It was one of those great high-energy, totally fun nights of rock and punk and power pop at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon. The kind of night when you don't even mind your ears ringing at the end. When the music stops, there's nothing to listen to anyway, and the ringing will surely stop before the next concert.
 |
| Lights Out Levine |
Lights Out Levine was up first, and was scheduled to go on promptly at 8 p.m. That was because there were four bands, so there was a need to start early. But the band expressed concerns that eight o'clock was too early. People in Los Angeles often won't get anywhere that early, or, conversely, go out if something starts too late. There is a sweet spot for most folks in this city, which is from 9 to 11 p.m. But at 7:50 p.m., Adam got the word they could push the start time to 8:30, closer to that sweet spot. And so the band was happy. The soundcheck ended at 8:06, and Adam told the crowd, "
We'll be on at 8:30, guys." At 8:27 p.m., the band started to gather on the stage, and at that point the room was starting to get more crowded. Just before 8:30, someone in the room shouted out, "
Lights Out Levine!" And the band took that as the right moment to start. After brief band introductions and a great howl, Lights Out Levine launched into the first song, "Run From The Moon,"which featured a good lead by Mike on guitar. The song ended with a howl too. That was followed by "Pervert Queen." If you're heard the song, you know it's a lot of fun. But I'm guessing even if you haven't heard the song, you might guess it's a ton of fun from its title. There was particularly good stuff by Justin on bass, and a great beat. Adam mentioned they're doing a new album, and then played "Reaper's Rodeo," a very cool number, a delicious, mean song that comes stalking you down a dark highway.
"
You didn't make the cut!" Adam shouted at one point in "Cutting Room," and Mike made the cut with his great though brief guitar lead immediately thereafter. That song is one of those perfect Los Angeles songs, because of its subject matter and attitude. Lights Out Levine followed that with "Around The Block," written by Mike Williamson, who was in the audience, and then "I Like It With The Lights Out," which Adam introduced as being "
semi-autobiographical." These guys seem to put every bit of their energy into each set. There must be some place where they go and recharge for a week afterward. They followed "I Like It With The Lights Out" with a song from the upcoming album, and wrapped up the set with "Tingles." The set ended just before 9 p.m. And guess what? The placed was packed at that point. The sweet spot.
 |
| Hollywood Sinkhole |
Hollywood Sinkhole then took the stage. Sid announced he had changed his guitar strings, so that meant the band was determined to deliver something special. There was a call of "
Let's jam!" and the band ripped into "In Another Life," a good rock song with a playful bent. And that was key to this band, something that was immediately apparent, from the music, from Jon Levy's demeanor. These guys were having fun, and the music was fun, and so the audience was encouraged to just have fun too. And from what I could tell from the folks around me, everyone was having a good time. "Lost And Found," a single from the band's new EP, followed, continuing that great sense of fun, and featured some excellent drumming from Tony. Tony Matteucci was one of the main reasons I wanted to see this band. He was the drummer for both The Dogs and Kanary, two kick-ass bands. "Lost And Found" was followed by "Big City," a great punk number written by Nick Alexander, who also sang lead on it. And then we got "California," which Jon said was a brand new one. I was lucky to get to see him perform it with Mike Williamson at Music Garden L.A. a month ago, and so was already in love with it. "
California, wrap me in your arms," he sings in this one. And then, "
It feels so right until it feels so wrong."
"Half Baked" featured a catchy bass part, along with some really good drumming. And toward the end, there was an excellent lead on guitar. That was followed by "Feed The Need," which Jon mentioned was about his dog Gus and how he pees all over the house. The set also included "Keep Knockin'," "Kiss Me When I Walk Away" and "Setting Sun." Actually, before "Setting Sun," the band delivered a nice little tribute to sound man Nubs, basically a chant of his name, which was actually adorable and deserved. The whole set had a great energy, but probably the most energetic of all numbers was that final song, "Setting Sun," with the audience singing along. The set ended at 9:51 p.m.
 |
| The Manic Standstill |
Twenty minutes later, The Manic Standstill was ready to go. Some folks who appeared in their music videos were among those in the audience, and they were pointed out from the stage. The band wasted no time, tearing into "Reasons Why" to open the set. And then there was perhaps a one-second pause before the drummer led into "Trying Too Hard," a song that moved at a wonderfully fast pace. What a great bass line! Adam, the band's lead singer, was kind of a ham, putting his hand to his ear, encouraging more applause from the audience. And getting it, too. It was all in the name of good fun, of course. He called out the other bands, each one getting applause as he named it, and then mentioned his own band too, to get even more applause. The next song, "Bulletproof," featured some really good drumming. That led straight into "Francisco." During that song, Adam mentioned that his dad was in the audience. A family affair, as Adam's brother was on drums. Adam got the crowd singing along, and even stepped into the audience to get folks more pumped up. During "My Love," he asked the audience to sing along again, jokingly adding, "
You're going to sing whether you like it or not." He announced that everyone in the room was now in the band. "
Do you meet the height requirements?" he asked. Yeah, the member of The Manic Standstill are tall. They talked a bit about that earlier, and were able to add to the joke then. Adam again went into the audience at one point during "My Love." And that was the final song of the set. They were done at 10:49 p.m.
 |
| Honeychain |
Honeychain, the final band of the night, went on a few minutes after 11 p.m., and as we were no longer in that sweet spot, the audience was a bit smaller for that band's set. Those folks who left missed an excellent, powerful set of delicious power pop and punk songs. The set began with "Bombs Away," a kick-ass rock number that was a perfect way to grab the audience, Hillary delivering an excellent vocal performance. By the way, a couple of her Pandoras bandmates were in the audience. "Bombs Away" led straight into "Crushed," great power pop, with the emphasis on
power. That song was fantastic fun. "
Think it's kind of funny/The way you think you know me/But you don't understand a thing." Then, after "Breed," there was some feedback, and when it stopped, Andre on bass joked, "
That's our transition sound." A cover of "Little Sin" was the song it transitioned into. Honeychain then played "Let's Get Pretty," the new single, which had a great heavy sound. "Go Away" followed. This was one of my personal favorites, a totally delicious song that included a cool part with just vocals and drums, something I always love. Hillary joked that they weren't really a sing-along kind of band, and then launched into "289," which featured some good drumming. And Andre was attacking his bass at one point. Everything was working perfectly. That was followed by a cover of Material Issue's "Goin' Through Your Purse," which also had a short section of vocals and drums. They wrapped up the set with "Lucky One," a catchy number with a phenomenal energy. The set ended at 11:36 p.m., closing out one hell of a good night of energetic and fun music.
Maui Sugar Mill Saloon is located at 18389 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California.
