Semi-Precious Weapons The Roxy Los Angeles, CA Dec. 31, 2011

Located in the heart of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, the famous rock club has seen some of the best and most prolific bands come through its doors since it first opened in 1973. Despite all that, the club itself remains minimalistic with very little decoration or color. Other than upgrading their sound and light system, I doubt the club has changed very much in the past four decades.

Small and intimate, The Roxy reminds me of the Park West in Chicago if you took out all the seating. There is very little space between you and the performer, making every show an up close and personal experience.

Which brings us to New Years Eve 2011. Starting at 8 p.m., the nearly six-hour show was a chance for concertgoers to get a true taste of the Los Angeles music scene. The night started out strong with the Las Vegas-based Life Down Here, a down and dirty punk/metal band led by 18 year-old Michelle Blanchard. Though tiny, Blanchard has the spirit and passion of an early Joan Jett. Still in the early stages, keep an eye out for Life Down Here, you will be hearing from them again.

The next three bands honestly kind of blurred together. I wish I could tell you more about Betawolf, Open Air Stereo and Benvenue but there wasn’t much difference between them. Each of them seemed to follow the same basic formula. The songs start out fast and then somehow turn into almost rock ballads meant to be epic but just ended up sounding like Foo Fighters wannabes. If you want to stand out in the music business, it helps to actually be different from the other bands out there that have already made their mark.

I was quickly fading fast but thankfully Warner Drive not only shook me out my daze capturing my attention in a way that few bands have recently. Based out of Los Angeles, the band has been setting the local scene on fire and selling out every major venue in the city. Warner Drive’s unique blend of punk, rock and ska is catchy and rebellious without being too much of either. With a sound somewhere between Wall of Voodoo and AFI, the band is an adrenaline pumping rush.

Few bands can match the raw, natural energy of Warner Drive. However Semi-Precious Weapons is all about breaking the rules. Two minutes before Midnight, lead singer Justin Tranter sauntered on stage with the band and led the entire audience in a furious countdown to 2012. Within seconds of ringing in the New Year, the band dove into one of the craziest sets I’ve seen since Iggy Pop played Chicago’s Metro a few year ago.

“We need some whiskey on stage,” Tranter called out just after the second song. By the fifth song he was more than halfway through a 24-ounce bottle of Jack Daniels, which takes skill. Playing hard and fast the band did not slow down once during its extended energetic set. Watching Semi-Precious Weapons play is a lesson in what rock n’ roll music used to be: loud, dirty and intense.

Shying away from their well-known tracks, the band spent most of the night playing songs from their most recent albums and singles. Songs like “Cherries on Ice” and “Fuck the Dance Floor” brought the audience into a frenzy, as Tranter upped the energy of the club with an energy that didn’t stop until well after the doors closed.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you get the chance to see Semi-Precious Weapons perform live make sure you do it. The band, despite its connection to Lady Gaga, hasn’t let fame influence their work. While they have definitely matured over the years and approach their music a little differently they remain one of the most intense, talented bands of the decade.

Comments

SPW Rocks Live Written by Guest on 2012-01-27 09:34:23 Hey Jordan,  SPW puts on a great show! I've seen them live in NYC and it's all about the sleaze.     Rock Hard! Rock Sexy!  † The Deacon †  MamasDirtyLilSecret.com

Wish I was there Written by Guest on 2012-01-27 11:23:03 It could have kept me awake. I had a fizzle, but fun loving, forth. Oh New Years. See, I could have used this much energy and then some.

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