L.A Gets Its BINGE On

By Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal

My rating points:

January 20th 2011, The Echo, Los Angeles CA: Having just written a detailed review of their debut album, the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me to see The Binges live at the Echo, somewhere on Los Angeles' Sunset Boulevard. I was really looking forward to experience those rocking tunes in a live setting for the first time, along with some killer new tunes that I was promised in advance.

They started the show with "Upside Down", one of the best songs from their self-titled debut. The band's on-stage energy was great from the outset, and this being my first ever show at this venue, I straightaway felt that the sound here was way better than some of the similarly sized places I visit more often. Mayuko wooed the crowd with her guitar solo as she led the band into the next song, the "Motorcycle Song". Vocalist Dylan definitely hit his peak during this song and didn't let his intensity drop for the rest of the show. This song was just as good as I had imagined it to be. It should never leave the Binges' live set.

"Bad Enough" followed, and by now everyone in the crowd was rocking out. After this, they played a new song titled "Leaving", and I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. The song sounded heavier than any of the songs on the debut, and had a Black Sabbath-like, heavy blues rock feel to it. If this song is anything to go by, the next album will surely be worth the wait. Next, Tsuzumi took center stage as the band started off "Wake Up The Devil". Only after experiencing it live could I appreciate the true impact this song is capable of having on the listener. I was really loving the bass sound, something which never sounds as good on the record. Mayuko nailed the solos excellently well, but in addition also improvised on them with some new fills, thus enhancing them even further.

It was time for another new song "Hold On", which turned out to be as enjoyable as any other song tonight. I'm glad to see that they haven't stagnated as musicians and have something more exciting to offer with the new material. They continued with the new stuff with three more songs "Bunny Cut His Ears Off", "Best Of Me" and "Burning". I simply can't wait for them to put this on a record, and I'm sure every rock fan is going to love it.

They ended the show with two rollicking tunes from the first album, "Hear Me Out" and "Rock Show". I find the chorus in Hear Me Out the most enjoyable of all Binges choruses and it wasn't long before I found myself singing along. Finally, Rock Show was just the apt ending this show deserved.

The crowd also deserves applause for being very appreciative of the talent that was on display. It wasn't a bunch of disinterested foo-foo drunks who were standing there with arms folded only to judge and pass ill-informed comments. It was a crowd that truly understood and enjoyed rock music, and the bands on stage had their full attention at all times.

The band's performance was fantastic, and drew loud cheers from the crowd as they said goodbye and started packing up their gear. The Echo came across as the perfect venue with the perfect crowd for The Binges and even though I would like to see them play here regularly, in addition I would like to see them play more and more different venues, to gain new fans with their enthralling show and to take the right steps towards ensuring that not only the whole of Los Angeles, but the whole of the rock world gets its binge on! \m/

Here's their complete set list:

1. Upside Down
2. Motorcycle Song
3. Bad Enough
4. Leaving
5. Wake Up The Devil
6. Hold On
7. Bunny Cut His Ears Off
8. Best Of Me
9. Burning
10.Hear Me Out
11.Rock Show

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