There was an unexpected grandness to this night that left me with a smile all night long. From the moment I walked into the Echo I realized Los Abandoned really knows how to serve it up when it comes to this “Formal” business. The quintessential photo booth with the LA back drop was there, balloons everywhere, glitter, snow flakes from the ceiling, snow flakes on the stage, streamers, the big cut out “Los Abandoned Winter Formal” glitter letters on the wall and the big blow up snow man on the back patio with more lights hanging about. Not a detail missed. If there were I wouldn’t have recognized. They even had INDIE there with a table of stuff. (I picked up a few of those poker chip key chains for some friends of mine.)
Not long after I had the place checked out, MC’s Claire and Humberto of Kill Radio took the stage to welcome openers Gitch. This all girl punk line-up had great energy and some catchy numbers if only a little young. With the tunes they have and little “Woodsheding” I think they’ll be one worth looking at in the near future. The crowd was very supportive and Humberto even urged Claire to bring them back on for one more. The vibe in the room was fantastic and they plugged back in for one more.
In between sets the photo booth picked back up and the stage reset for Los Abandoned to take the house. Having a little conversation with the folks around me gave me a better idea of what was coming up. I’d never seen LA before this night and all the talk was good. One person had seen them 10 times, another 8 and the room was filling up with more. Many couples in their best formal gear, some without, which eased me a little as I was in jeans and a t-shirt, but all having a great time. When LA took the stage everything I’d heard to this point turned out to be right on the money. High energy! Lady P didn’t stop until she put the guitar on later in the set, and even then it was still full go. Don Verde has got to be one of the most entertaining guitar players I seen in a long while, and nothing too cheeky, he was rockin’ it. Vira Lata on bass & Dulce on drums held it all together just right. The set included a variety within their tunes from mostly up tempo/high energy to a couple of ballads that featured Lady P on the ukulele.
After the set much of the crowd dispersed and I went to snap a few more shots of the photo booth and to pack up and hit the road. Only after researching for this write-up did I realize that I missed a bit more of the show. Those folks that left must have went for a smoke, because after checking out their myspace page I saw that one of their friends posted a comment with pics of the King and Queen of the formal and what looks like another set with the band in different dress. Oh well, the night was amazing and it just goes to show that this band has a trick or three, maybe four after seeing what they put together at the Echo on this night.
Peace.
