Yet another year of October Flame has come and gone, and it is something that shouldn't have been missed as Tiger Army kicked off pre-Halloween performance at the Fox Theatre in Pomona. Despite being used to visiting the Grove for this kind of thing (they've had it there pretty much every year we can remember) the Fox is one hell of a place to have hosted the psychobilly rock band, with the art deco on the walls and their fans dressed in everything from the Tiger Pumpkin scarecrow, pin-up girls, day of the dead faces, and of course your basic unwashed metal head. It was great to see all kinds of people bringing out their Halloween spirit for this event. All of this combined into one an incredible atmosphere that had given the band this amazing energy that gave them an incredible performance.
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Before the band had hit the stage, the house was piping in a wide selection of music to get us in the mood; some of the songs that were played were ones from the list that he had written about previously this week. It was a great way to create an ambiance for the show that was about to entail. The song range was of course some of the best work. With songs like Afterlife, and Annabel Lee, there was nothing but what every fan in the audience wanted to hear. Each of the members not only played for one another, but they played for the fans. Sometimes its hard to believe that they have some of the most minimalistic set yet they take up more space on stage then half the metal bands out there. It seems that is part of the presence on stage, they have so much enthusiasm to what they are playing and where they it comes through in their set. Nick 13 sure did have a lot love for Pomona, and Pomona gave it right back to him.
One of the things that will always surprise me no matter how many times I see them play is how Geoff Kresge manhandles his bass. On stage, stage he lifts the giant four-stringed monstrosity like feather, yet he's also able to stand on top of it. Despite the few seconds of mic feedback, the band had some of the best sound. It didn't matter where you were standing in the building you were able to hear every single word and note that each of the members were performing. The acoustics were so good that when Nick 13 had switched guitars for a song, the difference was noticeable. It is always refreshing to go to a building that can pick up on something like the change of guitar to bring out a different sound. One of the main draws for Tiger Army is that their sound is diverse through many different genre of music, paired with a building that has history and actual beauty, it brings nothing but an amazing performance. This was defiantly an October Flame to remember.
Critical Bias: Despite everyones cool costume and head pieces, my Green Lantern headband was the coolest thing there.
The Crowd:The crowd had some of the biggest range of fans, pin-up girls, metal heads, punks, goths, families, psychobilly,and of course rockobilly. It is a great place to interact with people of all subcultures.
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