Concert Review

Midnight Movies at Safari Sams

Words by Jeremiah Garcia

Photos by

Last night, I finally came to my senses and ventured out to the closest music venue to my house, Safari Sam’s, for the first time. And on a Tuesday night no less. A mere five minute drive away, much closer to me than all the other Hollywood venues, Midnight Movies were a convenient excuse to change out of my pajamas, round up my photo gear and brave the frigid 60 degree frost of LA nightfall.

I walked in midway through their first song and was pleasantly surprised to come upon a considerable Tuesday night crowd. It wasn’t overly crowded, but definitely jammed with enough energy to keep me out on a school night. Midnight Movies, a band that seems to have taken on their name based on what their sound evokes, droned out an eerie yet enchanting set to a room of pleased oglers. Perhaps there was a little bit of a zombie sway undulating, but they were happy zombies, as measured by the downtime calls of “you’re kind of good” and “no, play five more songs!”

Listening to their set, I felt that nostalgic feeling of being 9 years old, staying up too late and stumbling across a horror movie that would come to haunt me for years down the road. Front-gal Gena Olivier looks the part of a Hollywood starlet, but this one is no B-grade slasher victim. She decisively swaps from vocals/keys to vocals/drums, every once in a while giving drummer-gal Sandra Vu a chance to show her skills with the flute and/or keys. Guitar-guy Larry Schemel had some stand-out solos that left me a bit hypnotized for a few seconds, giving my heart rate a chance to lower back down to its normal Guinness-fuddled pace. Ryan Wood manned the another set of keys while outfitted with the bass, dutifully gluing the whole bit together.

Much like Gena and Sandra throughout their set, the smiling-zombie crowd swapped out in place of the late night dance party squad as DJs Franki Chan and DJ Paparazzi took over to round out the night. I skipped out just in the nick of time as I started to feel the first inkling of perspiration and trekked five minutes back home.

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