Live Show Review at the Casbah
Rock Bands amp up the Sound System--Proving that Louder is Better
The headliner at the Casbah Tuesday night, the Constantines, did a show-stomping performance but it didn’t take much for their predecessors, Long Beach, Calif, natives the Crystal Antlers and Norway-based I Was A King, to show their chops to the crowd of around 100 plus at one of San Diego’s oldest venues last night.
During the show, the instruments out-volumed the vocalists, but the tunes played by the gifted musicians, who have long ago honed their craft, was beyond stellar.
I was a King Shows the Crowd how to Rock
Norwegian indie band, I Was A King, opened up the first set. With their Smashing Pumpkins influences and Silversun Pickups similarities, I Was A King’s smooth and soothing melodies was a softer contrast to the louder and harsher later acts. Backup vocalist and guitarist Anne Lise Frøkedal added to front man Frode Strømstad‘s falsetto.
The band’s slow, soft beats fluctuate, slowing and stopping and speeding up in regular intervals. Each song, like a royal prelude, had a jam session procession that lasted a few minutes. Yet far from lulling the audience to sleep, the Norway-based band hyped up the crowd with their authentic and catchy tunes, readying the crowd for the later acts.
Loud is Definitely Better
By the time the Crystal Antlers came on stage to do their set, the music room to The Casbah was already filling up. Lead singer Johnny Bell gave the mic a good “ahhhing” as he tested the beyond average sound system. Complaining for a bit about the equipment, Bell next asked for the lights to be dimmed.
Errol Davis, the guitarist, had a moment of intense inferiority as he stared blankly into the crowd and then the psychedelic Long Beach-based band proceeded to rive up the crowd with their loud hard rock. With a great beat and great energy, the performance was like ordered chaos – with both structure and pandemonium in the package.
“Andrew,” a track off their recently released album, Tentacles, was performed with great energy and vigor. Damien Edwards continuously karate-chopped his drums off to the side of the stage. If Andrew King was the eye to the storm, then Edwards on drums would be the anarchy. Dancing and piveting his way around his instrument like a madman, his energy was addictive as the crowd bobbed their heads and cheered along. King, who usually played guitar, was replacing Victor Rodriguez on the organ that night, who has not been touring with the band recently.
The Headliners of the Night: the Constantines
The Constantines ended the night with their loud and raging sound. But instead of repelling the audience, they were the light that the crowd gathered around. Like the glow of a campfire, The Constantines spun their tale of disconnection and light, enchanting the audience with their moments of sustained quiet and out of these moments, pure anarchy.
I was a King
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I was a King
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