Big Fuzz Doom Rock Overtakes Los Angeles
I’ve never been to the Bellwether downtown before, but I gotta say I was digging the vibe. It’s a newer venue, from what I understand. Upon entering the stage floor, I immediately noticed that my hair was glowing. The whole room was bathed in blue theater lights, which had the fun effect of illuminating UV-reactive hair dye. The night before, I stayed up entirely too late at a Black Metal show with a friend, as a guest, so my brain was a little fried, but I was determined to rally forth and enjoy some loud, fuzzy music
First up on the bill was Pink Fuzz from Denver. A sibling-led trio, they reminded a little bit of Blood Red Shoes’ early albums, but with a heavy dose of fuzzy bass overdrive! They put on a solid performance with hook-laden songs, an overall good way to kick off the evening, and the live element really adds that little something missing from their recordings. Looking forward to seeing what they cook up in the future!
Next up, from Austin, one of the silliest names I’ve ever seen for a band, was Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol. These guys are super fun. They came in with big riffs, a silly sense of humor, and rocked the hell out of the audience. I think my favorite number of the night is one from the intentionally named Big Dumb Riffs album called “1-800-EAT-SHIT.” What’s not to like?
I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty late to The Sword. Honestly, I’m behind on a lot of music that should be right up my alley, but that also means that I can experience the live element freshly without many preconceived notions. So, in the rare possibility that any of you are reading this and have never heard this band, and I say this lovingly, imagine if Black Sabbath were a prog band obsessed with science fiction and fantasy novels.
These guys are, to put it bluntly, fucking killer. A Super tight knight and endlessly skilled outfit. While the primary focus of the evening is Warp Riders, marked this year by a 15th anniversary remaster, they also took a moment to acknowledge this year as the 10th anniversary of The High Country, playing a couple of songs from that album before transitioning into the primary focus of the evening with a cover of David Bowie’s infamous “Space Oddity.”
Warp Riders is food for the soul of a sci-fi obsessed rock and roller like me. The songs conjure images straight out of Heavy Metal magazine, or films like Savage Planet and the artwork of Moebius. The guys seriously nailed it, and the crowd was loving it the whole way through!
