Underground
Lounge new hidden music venue
By
Dylana Foy
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Tucked into the quiet bustle of downtown Fullerton is a church with a great
basement called The Underground Lounge. Once a month the Underground Lounge
brings together groupies, fans and music lovers to watch and dance to the bands
that come through.
Modern Cinema, Loverlee and Boris Smile, performed at this month’s musical
gathering, at the Lounge on March 24. The live show goes down in a coffee-shop
atmosphere, providing visitors with a great place to hang out, all on the bottom
floor of a church.
Headliner for the night was Long Beach-based Boris Smile. The band has been
building a loyal fan base and was called “a diamond in the rough” by
OCSound.com. The band was definitely the main event of the night as more and
more people showed up to see them show off their indie folk-rock style.
Front man Wesley Chung (vocals/acoustic guitar/keys) sings such honest, heartfelt
lyrics that the songs feel less like polished entertainment and more like a
conversation between Chung and the audience.
In “The Talk” he sings about the awkwardness of talking to his
father about sex. “I wanna know about the birds and the bees/and what
they have to do with me,” Chung sang to an enthralled audience. “Cheaters
Never Prosper” comments on how cheating is has become more acceptable
to youth today and that it is not OK.
Besides its great front man and enchanting lyrics, the band possesses a sound
that contains a full range of emotion and catchy melodies thanks to bandmates
Jon Palsgrove (drums/djimba), Jason Chung (bass), Alan Archambault (electric
guitar/lap steel), Heather Robertson (vocals), and Abigail Davidson (clarinet).
On occasion the members will include other instruments and members: Adam Edwards
(trombone), and Ben and Johanna Vanderbeak (trombone/flute/oboe).
Modern Cinema, another Long Beach-based band, was the opening band for the
night. Consisting of high schoolers Robert Boyd (guitar/vocals), William Pearce
(bass/keys), Shasta Gilmore (keys) and David Franklin (drums/machines). The
band possesses a maturity on and off the stage beyond both the members’ ages
and their duration as a band. Together only a year, and with Gilmore joining
a month ago, they already have shows set-up at the Whisky-A-GoGo, Chain Reaction
and the Viper Room.
This indie/new wave band has such an infectious beat, you will find yourself
tapping your foot and bobbing your head before you even realize it. In fact,
one of the highlights of the set were the audience members dancing behind the
band’s merchandise table, moving and flailing to the beat.
One of my favorite songs of the night was a cover of “Do Ya Think I’m
Sexy” by Rod Stewart. Somehow someone shouting out “If you want
my body/and you think I’m sexy/come on baby let me know,” can really
bring a crowd together.
The band follows closely in the footsteps of the recent new wave trend, and
borrows heavily from groups like British rockers Bloc Party and the L.A. band
Moving Units. The band said some of its influences are New Order and Gang of
Four.
When asked about the name “Modern Cinema,” Boyd said, “It
got brought up in my French class and [I thought] it sounded cool.”
Formerly, the band was called Secret Publics, but because of the parting of
a band member, they had to change the name.
The other opener for the night was a sort of hippie/folk rock band, Loverlee.
The band had a difficult time with one of its members absent. It wasn’t
hard to tell the band really missed one of its mates. The lineup included Jason
Krane (guitar/mandolin), Gen Kwong (keyboards/bass), Lauren Brooks (keyboards/guitar),
Justin Riner (junior drums/guitar/bass/accordion) and missing band mate Jessica
Isaac (junior drums/keyboards/percussion).
Try as one might to focus on the music, the band switching instruments between
every song became more and more distracting. Brooks, lead singer for most of
the set, changed from piano to guitar to bass between almost every song. Riner
also switched from drummer, to lead singer, to accordion player walking around
the room.
The band did have some interesting songs, however.
At one point Krane said, “Oh yeah. This song is weird.”
It was also great to see an accordion player, which most bands aren’t
even willing to attempt. Brooks’ soft, enchanting voice was also a highlight.
She definitely brought a whimsical quality to the band.
The Underground Lounge is a great place to go check out local bands and meet
new people. It is located at 212 Wilshire Ave. in Fullerton, Calif. and the
fact that its free is always a good thing.
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