Death Sentence: Panda! at The Echo

I'm always dragging my friend and GR photographer Ben Clark around town to see bands. And inevitably--when we're not talking about our baby girls, since we're both fairly new, first-time parents--he breaks out whatever music he's currently into. As a result, not only do I appreciate his artistic talent and animalistic work ethic, but I really appreciate his musical taste and suggestions. So I had to check out his friends in Death Sentence: Panda! when they came to town. Ben has been talking them up since forever, and it figures that on their latest visit to L.A. he'd be on the road, shooting No Age and the Altamont skate team on the way to SXSW.


So I went solo, and was not disappointed. Death Sentence: Panda! has a really unique lineup with Kim (Crack: We Are Rock!) on flute and vocals, Chris (Murder Murder) on drums, and Paul (Total Shutdown) on clarinet. Onstage, the Bay Area group resembles band-camp rejects--and maybe they are--but the sound is a vicious mix of dubby arrangements peppered with hardcore riffs. Super nice folks and a great live band; I can't wait to give their last album another listen.


Headlining the Sunday-night show at The Echo, which falls under the umbrella of the excellent Part Time Punks radio show on KXLU, was These Are Powers. The bass player used to be in Liars, and the Brooklyn/Chicago trio has a somewhat similar dark, murky, and art-damaged sound. It was past my bedtime, so I made sure to stay for couple songs but had to miss the awkward, contorted dancing that was sure to come.


On my way back to my car, I spotted of the city's best graphics: This way to Chavez Ravine. A nice reminder that I not only live near The Echo, The Silverlake Lounge, and Spaceland, but also Dodger Stadium. Can't wait for Russell, Andre, and the rest of the Blue Crew (Manny!) to come back from Arizona and get the season going...