Wires in the Walls

Oh Darling

Spaceland - July 8, 2010

Live Review by Amber Henson

It’s always nice to see old friends. It had probably been a year since I’d last run into Oh Darling.  They’re still rocking, and hard.  They’ve got some new songs, and some new outfits.  They were asked to play this show by their friends, Wires in the Walls, with whom they'd recently played another venue.  Both bands were well received at Spaceland, but Wires in the Walls, who were headlining, drew a few more fans.

I was pleased to see that Oh Darling are still busting out their light-up skulls ornaments for their concerts.  Jasmine Ash, who in the past year has begun a solo career, was all dolled up for the event, wearing sequins to match the bass player, J. Marie.  They were missing their keyboard player, so Ash filed in.  Daven Hall wore a suit and quietly worked his guitar, Jake Endicott sang backup on several songs.  It was a sweet set.

After a brief interlude where Wires in the Walls dealt with one of their amps that was misbehaving, they began to play their set.  The friend that I brought with me, who's used to being brought to eclectic indie shows, was pleasantly surprised when the band started up and there was that country twang to their songs. 

I hadn't had much experience with Wires in the Walls outside of their MySpace page, but the five members rocked it pretty hard.  There was a nice clapping bit during "Take Care," probably the song I enjoyed most, and the band tried to get the audience clapping, too.  After the song ended, the lead singer, Warren Sroka, thanked those of us who did clap, and got a laugh from everyone when he said we'd get a cut of that night's profits when on our way out.

There were several horn instruments that were employed by their keyboard player and drummer that I hadn't seen before.  At some point, though, the keyboard player, David Sicher, busted out an accordion, which will always endear me to a band.  I definitely enjoyed myself at Spaceland that evening, and would recommend both of these LA-based bands.