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| David Bash introducing first band of the festival |
International Pop Overthrow is a sort of roving music festival that has been happening since the late 1990s, celebrating power pop music and bands whose material has a similar vibe. It began in Los Angeles, founded by David Bash, and soon spread out from there to many other cities. Now it is back in the great city of Los Angeles, and is being held at Redwood Bar & Grill downtown and at Bar 10 inside Corbin Bowl in Tarzana. David Bash is still choosing the festival's lineup, which is cool, and last night's show at Redwood featured a local band that I have quickly grown to love, Drool Brothers. That was the main draw for me, but I'm always excited to get turned onto new bands, and the others on the bill were largely new to me. The lineup also included Sanglorians, Mo Troper, Lori Garrote & The Chaos, Evil Maria, and Turning Violet.
There was a nice surprise and treat as we entered, that being a three-disc compilation titled
International Pop Overthrow Volume 27, handed to folks as they paid their $10 cover. That release was brought to us through the good folks at Omnivore Recordings, and produced by David Bash, who was carrying gear into the venue when I arrived. This show was the opening night of the festival, which runs through August 16th and will bounce between the two venues so that David can be there for all the music and introduce the artists. And of course that means that music fans don't have to choose between two stages, two venues, on any given night.
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| Sanglorians |
The first show of the festival opened with the Sanglorians, who took the stage at 7:44 p.m. David Bash introduced the band, mentioning that Daniel Brummel was also in the band Ozma. The band delivered a completely enjoyable set that included covers of "I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day" and The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)." Those were great, but one of my favorites from the set was "1984." "
This one's called '1984,' because we're still there," Daniel said in introducing that one. No argument from anyone in the room. They also delivered a really nice rendition of "Brian The Brave," an instrumental number that featured some excellent guitar work. The set ended with "Trip Around The Sun," another highlight.
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| Mo Troper |
Mo Troper, an artist based up in Portland, was up next. When David introduced him, he mentioned that Mo is a huge Beatles fan, and that the audience was certain to hear that influence in his music. And we did. And that certainly was not a bad thing. He performed solo on electric guitar. The problem is that the guitar was turned up much too loud. It was as loud as the guitars in the first band. Those had been loud, but it made sense because of the drums. But there were no drums backing Mo Troper, so the guitar could have, and should have, been turned down. And turned down a lot. The guitar was much louder than the vocals, and though it was obvious Mo Troper has a great voice, there were times when it was difficult to make out the lyrics. His set included "I Fall Into Her Arms," "You Always Loved Me," "In The Band," "Let's Get Back To The Music." He wrapped up the set with "For You To Sing."
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| Drool Brothers |
The Drool Brothers took the stage at 9:14 p.m. The sound was much better for their set. Not perfect, but much better. But this time the lights in front of the stage were much dimmer. Those lights were now all set on blue, so the band was kind of in the dark. I have no idea why changes like that would occur. The band opened with "Kaleidoscope," always a good choice because of the line "
Enjoy the show." They followed that with "Have Fuzz Will Travel." Those are the first two tracks from the band's wonderful
Psychology album. "
Do you guys have duct tape?" Chuck asked after "Have Fuzz." He needed a quick fix for his microphone stand. The sound guy did have tape and was soon putting things right. And the band then went into "It's A Drag," from
Positive Reinforcement Cookies, following it with the title track from
Psychology. "
It's a disco song, so you can dance if you want," Chuck told the crowd. And people did. That great bass line basically demanded that people dance. That song led into "Get Off Your Ass And Jam." Also from
Psychology came "The Song That Nobody Heard," a delightful and catchy pop number. Natalie then sang lead on "Stupidity," a highlight of the set. A rocking rendition of "Alice" followed, featuring some great drumming. And after a kick drum adjustment, the band wrapped up the set with "She's Got The Beat." "
That song should be a hit," David said afterward. No argument there. The set ended at 9:50 p.m.
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| Lori Garrote & The Chaos |
Lori Garrote & The Chaos were up next. Lori first mentioned how much she loved the Drool Brothers' set. Then the band launched into its first song, "Be Free." Someone in the audience brought her own little bubble machine, and was aiming bubbles at the stage. After the second song, Lori said, "
I absolutely love the bubbles." The lights in front of the stage had been switched from blue to white, so it was easier for those in the audience to see the band. I was having trouble, however, hearing the lyrics. There was one song where I could not make out a single word Lori sang. Not one. The instruments were much too loud, and the vocals were lost. If I can't hear the lyrics, I lose interest pretty quickly. And that's what happened. I left before the end of Lori Garrote's set. It's a shame, because I did want to hear Evil Maria and Turning Violet. I'll have to check them out another time. This was the second show at Redwood in a row where there were sound issues. Well, if you're planning on going to International Pop Overthrow tomorrow, it will be at Bar 10, and the sound has been quite good the few times I've been there.
Redwood Bar & Grill is located at 316 W. 2nd St. in Los Angeles, California.
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