The Analog Theater’s warm second floor felt nice on a frigid evening last Friday, December 15. Immediately after walking in, I realized that I was a minority in that I’d already received my high school diploma. The crowd was jam-packed with Woo Girls, and I don’t blame them. It was loud and lively. Both lovelytheband and The Wrecks are from southern California, and fairly new to the rock music scene.

lovelytheband

Lovelytheband kicked the night off right and their fans cheered loudly after nearly every song. Among my favorites was their song “Coachella.” Lead singer, Mitchy Collins, introduced the song saying, “This song’s about falling in love in the desert.” The jam started with a lone guitar and then the drums jump in to pump it up. Collins repeated the phrase, “We were young, we were beautiful.” The lyrics along with Jordan Greenwald’s calm fingerpicking painted a gorgeous picture of young love in a bright, sunny world. “In your head, it’s Coachella every weekend.”

The Wrecks

The Wrecks took stage as the headliner of the show, and folks, this band was fun. Lead singer, Nick Anderson, was a true entertainer, and his raw energy really made this show. The band started off with a new song called, “Bad Man.” Both Westen Weiss and Nick Schmidt’s guitars rang loudly and charged the audience, and the Woo Girls rightfully chimed in, “Woooo!”

Anderson made the same observation I had, and he asked the crowd, “Who’s first show is this?” “Woooo!” So he encouraged them, “Well, welcome to a rock show!” The band jumped into their song “I Don’t Like You” on the album, “We Are The Wrecks.” Anderson, Weiss and Schmidt’s guitars all hit hard when the chorus played. Some boys in the middle of the of the audience decided to start a mosh pit, much to the chagrin of those around them. Oh, to be young. I think my favorite part about this song was the seemingly calm and collected verses that contrasted with the loud and grungy chorus.

The Wrecks played one of my favorite covers in a while. Playing to their skillset and appeasing the older crowd, they rocked an awesome version of Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” Schmidt killed the lead guitar, and the song finished with Billy Nally’s shirtless drum solo. The drums are a difficult art to master, but they’re always done better shirtless. That’s a fact.

Anderson began losing his impressive voice near the end of the show. For their song, “Turn It Up,” he jumped down into the crowd where everyone began reaching towards him. One of those hands even knocked off his wireless microphone box, which had to be passed up to the stage after the song. And a surprising amount folks lost shoes up front. Anyways, the banger was the perfect pump-up song, and I will soon be adding it to my workout playlist. 12-ounce curls, here I come.

Finally, as expected, The Wrecks rocked out to their hit song “Favorite Liar” to end the show. Anderson nearly lost his voice by this point, but that didn’t matter as the crowd was a fine sub. The song’s story-like nature and rocking electric guitar is fun and youthful. If you haven’t listened to this song, go do it. You can thank me later.

Los Angeles has two solid, up-and-coming bands in The Wrecks and lovelytheband. If these guys aren’t on your radar moving forward, you’re making a mistake. Keep an eye out when these bands come visit again, and listen for them on prp.fm!

 

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