Facing The Valley (Part I: The Arena)
Last night Rock Insider and The Troubadour had one of the best line-ups of bands I have seen in a while; Facing New York, The Valley Arena, Cavil at Rest and The Outline. It was so good in fact that I decided that this entry would be split into two parts.
Kicking of the night was a neat band from Orange County called Cavil At Rest. I have seen them a few times now, at least once was at another Rock Insider show. For such a young band they are extremely tight live. They have an almost 70s rock vibe, you know back when a band could rock out for a minute or two with out being a lame jam band. There is something about these guys where they manage to pull of serious and fun at the same time.
Next was The Valley Arena.
The Valley Arena - Kick AT The Ceiling
I have been a huge supporter of this band for a few years now. I have booked shows for them in Phoenix a number of times, as well as helping set up two short tours with them (one with DeSole and one with The Stiletto Formal). They were always a good band but recently their live show has evolved so much they are becoming a force to be reckoned with. When I first started seeing them it was their raw energy that attracted me to them, to many bands feel forced or contrived on stage, these guys feel alive on stage. While this raw energy was what made those first shows, it also was their weakness, they were rough and not always to solid, not that they ever cared, it was almost the point.
By last night they have grown as a band to the point that they still have all that same energy and they nail every song. Their songs rock and are dancy. Not dancy with a drum machine beat and a single catchy hook, their songs just have rhythm without that predictable beat. You can tell they learned how to dance in the pit at a Fugazi show and not in some hipster club. On stage they are alive and real, no act, no gimmick, no forced image, just them and the music.
It was hard to believe that when they left the stage the show was less than half way over.
Kicking of the night was a neat band from Orange County called Cavil At Rest. I have seen them a few times now, at least once was at another Rock Insider show. For such a young band they are extremely tight live. They have an almost 70s rock vibe, you know back when a band could rock out for a minute or two with out being a lame jam band. There is something about these guys where they manage to pull of serious and fun at the same time.
Next was The Valley Arena.
The Valley Arena - Kick AT The Ceiling
I have been a huge supporter of this band for a few years now. I have booked shows for them in Phoenix a number of times, as well as helping set up two short tours with them (one with DeSole and one with The Stiletto Formal). They were always a good band but recently their live show has evolved so much they are becoming a force to be reckoned with. When I first started seeing them it was their raw energy that attracted me to them, to many bands feel forced or contrived on stage, these guys feel alive on stage. While this raw energy was what made those first shows, it also was their weakness, they were rough and not always to solid, not that they ever cared, it was almost the point.
By last night they have grown as a band to the point that they still have all that same energy and they nail every song. Their songs rock and are dancy. Not dancy with a drum machine beat and a single catchy hook, their songs just have rhythm without that predictable beat. You can tell they learned how to dance in the pit at a Fugazi show and not in some hipster club. On stage they are alive and real, no act, no gimmick, no forced image, just them and the music.
It was hard to believe that when they left the stage the show was less than half way over.
Labels: Facing New York, LA, review, The Valley Arena
posted by Stephen Chilton at
5:23 PM
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