In this post-post-punk era, in this rock-is-dead world, who really cares about rock music anymore? Apparently, some bands still believe in rock ‘n’ roll and there is absolutely no problem about this! I had a good example of this on Tuesday night, when the quartet Prima Donna gave an in-store at Amoeba music for the release of their new album ‘Nine Lives and Forty-Fives’ out the same day on Alive Naturalsound. The Los Angeles band has been around for a little while, they formed in 2003, but did not release an album until 2008, and you could tell they were no beginners despite their young age. As matter of fact, their frontman Kevin Preston is also playing guitar inFoxboro Hot Tubs, Green Day’s side project, some of their songs have been in heavy rotation on KROQ-FM here in LA, they have been featured on Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage, and they have toured with Eddie and the Hot Rods, Adam Ant, D-Generation and, of course, Green Day. With such a pedigree I guess they should be alright.
At Amoeba, they gave the audience a taste of their hooky brand of loud rock, with the right amount of attitude and stage antics, while making the crowd very happy… Okay I started with this rock and roll is dead idea, but it’s actually the title of one of their tracks on their new album, a cover of The Rubinoos, a California power pop band of the 70s, and beside this, ‘Nine Lives and Forty-Fives’ is an 11-song variety pack of 8 original songs and 3 covers, including Blondie’s ‘Rip Her to Shreds’… Live, their songs were varied and quite catchy, displaying an obvious love for old-school rock, just punked out to the right level, as Preston’s spectacular moon landing in the drumset at the end of the show proved it…and it wasn’t even dark outside and the band hadn’t even drunk anything, meaning I let you imagine what can happen in a dark club during the midnight hours – by the way, they did announce a show at the Viper Room this Thursday!
The attitude was sure bold, confident, tough, rising to the expectation of their moniker, with the aesthetic of a garage band really wanting to turn professional and even glam – just check out these matching black outfits – with cool foot-stomping tempos, a bluesy Stones-inspired background in mind for several songs, some poppier harmonies mixed with wild riffs elsewhere, and overall a strong faith in rock ‘n’ roll. They even had a sax on some very upbeat, dynamic and genre-bending tunes and as true showmen, were repeatedly asking the crowd to get closer… as if people could push Amoeba’s rows.
Prima Donna may have not re-invented rock ‘n’ roll – who can pretend to have done so? – but the music was tight and all the songs were sung right in-your-face, with a driving energy and some tempting sing-alongs or at least clap-alongs till you learn the lyrics.
More pictures of the show here.
