The Whisky A Go Go: Royal Distortion, Vigil of War, earthsleep and Blue Silk

My occasional venture out to the Sunset Strip was driven by, who else, Royal Distortion (members of Barb Wire Dolls).

Blue Silk opened the night with some jazzy tunes. Compared to the other bands, it felt like they were playing with the sound turned down by half. The band even admitted as much when they said they were opening things up on a quiet note. Turned down or not, they set the good vibes going.

Blue Silk

earthsleep followed. For some reason, I felt they changed their sound up a bit. I'm used to hearing lead singer, Cindy, screaming her lungs out. This time out, I swear she controlled her vocals more. It all worked out.

earthsleep

This was my second time seeing Vigil of War. I love how this band has the confidence to use the full stage. Lead singer Alicia doesn't hide behind the microphone all set long. She moves around that stage like she owns it.

Vigil of War

Okay, so this is only my second time seeing Royal Distortion, but I'm a long time fan of Barb Wire Dolls.  So much charisma on stage.

Royal Distortion

The Paranoyds and Moon Honey at the Levitt Pavillion

I'm not going to lie, I think I'm addicted to The Paranoyds. The more I think about it, the reason I'm addicted to them is because they remind me of an old Los Angeles favorite band of mine called The Randies.

The last two times I've seen them, they've played as a four piece. I wasn't sure, but I figured that maybe their keyboardist had decided to call it quits. It was explained during their set that she was off with her side band. A band from Finland?

One has to say that Staz, the bassist, provides the humor in the band. When her dress was falling down her body as she jumped around the stage, she said, "This song is called Beyonce live streaming."  And then to downplay their great music, she said towards the end, "At least you're in MacArthur Park. We're done playing. We have merch and I'm selling some hairballs, too." The hairballs comment was in reference to the fact that at the end of the set, one could see her trying to get a strand of hair out of her mouth.

The Paranoyds

Closing out the night was Moon Honey. This band combines visuals with dissonant vocals. Their fashion sense makes you think of royalty visiting from a far away planet. The lights play into this as you think of Thor traveling through the Bifrost Bridge (okay, I'm not a Marvel expert so had to look up that term). And then Jess' vocals are dissonant to the core, making you think of what the future space aliens will bring to earth in terms of a cultural exchange.

Moon Honey

The Satellite: A Darker Bright, Super Space Nation, HUNTR

I had no clue what to expect on this particular night. I just spent the prior week working some long hours so just felt like doing some Monday night photography.

What did I get? Some bands that put some stage energy into their music.

For A Darker Bright, I imagined that the band was made up of musicians who either surf, play beach volleyball or live on the beach to soak up the sun. And I imagined that they just happened to run into each other randomly at a beach bar in the OC and decided then and there to form a band.

A Darker Bright

Super Space Nation started with a poem that actually jump started their set. I swear that I was expecting them to breakout and cover Top Gun's/Kenny Loggin's Danger Zone. What I noticed: the drummer acted part conductor throughout the set.

Super Space Nation

HUNTR brought the lights and hip-hop to close out the night. And there were some moments of hardcore drum beating.

HUNTR

Big Air at the Redwood Bar

Big Air. So it was off to the Redwood Bar to catch an early set by Big Air. The set didn't start off as early as expected as the lead singer headed off to the wrong Redwood Bar. That felt a bit deja vu to me. I swear I heard another band a few years back have to admit the same thing. I'm sure it happens a few times a year.

This band let's their musicianship shine.

The Smell: Miko Masoto, Lily Waters, Espresso

It was off to my occasional visit to The Smell.

Miko Masoto opened up with music that were part of the fun beach soundtracks of the 80s.

Miko Masoto

I listed Lily Waters as a favorite band that I came across in 2018. Those deep vocals thrill.

Lily Waters

Espresso had their female fan base pressed up close to the stage.

Espresso

The Satellite: Mo Dotti, Nanami Ozone, Easy Love

It was a nice time at The Satellite, catching bands where the lead vocalists are in other bands.

Mo Dotti lead singer does backing for Janelane and Peach Kelli Pop. The comment of the night has to go to the band, where the lead singer said to the DJ, "Be ready to drop the needle, because if there is an awkward silence, I'm going to feel like an idiot." And one couldn't help but notice the French Vanilla t-shirt worn by another member of the band.

Mo Dotti

Nanami Ozone was the middle band and there wasn't a connection with other bands I've seen. Of course, they're from Phoenix, which explains that. This band had a touch of orchestral rock and a touch of punk. And then, I couldn't help but notice that three members of the band wore caps, 2 baseball caps and a knitted cap.

Nanami Ozone

Easy Love has two sisters involved in the band. In this band, one sister takes the lead. In Summer Twins, the other sister takes the lead. What did I notice: there was a tambourine that got passed around to the members of the band. This was the second time I caught this band. The first time, the lead singer was under the weather, which impacted her vocals. It was cool to hear her being able to display solid vocals this time around.

Easy Love

Numb.er and Hit Bargain at The Echo

It was off to The Echo to catch Hit Bargain and Numb.er.

Hit Bargain's sound is about staccato vocals against speed demon sounds.

And then there are the occasional comments from the band:

"We'd like to thank our sponsors for the evening."

"We hope you've gained a deeper understanding to truly maximize your potential."

Hit Bargain

Numb.er was the May residency band. I was in for the surprise of my life. One of my favorite Los Angeles musicians, Laena Geronimo of Feels, is in the band. I had no clue she was in Numb.er. I swear, this band will have you thinking "Personal Jesus" from Depeche Mode. And when Laena brings out the violin, it adds a haunting nightmare to the sound.