White Rabbits

El Rey - November 2, 2009

Live Review by Amber Henson

Concert Photograph by Caroline Keichian

You know a band knows what they’re doing when they can rock you and you’re sitting on the balcony.  Then again, that should be a given when there are six energetic musicians on the stage, but sadly it’s not.  Some bands give it their all, but they’re missing that spark, that something that makes them different.  With the White Rabbits, that spark could be from the one of the guitarists, Gregory Robots, and keyboardist, Stephen Patterson, sharing the spotlight by both being lead singers.  The spark could be from the other guitarist, Alex Even, and the way he hops around the stage.  But it seemed to me that the spark really came from the percussionist, Matt Clark, whose lively interest in hitting his two floor toms with anything he could get his hands on was delightful to watch.

Which isn’t to say that bass guitarist Brian Betancourt and drummer Jamie Levinson weren’t doing their part; indeed, it’s sometimes the people who are steady that keep the group afloat.  Oddly, for all the action that was going on on stage there were very few people moving in the usually bouncing El Rey Theatre.  I was surprised, since the wall of sound coming towards the audience was full of strong beats, epic pounding, and wondrous crescendos.  The crowd did eventually get going, but only towards the end of the twelve song set, when they played their single “Percussion Gun” (the twinkly lights video of which can be seen on their MySpace page).

Patterson, singer and keyboardist, seemed to really be interested in blowing out his voice, especially for the single.  How he does that night after night I’m not sure, but it definitely gives the band a bit of Radiohead vibe.  The wall of sound plus the general disregard for sanity also reminded me of Muse. But White Rabbits is a band on their own, creating music that works well as a background sound and as something listeners can really sink their teeth into.