SOhO – Ted Mills

One Big Family – VAUD AND THE VILLIANS BRING AN OLD-FASHIONED, GOOD-TIME PARTY TO SOHO

January 3, 2014August 29, 2014 tedmills Leave a comment

It’s kind of hard to say what it is,” says one of Vaud and the Villains’ musicians who goes by the name One String, when asked to describe the group in a video interview a few years old. “It’s vaudeville. It’s just this side of theater; it’s Americana.”

The 19-piece group comes to SOhO this Sunday for their first proper, late-night, Santa Barbara gig after having spent the last five years building notoriety in their native Los Angeles. The creation of married couple Andy Carneau and Dawn Lewis, Vaud and the Villains is a dream of a band that might have existed in the 1920s or 1930s, a mix of races and styles, of Dustbowl and traveling medicine show, all acoustic, but loud and raucous as hell, playing the American version of Joe Strummer’s “Three Chords and the Truth.” But a Vaud and the Villains performance is also a show, with a narrator (Mr. Carneau) and characters with fictional backstories, as well as dance routines. (Mr. Carneau is fond of quoting Oscar Wilde to explain the fictional group: “Every saint has a past while every sinner has a future.”)

Henry Rollins spoken word tour screamed into SOhO Restaurant & Music Club Wednesday

June 12, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The many faces and opinions of punk rock icon-turned-spoken word artist Henry Rollins were on display Wednesday night at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. Mr. Rollins tackled a vast spectrum of issues and topics, including but not limited to South Africa, President Obama, persecution in the South, a confrontation with the dictator of Myanmar, as well as his own travels and experiences. THOMAS KELSEY/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS — The many faces and opinions of punk rock icon-turned-spoken word artist Henry Rollins were on display Wednesday night at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. Mr. Rollins tackled a vast spectrum of issues and topics, including but not limited to South Africa, President Obama, persecution in the South, a confrontation with the dictator of Myanmar, as well as his own travels and experiences.
THOMAS KELSEY/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Henry Rollins inspires in many ways. There’s his work ethic, or rather his workaholicism, which sees him taking in hundreds of cities a year for his spoken word tour — Wednesday’s SOhO gig was one of them — then “bouncing” all over the world during his down time, and basically saying yes to any work offer. It’s his pure energy, which glows icy blue hot, a flame that hasn’t died down since his days as the frontman of the seminal punk rock band Black Flag. Seeing he couldn’t hold a tune or keep time, according to him, spoken word was his calling all along. At three hours, there’s no punk band that could keep up.

Without even a stop for a drink of water, Mr. Rollins held the SOhO audience in thrall the entirety of his storytelling. Part of that was from the power of his words, his charisma, and the feeling that terrible things might happen if, heaven forbid, one checked a text message or left for a toilet break. “This is going to be like the longest Jet Blue flight ever,” he said, referring to the cramped seating and his foreknowledge of our asses falling asleep.

Candy Flips and Bunny Hops : With a new release waiting in the wings, Gram Rabbit returns to S.B.

March 26, 2010May 14, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

“Party in the desert, party in the desert/Everybody wants to party in the desert.”

The chorus of Gram Rabbit’s new single/video “Candy Flip,” full of disco and distorto guitars, says it all about the Joshua Tree-based band. They have the good stuff and they know you want it, that psychedelic nugget, and their domicile is the only place it makes sense. They are the musical equivalent of the opening paragraph of “Fear and Loathing.” But sometimes, they venture outside the Rabbit Ranch and come visiting, which they will this coming Thursday, to SOhO Restaurant and Music Club.

Hot in Here : The Pin-Down Girls make a sexy return to SOhO

March 26, 2010May 14, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

A bit contemporary dance, a bit Vegas, a bit hip-hop, a whole lot of attitude and a dash of silliness. You can’t really pin down these Pin-Down Girls, but know this: SOhO loves them and is having the “variety dance troupe” back tonight for another evening of sexy dance routines.

“People like to jump to the conclusion that we’re a burlesque company,” says Devin Fulton, executive artistic director and one of the eight Girls. “And I like to say we’re not. At all.”