As many of you know, there’s this ridiculous flu/cold traveling around Los Angeles right now. And I’ve been coughing and wheezing the last few days. If I was a normal human being, I should have stayed in last night and rested. That was my plan, I swear. But then I found out the Echoplex was having a free Tuesday night show. And, well, gothic Southwestern music has got to be good for a cold, right? That may not make any sense, but I really wanted to check out Crooked Cowboy last night.
I had never been to the Echoplex before and I was surprised by how large and cavernous the venue is. The bar is deep in the back, red lights and candles flicker along low tables and benches. And yet the stage is actually pretty huge. I also had no idea what to expect from Crooked Cowboy. I knew they were vaguely country and experimental, but that could have meant anything. Crooked Cowboy are a little hard to define. You could say they play folk music, or country, or folk-rock, and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But after seeing them live, these labels would be so limiting. When you look at them as whole, the best way to describe them would be ghost-cowboy rock on acid.
That’s right, ghost cowboy rock on acid. Marianne Williams’ voice was ethereal, an otherworldly call above Brendan Willard’s steady, growling vocals. The guitarist didn’t provide a predictable country twang, but instead sounded a lot more on the psyche rock side. And with his drum sticks pounding away at a giant tom-tom drum, their drummer, Nick Murray could really drum. Not to mention Williams’ use of a celesta, a small metal-xylophone piano.
Crooked Cowboy sang songs about silver six shooters, gypsy lovers, and bumpy roads. A few band members stayed true to the cowboy theme, wearing old Wild-West-style hats and clothes (the nice looking kind, not the cheesy looking kind). All throughout their set, giant stage projections displayed above their heads. The multimedia often multiplied a live feed of the band, creating a trippy feel. Distorted clips from Todd Browning’s 1932 film Freaks mixed with blurred videos of strippers pole dancing. It was a little bizarre and completely fitting for the band.
I really enjoyed this mix of psychedelic imagery in the set, but that might have been due to all of the Dayquil I had ingested. And no, going to the Echoplex didn’t really help my cold. I’m still hacking and wheezing and feeling all over icky. But Crooked Cowboy were worth it. So to everyone else sick this week: drink lots of water, take your cold medication, and go see some shows!
Rachel K.
www.loudvine.com
Tags: Community, Country, Cowboy, Crooked, Crooked Cowboy, Echo, Echoplex, Loudvine, Music, Network, Plex
[...] Crooked Cowboy sang songs about silver six shooters, gypsy lovers, and bumpy roads. A few band members stayed true to the cowboy theme, wearing old Wild-West-style hats and clothes (the nice looking kind, not the cheesy looking kind). All throughout their set, giant stage projections displayed above their heads. The multimedia often multiplied a live feed of the band, creating a trippy feel. Distorted clips from Todd Browning’s 1932 film Freaks mixed with blurred videos of strippers pole dancing. It was a little bizarre and completely fitting for the band. – Loudvine [...]