Shoot Out The Lights
Do The Blackout
“Joy Division was my first love,” says Adrienne Pearson, front woman for LA rock group Shoot Out the Lights. That's as much of an admission of guilt as a battle cry; that moody Manchester sound is smeared across most every line of Shoot Out the Lights' debut EP, a self-produced recording they put together soon after forming last year. But confessions of larceny aside, this is a band that refuses to be ignored. Pearson, a graduate of CalArts' theater program, puts her degree to use every time she and her black-clad cohorts take the stage, earning Shoot Out the Lights a reputation for dangerous bombast that teeters on recklessness. But then fans of Pearson's former band Radio Vago know to expect this. That all-girl group (who, says Pearson, “separated themselves from me”) was (and is) similarly known for their onstage exploits. So how is fronting an otherwise all-guy group any different, aside from less pee stops on the ride between gigs? “Well, there were times when I'd book a show, and the club's promoters would call back wanting to talk to one of the guys,” she says. “So now I have to work harder. And they have to respect me.” (Mark Sanders)
SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS WITH THEY WALKED IN LINE AND LILA AT THE DETROIT BAR, 843 W. 19TH ST., COSTA MESA, (949) 642-0600. THURS., FEB. 10, 9 P.M. $5. 21+.
Warbler
Happiness Is Here
Part spiritual revival, part self-help seminar and always a barrier-destroying dance party, Oakland two-piece Warbler specializes in getting you off the Internet and into a band of your own. The personal success story begins in late 2003, when Steve Touchton and Kristy Geschwadtner couldn't get into a 21-and-over show their friends were playing. “We decided to be productive instead and went home and pulled out the drum machine,” they explain. A week later, they had recorded 14 tracks, something between the busted-tweeter grime that's sweeping the U.K. and top-of-your-lungs rock N roll. The message isn't overtly straight-edge, but it is definitely anti-getting stoned and spending the night at home alone watching The Swan reruns. Sample lyrics: “Happiness is here! This is how I want to live!” Or: “Get up and do it! All you need is to live your dreams!” “Music is one of many bridges that connects people in a magical way,” says Touchton. “It can affect us on an emotional level, it can teach us things, it can bring people together. . . . My grandfather recently told me. 'Life is where you have to get your kicks while doing the least amount of damage'—I don't think that's such a bad thing to strive for.” (Tim Byron)
Warbler with Ex Models, 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, FM Bats and Bulimia at Koo's, 530 E. Broadway, Long Beach, (562) 491-7584; www.koos.org. Thurs., Feb. 10, 7 P.M. $6. ALL AGES.
