Summer Darling CA Mini Tour Diary Day 4: Vanaprasta, By Sunlight, & Shiloe.

We were very honored last night to be able to play with 3 bands who we respect as musicians and as people (with the possible exception of a certain female Rush-loving shit talking bassist) and end our 4 days of rock and roll with a joyous celebration.

Vanaprasta was the first band on the bill and one of the things I immediately respected about them was the amount of hard promotional work they must have done to get a great crowd out early. There seems to be an unwritten understanding of excusable malaise if you are either the midnight or nine o'clock slot in LA. This is not always the case, as bands like Vanaprasta and Shiloe reminded everyone last night, but this unspoken attitude says that if you're not the headliner, you don't have to promote as hard. I'm sure we've been guilty of that in the past, so last night's kick in the pants will not be soon forgotten.

Besides owning the show crowd-wise, let's take a minute to recognize how good a band Vanaprasta is. Vanaprasta is stoney without being boring, enigmatic without being preachy, and rock and roll without the pretension. I see them raising the bar of the local scene this year.

By Sunlight is from Seattle and what I like about them is they seem to be doing something similar to what we're doing: borrowing from 90s indie rock and reinterpreting it for today. I love their meter changes and the way their set is one continuous jam. I've always been impressed by their work ethic and professionalism. Somebody sign this band, for Chrissake.

Long time readers of this blog need no introduction to one of my favorite bands, Shiloe. They are the loudest fucking band in Silver Lake, which makes me very very jealous. Last night was no exception as they tore through their set in blazing fashion. Melissa, you need to buy a 2 x 15 cab. It rumbled my soul in a good way. Dan is a freight train of a drummer and Ken's guitar playing seems to expand and contract at the same time creating an effect that is at once ethereal and precise. I imagine them as the perfect link between shoegaze and no wave.

Did you miss us? Here's a video of questionable quality:

Our thanks to the bands we played with over the last few days and the venues that welcomed us. Most importantly we sincerely appreciate all of you who came out to see us play. A special shout out goes to our Long Beach friends who surprised us by coming out last night. Thank you all very much. Love, SD