Thursday night, the Troubadour had a killer lineup of L.A. Locals: Kid is Qual and thatwasthen co-headlined, introduced by Acidic and Bikelock.  The crowd consisted of a lot of music veterans and industry people, mainly because Kid is Qual and Bikelock are offshoots of the band Jack's Mannequin.  This also meant that Jack's Mannequin lead singer Andrew McMahon was there supporting his freinds and bandmates (fun fact: he played piano on thatwasthen's "Sunlight"), which in turn meant that I was beyond excited to be there.

This past Saturday night, I saw thatwasthen and The Hush take on the Troubadour again.  I arrived to venue under the impression that The Hush was taking the stage after thatwasthen, but as I walked in The Hush’s lead singer, Jazmine Giovanni, was winding down the set.  However, the two songs that I did catch were easily enough to remind me of the sheer power behind this band.  They have perfected the mainstream power-pop-rock feel, with all the killer vocals, guitar solos, and head-banging drum fills a concert-goer could ask for. Furthermore, I really cannot get over Jazmine.  She is a truly talented rock star, and I am perplexed as to how Ke$ha can fill stadiums but the crowd at the Troubadour to see The Hush was about 30 people.

If you're in New York City, you should consider spending the first balmy night of July (Friday the 1st) at Fontana's Bar with thatwasthen.  This LA-based band is embarking on their first East Coast tour promoting their self-titled album, released this past January.  These guys put on a serious show--I know from personal experience (read my reviews of their past shows here and here).  They're a great team, have a ton of fun on stage (which always gets a tentative crowd energized), and are talented musicians.  They have a vintage rock sound with a lot of Zeppelin influences fused with a modern feel, thanks to a clarity of sound similar to Incubus.  You're guaranteed a solid start to your weekend!

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day.  When the beer is green, the tattoo parlors are filled, and the spirit is rowdy.  This St. Patty’s Day, I headed down to the Key Club on the Sunset Strip to check out a showcase of some LA bands: Phathom, Culprit, thatwasthen, and Bethpage Black.  The crowd was surprisingly small, given the festive feeling of the night, and the atmosphere was quieter than I would’ve guessed; but, the bands played on and my face was sufficiently rocked off.

Phathom

Phathom kicked off the show with their well-crafted full-bodied rock.  While the bassist, Yannick d'Assignies, jumped around hilariously, lead singer Matthew Sikora impressed the crowd with his powerful vocals. Their songs were dynamic, and calculated tempo changes kept things interesting.   It was cool to see the band up there full of energy and really enjoying themselves, despite an unresponsive crowd.  They mentioned their upcoming record, out in May, and wished the guitarist, Jason Stone, a happy 21^st birthday by inviting the crowd to join Sikora in singing to Stone. Phathom then launched into a cover of “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies, which, according to my notes, was “legit”—and indeed it was. Their heavy and energetic sound had me wowed and made me want to go out and buy some combat boots.

Picked By: Kelly Knapp

Who: The London Souls

Where: Brooklyn Bowl - Brooklyn, NY

When: Monday, March 14 at

Cost: $5

Today’s Playlist includes a little bit of everything BestNewBands.com has featured this week, from folk to punk-rock to dubstep - everything your music-loving hearts could desire! Listen and enjoy...

“Shoeshine” - Black Taxi

In this weekend’s BackStory Bonus, the guys of Black Taxi tell us about their single, “Shoeshine.”

“Shoeshine is a song written by lead guitarist Bill Mayo and sung by frontman Ezra Huleatt. Mayo wrote the song while on an Amtrak train home to New York City from Cape Cod, where he had been working at a golf tournament. Amused by the wealthy golfers and their mistresses partying around him, he created an account of a successful man leaving his wife and family for a tramp. The golf reference in the song is a direct result of his working the tournament, and far too fun and symbolic to leave out of the chorus.”

Read the rest of Black Taxi’s BackStory here.

The word of the evening, ladies and gentlemen, is talent.  Last night at the Troubadour, raw talent was apparent in every band that graced the tiny stage, making for an awesomely accurate portrayal of today’s local rock scene.  Six groups came and went, each bringing a different and individual sound, thus creating a more than satisfying night of face-melting.  With an entire glorious new year of concert-going ahead, this show set the bar for many acts to come.  Bring it on, 2011.

The Modern Drone

The night started out early with The Modern Drone.  A few people lingered and chatted on the floor, and the show instantly took on a concert-out-of-your-neighbor’s-garage feel.  The sound was good—promising—but the newness and inexperience of the band was apparent.  This is not a bad thing; rather, it’s quite interesting to be able to compare this embryonic trio to a more developed band with a definite presence and a sense of cohesion and confidence (such as thatwasthen).  Here were three kids before me—skinny-ass boys in old tees and jeans—shredding and jamming and looking a little nervous, but undeniably talented and filled with potential.  Two more years practicing in Mom’s garage and playing some local gigs and I think I’d see a whole new band.

In my opinion, it is a pretty unanimous sentiment that every audiophile's favorite pastime is the good ol', all-American car concert.  What sense of pride cometh when you finally get the hang of driving with your knee, enabling you to air guitar like your freaking Jimmy Page or beat the nonexistent crap out of a nonexistent drumset like your Dave Grohl in Them Crooked Vultures, all while yelling I AM A GOLDEN GOD. Sure, this might give rise to a few strange looks from passing drivers, but when you're sweating and finishing with THANK YOU LOS ANGELES you really won't care about such trivialities.  What I'm getting at here is that this car-concert video from thatwasthen (check out their other spotlight here) is not only relatable but entirely awesome.  

The thing I like most about this video is the personality and the friendliness that comes through here. If you're living in the modern day, you know that the way to succeed as a musician is through fan base via the internet (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.).  Nothing makes a fan feel closer to a band then a Photobooth picture of a droopy-eyed bassist in his hotel room, adorably captioned "Just got to Minneapolis after 10 hours in the van with a bunch of smelly dudes" popping up in your Facebook news feed. Same goes for goofy videos of the band giving car concerts. It's like you're BFF's.  And that makes you feel totally sweet and killer.  

So thanks thatwasthen, for making us all feel like the coolest kids in school!

(Also, their new album comes out in January 2011 so be sure to check it out!)

Picked By: Claire Gallagher

Who: Sweaters with the Dead Trees and El Sportivo

Where: The Satellite in Los Angeles, Ca

When: Monday, December 13 at 8:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

Age Restrictions: 21+

So I press play on this video, and I’m watching…and I’m watching and I’m thinking…this looks familiar…really familiar.  Oh ya! I was totally at this concert.  And now it makes sense why there were so many people videoing there (makes for interesting camera angles, huh?).  And then I remember the energy and as I watch I smile and reflect fondly on the experience.

Basically, what I’m trying to get at here is that not only does thatwasthen have a killer sound, they have an impressive attention to detail which, by including a ton of listener interaction (see: making a video based on fans’ cuts of their live performances) leads to a solid fan base and a paradoxical reputation of professionalism and approachability.  Just watching this video, you can get a sense of how freaking stoked the crowd is to be there, demonstrated by the various shrieks and ‘YEAAAHHSS’ throughout the clip.  Also, you can tell the band is straight up having a blast, which undoubtedly translates to the crowd.

Though the video sound quality makes it difficult to fully appreciate singer Brent Sinay’s smooth-like-butta vocals, there’s no missing the tasty riffs and throbbing bass-heavy heartbeat of the song.  The wailing guitar solo from the tank-topped and muscly Nick Papageorge will probably have more dudes than ladies drooling on their keyboards.

It’s a hell of a rockin’ time just watching these kids play from a computer screen. Just wait til’ you see them live.

Claire Gallagher: Who’s who? What are your names, what instruments do you play, etc?

Brenton Sinay: Acoustic/Lead Vocals

Benny Dacks: Bass

Nick Papageorge: Lead Guitar/Vocals

Nathan Longdon: Guitar/Keybord/Vocals

Chris Bridge: Drums