Underage shows are always tricky. As a band you can either be incredibly lucky and walk on stage to illicit screams and the throwing of A-cups, or find your crowd fiercely dedicated to their booth seats unsure of how to proceed.
Unfortunately for openers Go Violets, and their timid mosh of six teens, 90% of the crowd were the second of the two options. They proceeded bravely however, launching into their first tune with no introduction and some hardy girl power.
“Runner” got a few bops here and there, but other than that the foursome had to make their own fun. They did this well however, chuckling as they changed instruments depending on what song they were performing.
They ended their set with a hilarious rendition of the Powerpuff Girls Theme Song, which got everyone smiling and cleared the air a little for the next act to come on.
Unfortunately, the vibe was particularly toxic between bands, a classic case of everyone trying to out-cool each other. It was almost as if as soon as there was no distraction everyone remembered they were at Alhambra Lounge, with hits drinks menu consisting of water or juice; all traces of an alcoholic beverage menu covered awkwardly with Bleeding Knees Club posters.
Once Step-Panther came on, the ice was broken.
With a strangled cry of guitar distortion, they launched into “No Fun” with a vengeance. The crowd was still mostly seated, but by the end of their set a few of the braver ones had trickled to the front.
And how could they not? Their stage presence was magnificent. Not even including the fact that Steve Bourke (singer and guitarist) kept going off on these incomprehensible tangents; while bassist Jose Mol-Ruiz calmly put his words into English like some sort of mellow Dictaphone.
They gave a quality performance, perhaps not technically, (guitar and vocals not… all there), but their attitude towards the gig was excellent.
They even chucked in a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Gold Lions”. Possibly a bit old for the target demographic of the afternoon, but really cool to those who could appreciate it.
Their new single “Maybe Later” made an appearance, getting a good reaction from the crowd, and for their first underage show they worked with the vibe and ended on a high for the afternoon.
Finally with much anticipation from the crowd (re: everyone jumping off their seats and running to the front) Bleeding Knees Club graced the stage with their garage/surf rock.
This is where the A-Cups begin to be thrown. “Teenage Girls” gets the teenage girls screaming for more, and more they do. With four new singles: “Can You Remember,” “Rachel,” “California Eyes” and “Telephone Dream Girls”, not to mention a few of the classics, Bleeding Knees Club gave the crowd what they wanted.
Rocking out as they always do, they took the show to the next level when half way through their last song “Bad Guys,” drummer Alex Wall calls out “Let’s get everyone up!”
With that, the entire mosh-pit was on stage, jumping around and dancing with the band as they finished their tune. It was an awesome sight to see, and it delivered the afternoon from a somewhat awkward beginning to something truly rad.
