Buried deep in the heart of downtown is a pirate-themed bar. That’s right, The Redwood Bar and Grill is the real deal: anchors, fake skeletons, and wooden ship-masts line the walls. There were even a few guys dressed for the occasion. Pretty weird place to see a groovy psychedelic rock band, right? Well, that’s what I was doing last night. I was there to see The Upsidedown, and they didn’t disappoint.

I admit I was a little skeptical at first. LA Scenesters flock to noisy psych rock like fat kids to cupcakes. And yeah, there were a few (I couldn’t decide if the guy on my right was an Anton Newcombe-wannabe, or actually Anton Newcombe). But the second TheUpsidedown started, I knew it was going to be a good show. Guitarist Matt Moore gave a piercing screech followed by, “We just wanted to let you know we were primal, and shit. Ha!”

Jsun Atoms started crooning with his extra-deep baritone, “You drive me bananas, You drive me up the wall.” Tristan Evans was ultra smooth on her bass and would add dreamy, melodic vocals while walls of distortion echoed on. TheUpsidedown certainly knew shoegaze sounds. But they were far more dynamic than (sorry) boring-shoegaze-sway music. They had energy, too. And her name was Sarah Jane. On keyboards and tambourine, Jane provided rhythm and (literal) bounce to all the songs. She’d twirl and manage high kicks when she wasn’t old-school go-go dancing.

I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been drinking beer or some sort of electric kool-aid. Then again, it was a pirate bar, so maybe I should have had a bottle of rum and a parrot. Either way, The Upsidedown offered a great set. There were moments to sway and moments to dance. There were stripped down sounds direct from 1968 and sonic electronic beats for right here, right now. Whether you’re a Scenester, pirate, or just a normal human being, check out TheUpsidedown .

-Rachel K.
www.loudvine.com

Tags: Down, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown Music, Hollywood, Indie, LA Music, LA Weekly, Live, Live Music Community, Los Angeles Music, Loud, Loudvine, MP3's, Music Network, Shows, The Redwood Inn, The Upside, The Upsidedown, Weekly Picks

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