West Coast jaunt to the joint known as Velvet Jones in Downtown Santa Barbara. The zaniness of a Saturday night played perfectly into their hands, and the invasion of a wedding party late in the set only added to the flavor. Breaking out a feather boa led to a running Steven Tyler gag throughout. Songs from the band's latest effort, Lost Time, rightfully dominated the set, with "I Hate The Weekend", "Dana Katherine Scully", and "I Love Seattle" leading the charge, while they also reached back for already classics such as "Hey Girl", "Crimson Wave", and "Psychadelic Quincinera". While touring has honed their tightness, it hasn't been at the expense of their sense of fun. 

Both support acts made an indelible impression. Hayley and the Crushers (from San Luis Obispo) set the pace with a lively set that featured a grinding version of the Go-Go's "This Town" as a most welcome surprise, while LA's Regrettes totally took over with a commanding stint that, for all its energy, hit another level when they dialed it back for "Pale Skin", making an emotional connection with the audience.

A satisfying night all the way through, and a special tip of the hat is due to the Velvet for having an all ages show on a prime night.

Tacocat

The Regrettes

Hayley and the Crushers

Long Road Home: Gillian Welch/David Rawlings in Santa Barbara

GILLIAN WELCH/DAVID RAWLINGS

LOBERO THEATRE

SANTA BARBARA, CA

01 OCTOBER, 2015

It's hard to believe that four years have passed since we crossed paths with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. It was June of 2011, on the heels of The Harrow And The Harvest, that they held court at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, then later in the month, appeared at the Santa Barbara Bowl as support for Buffalo Springfield.
As a warmup for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, they could have hardly found a more perfect venue than the Lobero Theatre, down the coast in Santa Barbara. The night served as an encapsulation of their catalogue before a hushed, but appreciative audience, Rawlings' spotlight turn during "Revelator" being a fine example. Saving the very best for last, the duo stepped to the edge of the stage and delivered a stunning take on "Long Black Veil", sans amplification.