By Andrew Bansal
December 13th 2013, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based rock bands Cinderella Motel and The Vigils have released a split 7-inch record called ‘Bar-Rio Uprising Volume #3’, sponsored by Sino Tequila. To celebrate the release, the two groups played a show together as part of an all-local lineup on a typically busy and noisy Friday night at Hollywood’s Loaded Rock Bar. Plus, with Loaded Bar literally down the street from my apartment and the show having a cover charge of a mere $5, I had almost nothing to lose, and I went in with an adventurous mindset, not knowing what to expect.
I walked into Loaded amidst an aftermath of a clown wedding. Yes, a clown wedding, where the couple apparently dressed as clowns and performed their wedding ceremony. This was just another example of the disparity between the the live music room and the actual bar at Loaded in terms of the crowd, the atmosphere and in every other sense, and it’s one of the main aspects associated with this venue that greets attendees as soon as they walk in. The two rooms are so clearly separated, the music played in either room doesn’t reach the other, and the cover charge applies only to enter the live music room while the bar area has no cover. So, the bands mostly get to play to people who’re already there for the show and don’t get to pull in any of the bar crowd because those people can’t even hear the live music, which isn’t ideal by any means, but now that I think about it, in all fairness it’s smart business from the venue’s point of view to simultaneously cater to two different types of crowd.
Anyway, The Vigils turned out to be the first band I got to see. They hit the stage at around 10:15 PM and managed to impress a majority of the small gathering with their brand of rock n’ roll which was strongly reminiscent of The Doors, specially in the vocal delivery. The guitar sound was pure and simple and the saxophone formed a rich harmony with it, and all instruments combined really well with the vocals which was the standout feature of this band’s music. The Vigils had a distinguishable old-school rock n’ roll swagger to their sound and visual presentation, and in comparison to the music they have available for streaming on various online platforms, they certainly sounded heavier in the live setting and I would think they’re a band worth checking out for anyone who claims to be a fan of good rock n’ roll.
Visit The Vigils on the web:
TheVigils.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/TheVigilsRockAndRoll
twitter.com/VigilsRockNRoll
Cinderella Motel were next to take this stage, and their performance alone vindicated my decision to attend this gig, as they put on quite a powerful show. They were a stark contrast to The Vigils in every way possible. When the guitarist/vocalist line-checked her guitar before the band started their set, a crisp sound emanated from her instrument and caught my ears straightaway, and even those mere two seconds were enough to raise my expectations and hopes surrounding this band’s set. Sure enough, the band’s tunes were delightfully loud and filled to the brim with a biting, seductive sense of edginess. To someone reading this and not knowing anything about this band, it’s hard for me to pinpoint what they sound like, because their music is quite a unique and weird combination of a variety of styles ranging from early punk to garage rock to 80s hard rock, but the most striking feature of Cinderella Motel’s performance was certainly the attitude they brought forth to this stage, specially through frontwoman Tomahawk whose enormously strong voice filled the room. She played guitar for the first half of the set and once she put it down, she let her personality free to an even greater extent and put absolutely everything into the vocals. Unlike some other singers whom I’ve had the misfortune of seeing very recently, her level of alcohol consumption before and during the set seemed to be just about perfect and wasn’t overdone to the extent that it would ruin the show. Overall, I would say Cinderella Motel is more than meets the eye, and even though the music is not easily ‘accessible’ by any means, it’s extremely interesting for explorative hard rock fans, specially in the live setting.
Visit Cinderella Motel on the web:
CinderellaMotel.net
CinderellaMotel.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/CinderellaMotel
facebook.com/CinderellaMotel
twitter.com/CinderellaMotel
Post-headline act Burn Devils, Burn were the last to hit the stage, and compared to Cinderella Motel, their music came across as a lot more downcast, melodic, and almost shoegazy in its presentation, which again was a contrast to what the two bands before them played. It was a simpler, ‘easier’ style of rock with grunge tendencies, and all four members created a really solid sound with the combination of their respective instruments. For people who’re into this sort of music, it definitely wasn’t a bad way to end the night, and if anything, it was a more soothing 30 minutes of music after the ear-crushing onslaught of Cinderella Motel.
Visit Burn Devils, Burn on the web:
facebook.com/pages/Burn-Devils-Burn/282724681775567
If Loaded Bar keeps offering such intriguing local lineups, it certainly looks like I’ll be hanging out here more often. This wasn’t a strictly ‘metal’ show by any means but the music played by these three bands was heavy enough to be featured on this site, and this turned out to be a show I did not regret attending.