By Kathryn Pinto
About halfway into the second song of opening band Escalator Hill’s set, a feeling of alchemical perfection set in on the room at Labrie’s. A nice-sized crowd of friends, fans and supporters was filtering in, the sound mix was spot on and the everywhere you looked people were smiling. I had that ever-elusive feeling that we were getting something right. The Lonely Wild, who stole my musical heart forever when we first saw them play on that very stage back in December, owned the room. These kids are incredible songwriters with a live show that reaches down somewhere deep into your soul and doesn’t let go. Jessi Williams earned a special “grace under pressure” mention for stepping into the vocals part and making it her own. Wires in the Walls closed out the evening with high-spirited roots rock and a performance that just keeps on getting better every time I see them play. Kevin Bronson of buzzbands DJ’ed the best of the new material from L.A. bands between sets, and at the end of the night playing, “some really pretty songs that I want to hear on this big sound system.”
In the year plus that I have been editing it, friends and readers of the site ask for two things: the return of Joe Fielder and a revival of Let’s Independent shows. All I can tell you is that the RFSL writers and I will bring you live shows and five days a week of music coverage “for people who actually like music,” and that when Joe returns from his sojourn in Boston, there’s an albatross with his name on it.
Thank you all for coming out to the RFSL residency shows and showing your love to these bands. The RFSL staff is taking a short break from live shows in May so that Brad and I can tend to our respective laundry backlogs and Jed can return to the dark side. We’ll be back in June with a four-band dream bill showcase that we’re booking right now. A huge thank you to all of the residency bands: the Californian (support them on kickstarter), Marvelous Toy, the Monolators, the Western States Motel, George Glass, the Lonely Wild and all of the supporting bands. Thanks to sound guys Kyle, James, Jet and the guy who filled in at the last minute; to bartenders Jimmy and Brian; to the RFSL staff who came out every week and to everyone who emailed, tweeted or got the word out there the old fashioned way. Thank you.
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