OLESYA SALNIKOVA
A&E Assistant
Though certainly not mainstream, like say the Red Hot Chili Peppers, underground bands Weatherbox, The Honorary Title and Cartel used their own eclectic sounds to win the audience over at their Avalon Hollywood concert Friday night.
Many people might hesitate about checking out bands that are slightly more obscure than the norm, but these three alternative rock bands attracted quite a crowd. That was just half their battle, though. The bands needed to keep the audience engaged, and some were remarkably more successful than others.
Weatherbox, which had a slightly more rock and heavy metal sound, opened for Cartel and The Honorary Title. The band just came out with an album titled “American Art” in May. During the performance, it often felt like Weatherbox was shouting at the audience instead of actually singing to them.
It was virtually impossible to make out the words in its songs through the rest of the noise erupting from their instruments. Weatherbox’s music lacked any sort of lyricism or melody, and the sounds of the band’s guitars ended up blending into one big screaming mess.
The performance itself was not exactly inspiring. Due to the intensity of the volume and a repetition of the same noise song after song, it felt monotonous. The members of Weatherbox seemed unfocused and knew only how to do two things — pound on their guitars and jump aimlessly around the stage.
The Honorary Title, an alternative band that just came out with a new album titled “Scream and Light up the Sky” on Aug. 27, definitely revived the crowd from its insomnia-like state, which was caused by Weatherbox’s onstage banter. The Honorary Title’s acoustic sounds, stirring guitar chords and inspiring vocals resonated through the audience, with songs like, “Thin Layer,” “Stuck at Sea,” “Far More” and “Along the Way.”
The band’s impressive fusion of instruments and an eclectic combination of sound is reminiscent of Guster’s instrumental style. At times, however, the music was heavier and utilized more drums and electric guitars than Guster. Overall, The Honorary Title’s style was more laid back (and incidentally, less psychotic) than that of Weatherbox.
On the other hand, The Honorary Title tried too hard to engage the audience. The front man used a lot of borderline-inappropriate language between the band’s songs and diverted the audience from the music by making jokes that were uninteresting. This was a major distraction from their musical performance.
While The Honorary Title had a significantly more sophisticated sound and musical line-up than Weatherbox, Cartel stole the show by electrifying the crowd with gutsy beats and an incredible performance. The band just came out with a self-titled album, released on Aug. 21, which features some of the songs performed at the concert.
Cartel’s upbeat and catchy music vibrated with high-strung electric sounds, pulsing drums and harmonious keyboards. Similar in style to American Hi-Fi and Panic! At the Disco, Cartel’s music is mostly alternative rock. Songs like “Fortunate,” “Georgia” and “I’ll Hide Myself Away” are powerful and forceful, yet very rhythmic in their sounds.
Cartel’s edgy performance inspired an exhilarating mood in the audience. Ecstatic fans responded to the band by jumping, dancing and chanting along with the lyrics.
Several fans even got thrown into a mosh pit, with people bodysurfing on top of the huge throng. Cartel’s fast-paced musical line-up made its performance more cohesive than the other two contenders.
The concert was slow to kick off, largely because “Chatterbox” performed first, so it may have been much more effective to switch around the line-up of the bands. The Honorary Title and Cartel boldly stood out, with their acoustic guitar sounds and vocals, which left Weatherbox with quite a bit of food for thought for its next album.
At the end of the night, it was clear that Cartel set the bar for what it takes to please a crowd. Hopefully, Weatherbox and Honorary Title took notes. The three bands will continue to tour together through mid-October.
09-13-2007
