What would’ve happened if the legendary Go-Gos had kept partying on mushrooms in the Palm Springs desert back in 1984, as recounted in their documentary, while recording their big commercial follow-up? Apart from seeing a Lou Reed-looking alien or two, they likely would have ventured into a more psychedelic musical direction, and possibly come out sounding something like California-via-Seattle band, La Luz, who delivered a memorable show to a packed house at Richmond Music Hall on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Throughout their rocking set, the band of four women on keys, guitar, bass and drums, reminded at least one concertgoer of legendary ’90s rockers, the Breeders, with maybe a touch of early Stereolab. But it was clear tonight that La Luz has forged their own fluid blend of garage rock and surf noir, ethereal pop harmonies, psychedelic, prog rock, krautrock, and Ethio-jazz influences – all wrapped in a confident, engaging live show that, as advertised in our earlier interview with them, was as “fun and weird” as it wanted to be.
Most of the band arrived onstage shuffling behind a golden, smiling sun prop, before stepping up to microphones adorned with flowering vines and kicking into the cosmic slop of “Close Your Eyes,” from their latest and fifth album, “News of the Universe” on SubPop Records. Even though the group had two new players, it sounded locked in from the first note, led by lone founding member Shana Cleveland on guitar and vocals (she’s also a painter who I can remember emailing many years ago to buy her illustrated, musician-themed calendars, before I even knew she was a great musician). An overhead projector cast multi-colored hues, stars and space ephemera on a large screen behind them as the songs offered a free-floating mix of vocal harmonies, vintage ’60s keyboard grooves, muscular, often funky percussion by the powerful Audrey Johnson, punctuated with reverb-drenched, all-too-brief guitar solos from Cleveland, who was clearly enjoying herself. Big props to whomever was doing sound, everything was pretty dialed in tonight with excellent separation and detail, in a somewhat narrow, packed room with brick walls.
The California-baked rock wasn’t all sunshine and daffodils though, as anyone noting the darker, more sci-fi lyrics might discern (much of the new album was reportedly inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s metaphysical poetry). Also, Cleveland has survived some major life events of late, including a serious van crash early on, and more recently, becoming a mom and getting a mastectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis. Tonight she seemed happy to be kicking it onstage, smiling easily and often while using her long fingers to strangle out wiry guitar leads, or dropping back with knees and heels twisting (showcasing her killer sparkly silver socks), tossing in an occasional twirl or dip to the delight of the crowd. She was fun to watch in action all night long, which made the evening feel loose and relaxed.
Cleveland frequently joked with her bandmates and the audience. She explained that, for most of this tour, they had been throwing an inflatable green alien into the audience for crowd surfing purposes. But the night before in Durham someone had stolen it, she said sadly, adding that the band had become attached to the alien while on tour. The funny part? Whoever stole their blow-up buddy later sent them a ransom note with what Cleveland described as a “dark” photo of the deflated alien in the back of a stranger’s car trunk. She indicated the kidnapper was a disgruntled “Swiftie,” a reference to the fact that La Luz’s keyboardist Maryam Qudus formerly worked with megastar Taylor Swift as a producer (as well as Tune-Yards among others).
In Richmond, La Luz performed like a well-oiled machine, practiced enough to have fun and dance on top of their lines, with each band member bringing something unique to the show, as well as solid backing vocals from Qudus on keys and Lee Hunter, who held it down on bass. You would’ve thought the four had been playing together much longer as they burned through songs from the entire La Luz oeuvre, from the majestic surf rock gloom of “Oranges,” to the popular sci-fi stomper “Strange World” off their latest LP, with its swirling space-age harmonies anchored by a propulsive, rugged backbeat and buzzy bass thrum.
The ladies gave a sweet shout-out to local community radio WRIR 97.3, noting they had appeared earlier in the day on DJ Carl’s show “Cause and Effect,“ where they played some of their favorite songs that influenced them (it was an eclectic mix, check out the show online and you’ll learn more about their sound than I can describe); Cleveland also told the audience that the band’s manager lives in Richmond and he’s a pretty cool guy, so Richmond must have something going for it.
Before La Luz played, the audience was treated to a dreamy set of indie rock by Chicago musician Mia Joy Rocha, known by her stage name as Mia Joy, along with her band. Bathed in red light, their spectral songs sounded at times like they would’ve been comfortable in one of those closing episode bar scenes from David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return.” Standing onstage with her guitar, Joy impressed with her lovely, hushed vocals that seemed comfortable whether rocking out or conveying a delicate vulnerability. She also had a story to tell, except this one wasn’t very funny. Something about a random guy telling her after a show that she was so tiny and small compared to her large electric guitar, that she reminded him of his little dog at home. The implied moral of the story? Guys should think before they speak, especially if they’re stupid.
