Carsick Cars at The Echo

Carsick Cars have played NYC (their spiritual/musical home away from Beijing) and Austin (for obvious reasons) a bunch, but last night was their first gig in L.A. The closing slot on the Monday night residency isn't an especially splashy way to make an entrance--especially after 12:30 a.m.--but it was free and The Echo is one of the cooler venues in town, so I can't complain.


The night's headliners, Walking Sleep, were agreeable enough with pleasant harmonies and a Cure cover. Their well-scrubbed sound provided a nice contrast to the guitar noise that would follow.


Carsick Cars has a distinct No Wave influence, with a VU- and SY-informed wash providing the backdrop for Zhang Shouwang's Pavement-style melodies. Zhang is classically trained, and might have a dozen pedals at his feet not to mention a violin bow (top) and other devices (above).


The results are loud, intense, and gorgeous, and the set was too short. Definitely worth checking out as they plow through their Chinese Invasion tour of the West Coast with equally interesting label-mates P.K. 14 and AV Okubo at the Viper Room on Wednesday night before they head to San Diego and the Bay Area.



And then there's the in-store at GR2 tonight... Seeing them is cool and so is a rare chance to talk to them and hang out. See you there and the Viper Room, as well.