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DARKER MY LOVE “SUMMER IS HERE”

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The 3rd Anniversary party for L.A. RECORD was a time for reflection.: a time to thank your lucky stars that a ‘zine like this exists and, personally, a moment to enjoy the fact that you get to write for said publication and go to a bunch of amazing shows. Ever since I caught sight of this bill, I knew it would be great–how often do you get a chance to see a show with arguably the three best psych bands from their respective cities? Like surviving in the wilderness, I was prepared with the necessities that would keep me going for the night; a pocketful of funk, a fistful of bottles and earplugs, which I left behind because frankly I like the ringing in my ears. Simply put, this show was nothing short of amazing. Despite having all their van and all their gear stolen recently, Long Beach’s Crystal Antlers still tore it up with borrowed and secondary equipment. Even though I feel like seeing the Antlers has become a weekly event, everything still feels exciting each time I see them, and their version of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” seemed to fit the moment. San Francisco’s Wooden Shjips, a poorly kept secret specjial guest, look like 40-year-old record store geeks, but play to a level of genius that hasn’t been in front of my face for a long while. Guitarist Ripley Johnson took me back some 15-plus years to the first time I saw J. Mascis shred, while the music seemed to get louder and louder, progressing song and song again to a point where you catch yourself laughing or standing there with your mouth agape. The room soon filled up for L.A.’s own Darker My Love. Having seen DML a few times before, it wasn’t until L.A. RECORD’s party with Dead Meadow that I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t miss them when they played in town. It was a promise well kept, because no matter how good the Antlers and Shjips were, the energy that flooded the place when DML played was incomprehensible. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just that my head full of funk and bellyful of beer that had gotten me to that point of euphoria, this was the best show of the year by far and we’ll see if anybody can top it in the next ten months. Something inside me doubts it.

— Alex Roman