Full Value Review - Madlins 12-29-04 Concert Review

MADLINS MID-CHRISTMAS WEEK SHOW 12/29/04

This period between the holidays of Christmas and the New Year is, for the ‘natural world,’ a time to pat the stomach from all the Christmas din-dins and leftovers, and get ready for the First party of the year. For this ‘mystical in-between time’ Madlins presented a satisfying blend of local and touring talent to close out the year. Guest in attendance was my son, Jaryn, on this off and on rainy night in Southern California as the bands stored their instruments indoors.

SET 1 – MATT CAPPIELO

One of the most talent packed local groups, a band named DARK HAVEN, has spawned two solo spin-off acts. Matt C. left the group almost four months ago after a rousing DH show that left everyone at Madlins sweaty. Then he was off to attend college up at UCSB (University of California – Santa Barbara) but announced “I will still keep my music up”. True to his word, Matt gave a spirited solo acoustic set at Madlins on 12/12/4 (review still to be posted) and followed up that performance with a more polished set this time out. More accustomed to soloing now, Matt unleashed a variety of adult coffeehouse ballads like ‘Real World’, ‘I Don’t Need A Million Dollars To Make Me Fell Proud’, ‘People Can Be Bought And Sold’ and ‘Voluptuous’, that brought to mind a Bob Dylan style of lyrical poetry, only done with a better singing voice. Playing his six string Ovation guitar to the additional music accompaniment prerecorded and produced by himself on CD, the songs seemed more a release for pent-up emotion than idle thoughts collected for tuneage, and again indicated the amount of artistry spinning in the DARK HAVEN orbit.

SET 2 – THE STILETTO FORMAL

When JENNIFER SPECTOR came through Madlins months ago, she said that there was a music scene in and around Phoenix (Arizona). Full Value Entertainment has been able to tap into that music market and expose us locals to the bands from our neighbors to the east. The latest to tour through Madlins features a unique musical set-up and is named THE STILETTO FORMAL. Though only eight months old, TSF is comprised of seasoned musicians, Nole Kennedy (drums), Kyle Howard (vocals, percussion), Paul Neely (bass), Jimi Lamp (guitar), Shelly Barnes (keyboards, percussion, back-up vocals), and Sunny Davis (electric cello). Yes Sports Fans, I said ‘cello’ as in chamber music. Trained in Classical music, it took a lot of practice to go from the structured sheeted music style to the unscripted rhythm layer of the ‘indie sexcore’ music the six member band plays, but it was worth it. From the poise and polish of the band you see a group aged 19-22, that can hang with any of the ‘club bands’ of San Diego, (see CD review).

SET 3 – LA LUNE

As the SRO crowd changed faces to friends and family, LA LUNE (‘the moon’), the second show band opened their set of indie experimental rock, a blend of vocals augmented by screamo done in a danceable hard rock style. Handling the vocal chores was John Martz backed by Frankie Delgadillo, screams and guitar; Ryan Towery, drums; Jake Seelye, keyboards; Joel Ortega, guitar; and Mike Tucker, bass. This six piece band from Lake Elsinore, CA, a town just up the freeway close enough to be considered local, originally played at Madlins on the 9/18/4 show. This night they put on another high energy set that featured some nice echo loops. They have a demo CD out, (see CD review). You can hear their music through their space on myspace.com.

SET 4 – ARNESON

As the evening’s only three piece, ARNESON, made up of members Sebastian Luna, bass/vocals; Jason Miller, guitar/vocals; and Tony Rios on drums can also qualify as a local group with Sebastian being from Murrieta (Jason is from San Marcos and Tony is from Oceanside). The hard-driving rhythm laid down by strong drum licks with vocals overlaid on top provided another set of danceable hard rock songs of girls and relationships gone bad via the influences of Weezer and Motohead. Though the crowd thinned after Set 3, the music fan base that remained got into and enjoyed the grooves of ARNESON. The two year group can be accessed at www.smallestvanever.com.

- PT ROTHSCHILD