Fly By Night & My Last Revelation {Live @ the Merc 1/21}

Is it possible to feel old at 23? My wife felt like that as we witnessed the teens and tweens hung out in the make shift quad at the Merc on Friday night. I personally love the atmosphere: people genuinely excited about the music that they itching to hear (A rare sight to see in California considering how jaded so much of the music listening scene is.). The shivers the band members get after sound check when the rumble dies down and the distinct chatter of the rumor mill and idle talk overwhelms the tiny brick venue. The smell of fresh merch on the table as Mommy and Daddy’s hard earned money goes to help another band pay for lunch tomorrow or gas money tonight. Don’t get her wrong; my wife loves the music scene but she theorized that becoming a mother maybe have had a role to play when she looked at the throng of the younger crowd and their chaperones.

Me? I’m just a little kid at heart, I love this stuff…. she’ll be raising two at the same time. I feel sorry for her sometimes.

Fly By Night was in a similar mood tonight. The quartet had youth and energy on their side like yours truly and got right down to business. The guitars and bass were loud, full of power chords and garage band pop that was instantly jumpy and catchy. But the simplicity has a double edge as the middle of the set seemed to blur together, making it hard to find each songs individuality and dynamic. The boys from Fly By Night chugged right along with snarky interplay occasionally at yours truly or the crowd. It was worth a chuckle or two, unless you’re the easily uptight type.  Garage rock and bit pop-punk were evident in Mitchell’s vocals slurred through verse after chorus that reminded the listener of the Arctic Monkeys or The Strokes. An oddly picked cover of the Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” broke the momentum but managed to keep the crowds ears upright.  The younger crowd just wanted some fun rock and roll and the boys finished off their set with a big dancey number that had parts of the crowd and fellow band My Last Revelation jumping onto the stage to bang on tambourines or try to keep up with the lines they’ve never heard before. I’d personally consider that the sign of a good song if you have people trying to sing along to something they’ve rarely heard before.

There’s a fun, loose playing, and fast way to Fly By Night’s set that band adopted to get through their 40 minute set that showed a bit of their over enthusiasm at a few points, stumbling noticeably but luckily their drummer Aaron exhibited enough skill to keep the beat going without losing the crowd. They have a grasp on the sound they want and now just need to work on it to bump up from “Cool pop-punk band I heard at this show” to “Check out what I got on my ipod!” (Side note: having 100 cd’s/lp’s is a lot more interesting to see than 1000 images on your ipod sliding through.)

They’re still green horns and it shows. A few more shows under their belt and a bit more confidence in their coordination and showmanship could have Fly By Night in a prime spot to headline a few shows or inspire a few more teens to pick up their guitars to join them on stage.  The audience received them warmly and got them all the more jazzed up for what was to come.

If Fly By Night was the appetizer, then My Last Revelation was the entrée.  The Temecula based trio of high-schoolers took the stage in manner of professionalism and exuded their happiness all over the crowd…. That came out wrong.  Sharply dressed with similarly sounding guitar and base, they quickly got heads bobbing and hearts throbbing with spacey delayed intros and anthemic songs. It was pop-punky goodness all around as vocalist Kevin was more engaging than any local band frontman I’ve encountered in a while with vocals reminiscent of JEW or Andrew McMahon, and the like. Any live recording on their website is definitely not representative of the band; as there’s a distinct sound difference between the heavier, plodding alt-rock compared to the breezy, dynamic, and energetic newer direction.

The setlist itself was diverse sounding with the alt and pop rock coupled with some well picked and played Beatles and My Chemical Romance covers. Pacing was great as you never felt rushed during songs, leaving you able to enjoy the little intricacies and even imagine something there. That maybe the one thing missing from their sound; while they are tight on playing it feels a little empty. The atmospheric music felt it needed an extra guitar or keys to round them out. Regardless, they had the girls eating out of the hands and rightfully so. Boys, take your girls to a future show. You’ll enjoy the music, she’ll enjoy the eyecandy…. Just make sure you guys leave together….

Truth is… I don’t think the Merc or any small venue can hold these guys much longer. Bands like this are why I’m writing this blog. I’m trying to be as honest and neutral as possible with every review I make so don’t mistake me as a brown noser or asshole for any particular band. My Last Revelation has an accessibility and musicianship that can take them far beyond these sleepy borders to musical Elysium. I hope they play their cards right, because they deserve it.

 And from what I hear they’re coming back next month for a cd release at the merc…..just saying. That’s not selfless plugging of my workplace at all…..Let’s hope the boys put on a show just as enjoyable as this one was.

I think I need a few shows at the vault or Chain or Glasshouse of something…. Anyone know of any local acts strolling through those areas anytime soon?

Fly By Night is:

Aaron Liwanag (Drums, vocals), JP Thyfault (Rythm Guitar), Steven Harding (Bass, Vocals), Mitchell Hoskins (Lead Guitar, Vocals)

Fly By Night Facebook (no known music page at this time.)

My Last Revelation is:

Derrick Hatch (Drums, Keyboards), Kevin Hatch (Bass, Vocals), Justin Bauman (Guitar, Vocals)

My Last Revelation Official Page 

Universal Trap {Live at the Merc 1/14}

After living out in the Riverside area for long enough (for me....maybe about 2-3 years cumulated) I got tired of the fact that there were so many bands that no one heard about or bands that everyone loves that won't step foot out in the desert. Not that I necessarily blame them. Musicians are a freedom seeking and often open minded sort and moving into an area that seems to exude family values and conservatism that will call the cops on your for playing above the 3 notch on your amp at 6 pm doesn't seem to appealing.

But for those of us still living here and faced with the possibility of strapping on an SRH hat and landing us a sweet bro hoe or playing music to get the hell out of dodge or to vent whatever feelings they have to get off their chest, living in this area where music seems a little muffled hope to attract some attention. And that's what I'm trying to accomplish. Attract a little attention.

In a little corner off the old town path off the 15 in Temecula lies the Merc: a transformed mercantile shop now housing art exhibits, and live shows. The brick walls have been standing for almost 120 years offering great acoustics for nearly any band that passes through its intimate doors on friday nights. And tonight Universal Trap took every inch of open air and filled it with some interesting musical choices and promise.

They look like your typical alt-rock band, maybe a bit 90's looking but there's a certain bit of quiet confidence from them as they strapped on their guitars and played their first of two sets for the night.
Guitarist Greg's first licks brought an immediate bluesy influence to set the tone while the keyboardist chimed in giving his large distorted chords and clean licks a lungs filling breath of depth. (This will happen often, my name remembrance is a little shot so if I forget a person or mistake them let me know.) Vocalist Ian have a commanding voice live. It's clear and invites the listener to really let the lyrics settle and stew in their head.
With a solid drum and bass behind them driving the songs forward with certainty, they played a tight first set, but to be honest, nothing really memorable.  A few of the songs have an almost soundtrack quality to them, making me feel like they're something I would have heard on a tv show or would put on my stereo for some extra ooph to my mood.

After a short intermission (They were the only band of the night.), the boys downed a few beers and hopped back onstage to make you completely forget about the last 30 minutes.
The drums and bass I were talking about? They were solid and grounding which kept you from completely letting your mid float off in the best of ways as the keys and guitar grabbed your ears and took you off your chair. It felt like at entirely different band as they pulled out a page from classic rock and experimental bands like Iron Butterfly or Pink Floyd. With wandering guitar solos and a sweeping organ sounds, you start to feel the music rolling and free feeling rather than just listening to the little by-the-numbers songs from earlier. Ian's voice just entrances you during this second half as I felt like I was just coming into a psychedelic freak out. I hope this is the current direction of the band as the boys owned their sound with passionate sounds, yet their stage presence felt professionally restrained. They could have a bit more audience interaction but the crowd didn't care as a large portion were chanting "One more song! One more song!" afterward. Universal Trap didn't disappoint with a spacey outro that felt like it should have lasted forever because you didn't want it to end.

One of the members commented that they are a relatively new band, only being formed a year or two ago. But with tight playing, ear grabbing musical vistas, and dipping their toes into a natural feeling experimental slant, I was pleasantly surprised. They should have been in my father's vinyl collection the entire time waiting for me to rediscover them.... that is if my father ever collected vinyl.

Universal Trap is:
Ian, Greg, Tim, Kyle, Scott
 
Band Website
Myspace: Universal Trap Myspace
Facebook:
Song Downloads: Sound Click  (pop ups on page. I personally hate those buggers.)