Unfortunately, the crowd was somewhat thin for last Wednesday’s lineup presented by Ears of the Beholder and Kata Rokkar. Wednesday is perhaps a hard thing to ask of a San Francisco audience. Regardless, the evenings well thought out lineup saw three bands deliver fantastic performances.
It was quiet and cool at the Rickshaw when Sunbeam Rd took to the stage. Initially I was a little put off by what seemed to be a mixing error that was quickly fixed, but was soon sold on this band when one of their two lead singers (who switched depending on the song throughout the set) began horribly abusing his guitar, to great effect, as the their first song ended in a great crescendo. A wash of delicious noise, this swirling looped ball of chaos firmly took hold of my attention and set the tone of Sunbeam Rd’s performance. A brooding but high-energy cavernous indie-rock is the best description their sound, something along the lines of an encumbered Jesus and Mary Chain or a more ominous Yo La Tengo. However you may classify their sound, Sunbeam Rd was a delight to see and I hope to catch them again sometime soon.
The Actors followed with a dramatic change in temperament. With a capacious synth-pop sound reminiscent of a fusion between Band of Horses and MGMT, The Actors filled the spaces between people with their reverb-laden songs. Comprised of three exceptionally talented musicians (two of whom continually switch between instruments throughout the set) The Actors steadily built a captivating groove so that by the time they got to the most powerful song of the set, “First Date,” the whole room had broken out in dance.
By the time the Phantom Kicks took to the stage the crowd had finally fleshed out a bit, though to what I would expect for such an interesting line-up. Featuring a brand new member, the Phantom Kicks kept the energy high delivering their loop heavy synth-pop with a new-found depth. The new member on the synth allowed the other two to focus on building the signature guitar lines that define the Phantom Kicks. Received with much enthusiasm by the crowd (to the point where someone took it upon themselves to spin off the edge of the stage), this was by far the best set I’ve seen by the Phantom Kicks.
In spite of the fairly thin crowd, last Wednesday’s Rickshaw show was an incredible success with Sunbeam Rd, The Actors, and the Phantom Kicks each delivering extraordinary performances. Do your best to catch anyone of these fantastic bands the next time they play.
–Words and Photos Ada Lann