Squaregirls Night: The Henry Clay People (7" release), The Natural Disasters (LP release), Downtown/Union (EP release) and Aushua @ The Scene 03-26-08

With apologies to Hell Ya! and those who just had to have their underground hip-hop cravings satiated, but The Squaregirls' lineup at The Scene was the only game in town Wednesday night.

There were tacos! There was Easter egg hunting! Cadbury Eggs and cookies! The bar ran out of half of its beers. Sexy hipster boys and pretty girls with nerdy glasses! It was a veritable cornucopia of indulgence. I am fat with its offerings. Squire, pass me the chalice. That's a good boy. Have a farthing.

Access Silverlake (zomg!!!111!!11oneone!) saw a near-capacity crowd that included members of Light FM, The Pity Party, The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, Marvelous Toy, Death to Anders, The Sweet Hurt, The Mezzanine Owls, Amnion, The Monolators, Le Switch, and many others I am neglecting to mention. Aside from the Squaregirls, the Blogforce included yours truly, LA-Underground, Rock Insider, and Bronson -- who must have killed all his clones and dopplegangers (Ain't seen him around for few weeks!). The Scene, indeed!

Have I seen better lineups with more amazing sets this year? Yup. But last night was yet another reminder of how special the LA music scene is for the people involved. It's just so damned healthy. There was no where else I'd rather have been, nothing else I'd rather have been doing. I felt like I was with 150 friends. My old college roommate came with me and he said something to the effect of "Man, you know all these people." Good times had by all. Well played, Squaregirls. Well played.


Ausua opened. It was my first time seeing them and I am tempted to refer to the band as "Aushua Tree" from now until eternity; the U2 similarities were fierce. The second "sounds like" band that came to mind was Snow Patrol. There was a hint of gaze from time to time, kind of in the vein of the Mezz Owls. Just a hint.

Initially, I was unimpressed, mostly because U2-ish stuff really isn't for me. But I warmed-up to the band considerably. Their best couple songs, at the end of the set, were quite good. They seemed well-practiced. They knew how to play their instruments. Probably not my bag, but maybe yours?



The Natural Disasters were celebrating the release of their new full-length, which I reviewed here. Their set was fuckin' great. Their live show was pretty much every bit as fun as I had imagined it would be. Real good-times-rock-n'-roll stuff. Perfect for a bar like The Scene.

The Natural Disasters made the whole room feel alive. After they finished playing, the crowd demanded an encore as though they might all die if they didn't get it. So, the band came back and played a rough-around-the-edges, but utterly brilliant, rendition of "Silverlake Girls". What fucking 10pm slot band gets a real encore?

Other set highlights would be "House Party" and "Somebody's Son". "Something New" did it for me, too. The entire blistering set was good, though.

One of the things I liked about their set was that the best songs on the album were also the best songs to hear live. To me, that shows that the good songs on the album aren't good because they were tricked-out in mixing. No, they're good because they're good.

As per usual... the video I took happened to be the weakest song of the set. What canyado. So keep in mind, as good as this is, everything else was even better:



A lot of times when you watch a local act play you feel like you're watching a bunch of guys try to get through a song that they wrote. It looks like that. But The Natural Disasters, the way they write, play, and sing... you feel like Matt Eckel and Brian Demski have the authority to tell you how life works. You really believe them.

I talked to Eckel for a little bit after the show and he said it was the most fun he's had playing for a room full of people, especially because it was a room full of his friends. I don't think the "LA scene bubble" is good for getting LA bands national, but its always cool to me when a musician (or any other artist) feels like they contribute to a community who values their work. That's why we do it, you know?

I've only seen The Natural Disasters once, but I get the feeling they are a safe bet. Want to find out for yourself? They're playing the next Rock With a Twist on April 17th at The Scene! Guess who's co-presenting again? Ya'll can expect another video promo in a few short weeks... details to come.







The Henry Clay People. I know, I write about them all the time. Maybe that tells you something?

At this point in the evening the bar was so crowded that I had to wait 25 minutes to get a beer. People were not happy. (One guy manning the whole bar for a lineup like this?! Are you shitting me?!) So, I wasn't paying attention much during the first few songs.

By the time I got in position to watch (three songs in?), there was trouble in paradise. The Henry Clay People were already starting-off a little subdued, and then they got smacked with some horrific equipment problems. Joey's guitar seemed to go belly-up and then the drums got wonky during a "distract the crowd" drum solo. The band brought Eli Monolator up to sing their joint cover of "Psycho Killer," but even that didn't seem to quell the crowd's shifting and increasing discomfort. In my head I was preparing my first bad review for The Henry Clay People. The whole ordeal was pretty awful.

And then, like magic, the guitar came back. And like a wounded dog, confused by their ill fortune, the band went berserk. They destroyed heaven and earth with "Fine Print". I mean, it was fucking incredible, easily the best I've seen the song played. "Andy Sings" was nearly as terrific. And when they played Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World," much of the room sang along. Joey Ciara is one of the only guys who plays in a band in LA who can have crowd participation any time he wants it. He had half the room "rock jumping" with him to end the set.

The Henry Clay People might have had to burn a charisma point to cast a res spell, but they were rolling nat 20 after nat 20 from that point on. Technical difficulties? Insignificant nonsense, like a single speck of dust in a galaxy of glory.

As a general rule -- no, as a personal philosophy, I don't buy band shirts. Band shirts, to me, are as serious as tattoos: you should only wear one if you'd wear it for life. I only have a few. I have a Smashing Pumpkins "ZERO" shirt circa 1996. I have a Flogging Molly shirt that I got back in 2001. (Shut it. They're fucking awesome.) I have a Weezer t-shirt that I only wear on Valentines Day (Weezer t-shirt day). Until last night, the only local band shirt I had was a Mae Shi shirt, and I only wear it to their shows so I can do the "costume change" with the band.

Last night, I bought a Henry Clay People t-shirt.

There are local bands that resonate with me more. There are certainly local bands that I find more intellectually stimulating, and there are local bands that are without a doubt more talented.

But The Henry Clay People have become a significant part of my own Los Angeles soundtrack, the soundtrack of my life. When they take the stage, their story is our story and watching them play, for a guy like me, is akin to watching my life, my dreams, and my desires unfold before my eyes -- exactly how I've always pictured them. Outside of The Mae Shi, I think The Henry Clay People are the band that brings the most happiness into my life -- and there's no other band in town that celebrates the spirit of rock n' roll more. I'm going to wear my Henry Clay People shirt like any other shirt. In the regular rotation. Proudly.


I hadn't seen Downtown/Union since October. For some reason I had remembered their set being more weird, like in the vein of The Pity Party. But I didn't write that back in October and I didn't see that at all last night. So if I told you that, I'm sorry for the misinformation. That must have been the same day I dodged sniper fire in Bosnia with Sheryl Crow and Sinbad.

Man. Downtown/Union has really gotten better in the last six months. Woo-wee!

Where Downtown/Union really improved since I last saw them was in the overall energy and presentation of the act. They seemed much more confident. When I saw them at the Silverlake Lounge in October, they were "doing their thing". This time, they were "playing for the crowd". A couple times I involuntarily jumped.

I still think the most dominant influence in their sound is Beach Boys-derived rock, and if you know me, then you know I think Beach Boys >>>> Beatles. I also still think that the strained vocals are what make Downtown/Union more interesting than like-sounding bands, and if you know me, then you know that I think interesting sounding >>>> pretty sounding. Basically, Downtown/Union is right up my alley.
I didn't buy the EP but I'm going to soon. I definitely want to cover the band more in the near future. Also, sailor costume. Rawfle.

Here's a nice cover of Dylan's "Maggie's Farm":