ARTICLE BY KATIE SEATON
PHOTO FROM THE LITTLE ONES MYSPACE
NOV. 15 | COSTA MESA—Los Angeles-based indie-pop band The Little Ones performed an intimate show at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa tonight. Despite the late start of 10:30 p.m., many missed both openers, Oklahoma-based Other Lives and Austin, Texas, indie stars What Made Milwaukee Famous. Though the Little Ones are currently enjoying a lot of well-earned praise for debut LP Morning Tide, the show wouldn’t have felt complete without the support of these two bands.
When the disheveled vocalist of indie-folk group Other Lives, Jesse Tabish, opened his mouth, the voice that shot out was achingly raw, with vocals reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley. By the end of the first track, I was romanced, hanging desperately by Tabish’s strained words. The second song, “The End of the Year,” from Other Lives’ debut EP, could have suitably fit the soundtrack of any devastatingly dramatic movie. The piano and cello set a backdrop as spectacular as a mini-orchestra, while Tabish had a passion-laced lover’s quarrel with his guitar. It was this passion that ran through the blood of every member of Other Lives and kept me in awe through all seven tracks. Though the band’s self-titled EP doesn’t compare to the live show, Other Lives is definitely worth looking into and looking out for.
Next was What Made Milwaukee Famous, who shocked me out of my Other Lives delirium with their first song, “Blood, Sweat and Fears.” The bass and percussion were excruciatingly loud and made it difficult to hear the vocals, causing the performance to sound like an Alice in Chains concert. Thankfully, it was only the first song that sounded like this and when the instruments found a better balance on the second song, the voice of WMMF frontman Michael Kingcaid was extremely powerful. Though such songs as “Cheap Wine” weren’t too inspiring and WMMF appeared cocky at heart, there was no doubt that talent lurked behind the toothpaste-commercial, gleaming smiles the members shot at the audience. The band finished the set by abusing their instruments in rock ‘n’ roll fashion. If Other Lives were described as having loving disagreements with their instruments, WMMF were having fist fights with theirs.
Concluding the night were headliners The Little Ones, who performed in true preppy-rock style. The crowd moved to such happy-go-lucky tunes as “Ordinary Song” and “Cha Cha Cha.” Nobody from the front of the stage to the back of the room could stand still during the “oohs” and “aahs” and clapping-tambourine beats. The gentlemen of The Little Ones enjoyed themselves on stage in true neighborhood-block-party fashion. At the end of the set, the five members showed their appreciation by thanking the crowd and chose to finish with the first single from their debut album, the title track “Morning Tide.”
Tonight’s show brought me from black skies to blue skies. At one end of the emotional spectrum were the distraught Other Lives, at the midway-point stood the drunkenly careless What Made Milwaukee Famous, and at the happiest point of the spectrum, The Little Ones brought it home with the perfect little pick me up.
Leave a Reply