The Spinto Band - Echoplex

Dashed off to the Echoplex Monday night (November 3, 2008) and it was good to offset pre-election jitters. I was tired and not the best audience but appreciated the band's best efforts to distract me.

I've seen The Spinto Band a couple of times before, first, when they opened for We Are Scientists and Art Brut at the Fonda on Sept. 30, 2006, and when they played the Troubadour, March 4, 2007, with Dios Malos. Both times I really enjoyed their high spirited sets of off-the-wall, quirk-rock. Kind of a Devo-inspired, electro-punk, lots of fun, just not terribly nourishing.

They played a lot of material off the new CD, Moonwink, and old favorites from Nice and Nicely Done like "Oh Mandy". Their playing is really tight and the vocals nicely controlled. They get quite an impressive sound live with three guitar players.

Nice to run into Josiah Mazzaschi of Light FM in the crowd, as there weren't a lot of familiar faces around. I wanted to stay for Frightened Rabbit because I don't really remember how they were when I saw them open for Pinback at the Wiltern last October 28, 2007. But it was a good chance to get home, go to sleep, get up and go to vote. So that's what I did.

Now I'm starting a run of eight shows over the next ten days and I can't wait. It starts with The Happy Hollows Record Release Party tonight (Nov. 6) at the Echo, which they're also calling an Obama Victory Celebration. Tomorrow it's The Broken West at Spaceland and Saturday, Dead Meadow at the Troubadour. Gotta run.

whrabbit