An experience to remember

Prior to the pandemic, there had already been a notion that attending live concerts was a relatively dying trend, given the almost unending increase of free and abundantly available recorded music. At the same time, artists had been financially squeezed by the milli-cents paid to them by services like Spotify, and by the small profits a band can make off playing a live show. 

As important as concrete things like revenue and audience reach are, it is the unparalleled experience of attending a show with a solid band, side by side with other fans who are sharing the experience with you, that is the originating purpose of why many musicians play music to begin with. Shows like these remind music lovers why live music will continue to endure, even through a pandemic.

Backed by a row of blue lights that draped across the brick wall in the background, three bands—The Sevs, Strange Case, and Creature Canyon—took the stage at the Venice West on Thursday night, June 30th. The stage was relatively small, and the four-to-five-person bands were able to just hardly squeeze on. 

It’s not always easy for up-and-coming bands to gather an audience in the saturated music environment in Los Angeles, but more than a few people with no direct connection to the band members decided to show up after hearing Creature Canyon’s songs online or through the radio. Although the audience didn’t reach its peak until the headliner arrived, the Sevs and Strange Case were nonetheless strong supporting bands.

The first two acts demonstrated a contrast in everything from musical styles and interaction with the audience, down to the choice of dress. The first act of the night, the Sevs, walked onto stage dressed relatively formally and made the not uncommon artistic choice to focus more on playing for themselves than for the audience. From the first note, their music featured a roaring low-end which was hard to make out as either an intentional choice by the band or a feature of The Venice West’s room acoustics, sound system and mixing. 

The greatest strength of the band was their instrumental tightness, which an audience can sometimes take for granted. The original songs by the Sevs demonstrated the instrumental ability of each band member, with an impressive variety of drum fills and basslines in particular. Another interesting musical dynamic was that the bass and drum seemed to continue to showcase these fills and basslines while Dawson Henry was singing, whereas Dax Taylor’s lead guitar riffs were rarer. Naturally, the attention of both the band and the audience was on the instrumental abilities of the band, whereas other bands might opt to de-emphasize those elements in exchange for focus on vocals or the original song. 

Compared to the studio versions of top tracks like “Renaissance Man,” the live performance was just as tight, with the only major difference being the louder volume of the low end instruments like the bass and drums. Naturally, the vocals weren’t as clear in the live performance as in the studio version, which again could simply be a result of the mix.

Strange Case, meanwhile, seemed to make a deliberate choice to create a loose and casual rapport with the audience. Walking out in an array of colorful t-shirts and loose-fitting pants, the band immediately seemed to have fun on stage. Between jokes about the strength of the alcohol being served and a clearly dedicated group of fans hopping along to just about every song, the amount of audience interaction was far higher than at many concerts. 

Strange Case’s sound largely centers around the wah-wah pedal of the lead guitar which draped around the rest of the instrumentation. The highlights for the Strange Case came when the bassist and lead guitarist unexpectedly entered with harmonies, which as a friend noted to me created a certain sonic “space,” and balanced out the volume of the lower end of the bass and drums.

Fittingly, the set closed with the guitarist lying down on the stage to finish off the final song. 

About an hour into the show, the headliner came on. From the instant Creature Canyon began their first song, one could sense a mixture of the confidence that comes with experience, while retaining a warm rapport with the audience. At this point, the room had filled up with dozens of people only feet away from the stage. 

Musically, the secret weapon of the band is the mixture of unique guitar and keyboard/organ tones, the steadiness of the bass and drums, and a strong lead vocalist. All these combine to create a disco-like mood. Many of Creature Canyon’s songs feature disco/funk riffs on the guitar with a clear and clean tone, combined with an assortment of effects by the keyboard player that seem to make the music, and even the room, just feel bigger. The bass and drums were a great demonstration of how less can be more, and not a single note or fill was played for anything other than the sake of the collective sound. For many bands, this restraint isn’t easy to find. For example, the “Heartbreakers” behind Tom Petty were indispensable to the band’s success and they did so largely by knowing when to step forward and when to step back. Finally, the lead vocalist was not just talented technically, but led the band’s mixture of charisma with poise, and helped walk the fine line between connecting with the audience and yet keeping a certain meaningful distance. 

One audience favorite was “Hot Streak,” first released in 2018, which was a touch slower and groovier than much of the set. The song showcased lead singer Austin Steele’s range and vocal control with all the complexities that such a rhythmic tune demands. As the set neared its end, another memorable moment came when Steele grabbed his microphone from off his stand and leapt straight into the audience.

Shows like these remind fans why live music is so important: the experience itself. Sure, there are better ways for the band to spend their time if all they cared about was making money or expanding the fan base—just spend every waking hour promoting online to thousands of strangers and spend less time on performing live. Instead, what they did allowed for a deeper, live experience for a smaller group. After almost two and a half years of being locked indoors and for many, just trying to survive, it was good to feel alive again.