It must be tiring hearing about Los Angeles writers wax poetic on the city they live in. Traffic here, historical landmark there, cultural touchstones everywhere, eventually it grows tiresome even for those that live in LA. But on the other hand, it’s difficult to experience this city and not to speak on it, and music is often the best way to express that. Most cities have their pockets of musical venues but LA seems to have one on every corner, and in the area surrounding the Regent, some of the best venues within the world are in spitting distance. Tonight though, the spotlight shone only in the Regent, and it shone brightly.

As always, starter From Indian Lakes cultivated a chill atmosphere within the loosely packed venue. It never came down but a large disco ball hung tantalizingly in the center of the room, begging for use. Their set came through nice and clear, and though the music was on the sleepy side, frontman Joey Vannucchi did engage in fun guitar noodling toward the end of songs. In the time since their earlier albums, their music has largely shifted into a dreamier realm. Every so often, however, glimpses of their post-hardcore turn indie early phase cuts through with startling and exciting clarity. While they were difficult to hear at times the bands beautiful lyrics still came through clearly enough to slice to the bone. At one point in the set, Vannucchi mentioned having a few new songs coming soon before launching into a couple as of yet unreleased tracks to a warm audience. After the show Vannucchi stuck around by the merch table and spoke to fans, I managed to catch him for a moment and chatted about an old tour they had gone on where they opened for The Dear Hunter and Rx Bandits while we waited for Copeland to take the stage.

As is often the case with headliners, the increase in production value between From Indian Lakes and Copeland was immediately palpable. Eye-catching smoke effects and excellent sound quality would be hallmarks of the show, while cool light/strobe blocks bathed the stage in various hues of purple and blue. Early on in the set frontman Aaron Marsh talked about how one of the band members got a hernia and had to drop off of the tour. Much like From Indian Lakes this was a largely mellow performance but it too had its moments of energetic peaks that pierced through the crowd all the more effectively because of the surrounding calm. While the music was fairly calm, Marsh showcased a surprisingly powerful voice that remained consistent and un-cracking even in the breathiest of falsettos. In fact, he often called to mind the lead singer of The Fray in the best of ways, providing something of an homage to a nostalgic artist for much of the audience.

Turning to the crowd they were clearly enraptured, particularly during popular hit “Have I Always Loved You?” which served as an early engagement booster in the earlier part of the set. “Disjointed” notably picked up the energy, and the crowd began moving far more than before, it was never near the level of a metal show but it remained impressive and engaging nonetheless. They threw it back to “Brightest” from 2003 at one point and even though the crowd was young, many of them sung every word. During a set, Marsh briefly spoke with the audience about their home town of Lakeland (something that they share in common with a certain MXDWN writer) before moving into “Love Affair.” Agreed beforehand to skip the staged encore much to the joy of the crowd, they closed out with “Coffee,” “No One Really Wins” and “You Have My Attention.”

This evening at the Regent is everything a seasoned concert-goer hopes for. A solid start time, a predictable end time and excellent performances throughout. All told, a newcomer may have found the show possibly underwhelming, but anyone who knows their stuff saw a meticulously timed and endlessly rehearsed show that went off without a single hitch and sounded excellent the whole time. Everyone got their money’s worth, and that’s much more than can be said for just about any show.

Setlist:

From Indian Lakes:

Everything Feels Better Now

The Monster

Sunlight

Blank Tapes

Sleeping Limbs

Am I Alive

Awful Things

When You’re Around

(New song)

Late in the Night

Copeland:

As Above, So Alone

I Can Make You Feel Young Again

Chin Up

Have I Always Loved You?

Disjointed

Brightest

Not Allowed

Love Affair

Night Figures

Should You Return

Erase

Pope

Coffee

No One Really Wins

You Have My Attention