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Artists:
  SUNDAY'S BEST w/ Velvet Teen and Exit  
 
Date:
  Monday.17.June.2002  
 
Venue:
  Spaceland  
 
Location:
  Los Angeles, CA  
 
Reviewed by:
  Gooner  
         
 
Performance Rating:
   
 
Sound Quality:
   
 
Overall Rating:
   
         
 
Review:
 

Monday is free night at Spaceland, and this used to be the night when the least amount of people would show up. I'd wager that now it is the most popular night at Spaceland.

Although it was quite crowded, the show was still enjoyable and the crowd was not too intrusive, as Spaceland is a large open space with several seperate rooms. The stage is a nice size and is wrapped in sound proofing to propel the sound into the audience.

The Exit was well into their set to a half-full club when I arrived. And after catching the last three songs or so of their set, I'm kinda wishing that I'd have left home earlier. Their music was a dirty, aggressive emo that kinda had an 80's feel to it. I couldn't help but think about Rick Springfield when they were on stage. And trust me when I say it was in a good way. I know, how can the former Dr. Noah Drake inspire emo and indie rock to higher levels, but I tell you that this was it. I base the comparison based on the band's image and the chord structure used in many of their songs. I will definitely make the effort to see this band on their next trip through.

Velvet Teen appeared after a short break and began to rock out. These guys, once again, mix a bit of rock and emo for another formula to the genre that will not go away. There was nothing that made the Velvet Teen stand out sandwiched between a surprisingly good opening act and a well known So-Cal headliner. What, to me, made Velvet Teen's performance seem average is the basic punk rock principles employed during songwriting. There was nothing, musically, to get excited about. The performance itself was average to good, but how far does that get you really?

Next was Sunday's Best who I've seen many times. I've never truly been able to get into their music until recently, and I really like the new batch of songs on The Californian. These new songs have slightly happier themes and combine with lyrics that do not hit quite so close to home, and these two elements combined to make me really like this group. For this performance, they played all new songs accept one older song off Poised to Break. Sunday's Best sounded fine and had no real problems throughout their set.

However, sometimes adversity causes an increase in emotion, and this is exactly what I found lacking in the night's events. Maybe the band is too happy and content now. Isn't emo supposed to be about wearing your heart on your sleeve? Despite the lack of emotion during this performance, I would recommend a Sunday's Best show to anyone looking for fun.

The night on a whole was decent. Good sound and a hefty crowd supporting local artists is a good start, and the music was nearly spot on across the board as well. Spaceland is a great free venue every Monday night and there's normally some good quality acts, such as we had this night. Nothing spectacular and ear-bending, but worth stepping out for a couple hours.

 
         
 
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