Date: Friday, March 9th, 2012
Line up:Pacific Dub, Micah Brown, Bodhi Rock, Sono Vero, Sinizen, West Swell
Location: The Roxy Theatre. Hollywood, CA
All I had to do was fill up the tank and mish out to the show. Starting the night off with tunes in the car from Pacific Dub, Mike Pinto Band, and Iration, the drive from Long Beach to The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood was fairly quick. The lineup for Friday night’s show at The Roxy began with West Swell, Sinizen, Sono Vero, Bodhi Rock, Micah Brown, and headliners Pacific Dub. It had also been a few months since my last show at The Roxy, so I was excited to head to a venue that always captures that intimate reggae setting.
Of course driving down Sunset on a Friday night in Hollywood is always a mission. With clubs, bars, and other venues lighting up the strip, the lights, cars, and people walking down the streets filled the scene. With SOJA down the street, other reggae-rockers were cruising along the Boulevard, getting pumped for a reggae invasion.
Once I arrived at the historic Roxy venue, fans were already celebrating the evening. Opening in 1973, The Roxy has hosted amazing artists such as Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Ramones, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, and Social Distortion. All of who released live albums from The Roxy. The Red Hot Chili Peppers even played their first live show with drummer Chad Smith at the club in 1989. So with that in mind, walking into The Roxy, you can just feel the essence and energy the legends have left in the building.
The retro architectural style provided a simple setting for the Reggae Rox event. The all-ager rager set the night with the youngsters up in the front rows, where the 21+ fans were posted in VIP and by the bar. But with a line up filled with variations of the reggae sound, everyone was bound to have a great night.
West Swell from Redondo Beach, CA & Sinizen of Huntington Beach, CA lit the fuse to an ignited line up of up & coming music makers. West Swell had been promoting their latest Feb 1st EP while Sinizen is gearing up for a SPring Into Summer Stranger Tour starting this May!
Sono Vero, a very young seven-piece band from the Los Angeles city, Palos Verdes, while quite youthful, kept the crowd dancing and swaying throughout their set. Lead vocals Charlie Ueda kept the fans pumped, while Eric Hirschhorn showed his talents on the sax. Sono Vero played songs from their self-titled EP, closing out with “Babylon
Walls.” Not before they did a sick cover “Waiting in Vain” by Bob Marley
The retro architectural style provided a simple setting for the Reggae Rox event. The all-ager rager set the night with the youngsters up in the front rows, where the 21+ fans were posted in VIP and by the bar.
I was stoked for the next band to follow. Band members Max O’Leary and Josh Mollé, are the trumpet and trombone players for Mike Pinto Band, so catching them with Bodhi Rock was something I was looking forward to. Bodhi Rock hit the stage at 10:27, and with an eight-person band, instantly brought great energy. With all the talent on stage, it was cool to see them share in solos and show the reggae skills they had with the crowd. Playing songs from their self-titled EP, Bodhi Rock played irie tunes such as “Babylon” and “Is It The Way.”
Micah Brown followed Bodhi Rock and like I mentioned, it was going to be the first time I had the opportunity to see him live. His band joined him on stage, which was rad because with his acoustic guitar, The Roxy was filled with this cool blues feel. And for being one of the first shows with his band, they were pretty impressive including the violin player on stage. Micah’s set included songs from his first album, Down Like Hail, and “Finally Free”.
With a Bob Marley cover of “Is This Love,” the fans were won over by his amazing acoustic skills. He also treated the reggae-rockers to some new songs that have yet to be released including, “Spend Your Sunlight” and “Isle of Her.”
As headliners of the night P
acific Dub, made their way on stage around 11:15. Hailing from sunny Huntington Beach, CA, Pacific Dub began the night with “Sundown.” The young fans in the front were excited to see the guys on stage as they packed themselves in and swayed along with the music.
Hits “California Girl”, “The One”, “To The Sky”, “Wasted”, and “Best of All Time” were all featured in the set list. New songs “Tight Rope” and “Close To You” had that California reggae-rock sound that Pacific Dubs does so well. Colton shared that fans can get ready for a new album to hit this summer!
An awesome addition to the night’s set list was bringing drummer David Delaney to the front of the stage and having him sing and play the acoustic guitar. It’s not often you see a drummer come to the head of the stage to play an acoustic set, totally showcasing the talents of Pacific Dub. “Foolin Around” and “Young Girl” were so sick acoustic as Sono Vero’s Anthony Kochis helped out with percussion.
The variations and styles amongst the six bands all came together to leave us with the capabilities and talent that are in the reggae-rock genre. From brass sections, to vocal abilities, electric and acoustic guitar skills, our favorite bands time after time just continue to leave us wanting more.
Article By: Alyssa Torres
Photo By: Amanda Graziano
MORE PHOTO’s FROM THE NIGHT….
