The OC Music Awards kicked off its weekly seven-part series at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa Tuesday night and featured five local Orange County bands who rocked the house while several D.J.'s kept the party flowing. Local standouts like Robert Jon and The Wreck left one hell of an impression as their explosive rock sound seemed to dwarf the stage. Sheer rock and roll with a southern twist, despite the fact that they are, well, local.
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Although each group showcased an array of different sounds, a few bands made their presence known loud and clear on the Detroit Bar stage Tuesday evening. Acoustic band Flying Sparks proved to be the evening's 'yin' to the rock-dominated 'yang.' Most of their mellow tunes showcased soft sweet poetic lyrics, but were often sandwiched between a string a curse words between songs. They let us all know that it's okay to embrace your inner W.B. Yeats.
After a semi-sleepy lineup of mellow tunes, rock band Robert Jon
&The Wreck opened their act with an impressive wake-up call tune
about Georgia mud, which pulled at this southern girl's heart strings.
Aside from their Doobie Brothers-like appearance, this band not only
gave the crowd a good bitch slap, but they also involved the audience
with original call-response songs, fog machines and lighting to create
an actual show behind their explosive sound. Each individual musician
made it obvious they have honed their instrumental and theoretical
skills like a disciplined martial artist as the keyboardist had no
trouble amping the crowd with his cheek slides. All bells and whistles
aside, this band looked like they were just having plain old fun rocking
the crap out of the inundated Tuesday night Detroit Bar.
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Seven more Tuesday nights featuring five local bands each evening will boil down to one winner who will ultimately take home a multitude of awards and prizes presented at The Grove in Anaheim on Saturday, March 9. Hold on to your britches, folks, this party's for locals only.
Critical Bias: I'm a local.
The Crowd: Hipster-land a la Costa Mesa including Buddy Holly glasses, overwhelming stench of cranberry/vodka, Kangol golfer hats and chicks who need to eat more.
Overheard: “Oh my God, this sound check is so long! Okay, you're good, now play your music!”
Random Notebook Dump: Despite any potential for serious drink-to-camera lens potential or my 5'3'' frame squahsed beneath a burly sasquatch, everyone who was buzzin' was surprisingly courteous to my equipment as well as my vertical challenges. When I asked people to politely move, they did so with no 'tudes.
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