California Is For Lovers - The LA Torch, August 31, 2024
Andrew Martinandrew@releasewave.comIn the world of music festivals, few come close to the classic days of Warped Tour.
I remember in the early 2000's the great feeling of stepping into the hot asphalt of the Denver convention grounds to see literally every band I cared about, back to back, for a packed-in 8 hour day. In 2004, I had the pleasure of seeing The Flaming Lips, the Cure, The Pixies, and even Thrice on the same Coachella weekend.
Those days are long gone; and with "festival pandemonium" these days it's hard to imagine a world like that again. Festivals are overpriced and have a smattering of bands, few of which I honestly care about (with the exception being, of course, the return of Furnace Fest).
That being said, our friends in Hawthorne Heights have once again proven that the art of the festival doesn't have to be a full-on, $350-1000 three-day blowout and had an incredibleIn the world of music festivals, few come close to the classic days of Warped Tour.
The highlight for me was seeing Finch play their new song I heard a few months back (PLEASE do a new record soon) and, of course, the triumphant return of Saosin and their legendary Beetle album...not to mention a reunion from A Static Lullaby.
A Static Lullaby
When I first arrived, ASL was just getting set up. It'd been years since I've seen them, and I truly didn't know what to expect from ASL. It's been so many years since they've played shows, and I was only a half-hearted fan on the later material. They did not disappoint. Sounding tighter than ever, the band absolutely blew it out, playing hits spanning their entire discography. They encouraged us by saying they were here to stay, so I'm only hoping I get to see them play a club––a thought I wouldn't have had before seeing this set.
Finch: Louder and better than ever
Seeing Finch play several shows last fall was a highlight for me.Their new material is absolutely stunning and they sound fresher and tighter than ever.Sure, a few of their songs are a little cheeseball, but when they bring it, Finch don't let down.
Saosin: The Return of Cove
And now, for the main event (yes, I know Hawthorne was headlining, and no offense to them, but let's be honest we all came here for Saosin).
Seeing their Instagram over the last few months, I knew rumblings of Cove playing shows again were happening in the US after their "warm ups" in Indonesia.And on that fateful day in LA, despite technical difficulties, it was a real treat seeing Cove play with them again.They played the entire album front to back and didn't miss. Beau was in rare form, a smile beaming up his face.
I'm not typically an album-play guy, but hearing this album front to back was truly a magical experience.
Cove's voice never sounded better. Maybe it's some live stage magic going, maybe it's the years of training, or maybe I was lucky––but I'd like to think it's because they really wanted to deliver an incredible set.
As he said onstage... "The Beetle boys are BACK!" and we couldn't be more thrilled, trust me.