No Age, Wavves, Crystal Antlers, The Growlers, Abe Vigoda, Comadre, Glasses August 13, 2010
Pomona, California 91766
Added by la-underground on July 21, 2010
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adlerbloom
The Lovely Bad Things formed in October of 2009 when Camron Ward, (guitar, bass, vocals, drums), sent Lauren Curtius, (guitar, bass, vocals), the text message: "Let's start a surf pop band." Having just performed at the Locally Grown series presented by the OC Weekly and KROQ, The Lovely Bad Things were the last but not least addition to the FYF preshow and were the first band to grace the main stage. They opened the festivities with Tim Hatch, (guitar, bass, vocals, drums), fanning his guitar with an effected guitar that ebbed and flowed and swelled until the entire band kicked in loud and furious. Drummer Brayden Ward, (drums, guitar, bass, vocals), took on the lead vocals on that number but, even though brother Camron Ward is the main singer every member of The Lovely Bad Things takes turns singing lead. In fact they all switched up instruments during their multi-faceted set which bounced from grand surf punk pop tunes to mosh inducing punk grinders to the summery drive down the PCH with the top down- "Cult Life". Front man Camron- bounced and danced throughout the set with guitar or without and fell to the stage floor during the blistering - "Cocaine Werewolf" belting out his vox while the crowd created a moshing whirlpool. Lauren Curtius took center during "Big Sur" a big, stirring surf punk song with a heavy tom tom beat reminiscent of Bow Wow wow- (you remember Bow wow wow don't you?)- They finished off their set with a song were Tim and Camron traded off on the vocals- it sounded big, lush and reminded me of Sergio Leone and long boarders at Waimea Bay. Do yourself a favor and check The Lovely Bad Things out next time they do a show.
Next up, Abe Vigoda, the boys from Chino took the stage with little fanfare. The audience still riding high from the TLBT's set grew a bit restless as Dane Chadwick had some technical difficulties with the electronic portion of his drum kit. To make matters worse, a couple of audience members who apparently are not huge Abe Vigoda, started asking where former drummer Reggie Guerrero was, who left way back at the end of 2008. It went something like this- Clueless guys in the crowd: "Where's Reggie man" Juan Velasquez: "He's gone man" Clueless guys: "Reggie is cool man" Juan Velasquez: "He's gone man. He had to go to school." Clueless guys: "Fuck school. Yeah Fuck School and fuck that guy." (meaning Dane Chadwick)... Oh, yes, isn't it fun to be in a band (?) Front man, Michael Vidal looked on and Juan apologized for the delay. All the boys in Abe Vigoda are the nicest bunch of guys and deserved a better reception. Luckily, once they started playing the crowd pushed in tighter and started bopping to their sonic sounds. A lot has been made of their newer songs being a great deal different than the brand of tropical punk they have created on previous albums but to me, they have always inhabited that 80's sound like a blend of Sonic Youth with a dose of Haircut 100 and a dash of the Cure for good measure. True they utilize a little more synth sounds as well as the electronic drum kit but they still churn out dreamy songs. Bassist David Reichardt stoically pumped out thick bass lines while Juan and Michael provided those bright jangly guitar strains on top of Chad's back beat, off kilter drumming in new songs like "Throwing Shade" and "November". Michael's voice has always had a British flavor and sounded lush. They played a great set and were well received.
adlerbloom
The Growlers were the 3rd band to grace the main stage. If you have not heard of the Growlers or seen them live, take my word and just go see them. Watching a Growlers show is like falling headfirst into a David Lynch movie. Front man vocalist Brooks Nielsen demands attention without doing anything outrageous. His snarky Clark Gable thin stache and pursed lips beguiles you and at the same time there is something dangerous under the surface. With his old man clothes and drunken dance steps he sings easy sea song melodies infused with 60's style rock and roll skiffle /slow churn rockabilly / surf beats on acid. In their song "Tijuana" - Brooks channels Jim Morrison, in "Acid Rain", Matt Taylor's lilting lead guitar licks dance around Brook's melodies, the reverb splashed guitar notes descending and conjuring up beach parties and rodeos?? at least in my head. You can't help but sway and dance to the Growlers slow chill groves and it is as much fun watching the crowd undulate in unison as it is watching the Growlers themselves. The audience danced in unison and then the crowd surfing began. It was a trip to watch all the fun. One after another a crowd surfer would flow to the stage only to be quickly escorted off the stage by the Glasshouse security. At one point, Tim Hatch from the Lovely Bad Things was one of the crowd surfers- he bobbled around and then flowed to the stage as well. It was quite funny because he was nabbed by the security and hustled off the stage and down the stairs that descend to the backstage area. Then seconds later he appeared again, this time escorted up the stairs and onto the stage. NICE- I guess that is one of the perks of wearing a VIP wrist band. I believe it was during "Red Tide" when a girl in a glittery blue dress adorned stage right and danced like some sort of mermaid. Brooks acknowledged her and everyone thought she was part of the show, as the song was winding down he outstretched his hand to her and said, "Swim away... swim away." She dove into the crowd and did just that avoiding the security team. It was a charming fun moment and the audience ate it up. The only thing that detracted ever so slightly from the Growlers set was that Scott Montoya, (bass / vocals), and Matt would tune their guitars in between songs. While it was kind of retro and quirky it put the breaks on an otherwise seamless set, (have they not heard stage tuners???- of course they have- maybe they are just staying true to their 60's bent sound)-
While the Growlers sound lent itself to crowd surfing, Wavves fans were more intent on crowd diving. After his much publicized drug-induced breakdown at a show in Spain, Nathan Williams was in good form. I am not a big fan of his early lo fi self proclaimed noise pop so it was actually nice to see him live with his cohorts- former Jay Reatard bassist Stephen Pope and drummer Billy Hayes. The surprisingly affable Williams joked with the crowd and seemed to be enjoying himself. From the noise pop "King of the Beach" to the noise punk "No Hope Kids"- I got the feeling that Nathan Williams could evolve into much more than most music watchers think he can as long as he doesn't lose interest in the journey. By the end of the set, the Glasshouse security simply threw in the beach towel as fans from the audience as well as backstage friends of Wavves stage dived into the audience.