The Troubadour | Los Angeles, CA | May 19, 2018 | Photos: ZB Images |
That heady crash of soulful garage rock and guitar jangle you heard at the Troubadour? That was definitely Los Angeles’ the Dead Ships and while the lyrical landscape may lean on/towards some of the darkened corners of life, Devlin McCluskey (vox/guitar), Christopher Spindelilus (drums), Chad Philipps (guitar) along with freshly recruited Emily Retsas (bass) gave those corners loud and crunchy, punchy life. Solid favorites like “Séance,” “Cuts Both Ways,” “First Mistakes” and “Big Quiet” came out to play as did the newer “The Giant” and “Alvarado House” and a surprisingly smashing cover of Pixies’ “Wave of Mutilation.”
It was almost a full-on LA “locals only” invasion with the alternative rock of Night Talks and the closer-to-classic-rock the Revies joining in on the night, but the perpetually on-tour lo-fi Chicago duo North By North represented quite well for the Midwest.
The Dead Ships
Night Talks
North By North
The Revies
