Show Preview: The Bangles with Three O’Clock, The Dream Syndicate & The Rain Parade – at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – December 6, 2013

If, like me, you were too young in the early 80s to catch live shows, you’re in luck. On December 6th at the Fonda Theatre, Paisley Underground groups Rain Parade, The Dream Syndicate, The Three O’Clock, and The Bangles will perform. Paisley Underground is a term coined by Michael Quercio (of The Three O’Clock) to describe local Los Angeles bandsthat channeled the psychedelic sounds of the 60s (think The Byrds and The Velvet Underground).



Brothers David and Steven Roback were in a short-lived band with Susanna Hoffs before forming Rain Parade. Their debut album, “Emergency Third Rail Power Trip”, mixes melancholy lyrics and jangly guitars. David later teamed up with bassist Kendra Smith (Dream Syndicate) to form Opal, and later, Mazzy Star. If you like The Byrds sound mixed with Echo and The Bunnymen vocals, you’ll like Rain Parade.

Originally from Davis, CA, Steve Wynn (vocals) and Kendra Smith (bass) found themselves in Los Angeles and shortly after teamed up with Karl Precoda to form The Dream Syndicate. Compared to The Velvet Underground, I can hear Lou Reed on their album “The Days of Wine and Roses”, if Reed was fronting The Damned. The use feedback can sound jarring, but The Dream Syndicate uses it perfectly on their albums.

Originally formed as The Salvation Army (name changed due to legal issues), The Three O’Clock fall more on the poppy end of the psychedelic spectrum. If you listened to KROQ during this time, you probably heard their songs Jet Fighter, off of the “Sixteen Tambourines” album, or their later synth-y single Suzie’s On The Ball Now.  In the late 80s, The Three O’Clock signed up with Prince’s Paisley Park Records, but met with minimal acclaim.

The most well-known band to come out of the Paisley Underground is, without a doubt, The Bangles. Sisters Vicki and Debi Peterson are the foundation of the band, providing a seriously kick-ass drummer in Debi, and a brilliant rock guitarist in Vicki. Susanna Hoffs’ vocals can be gentle or raucous, depending on what emotion the song needs to convey. Though The Bangles have met with commercial success and chart toppers, it’s their lesser-known songs that deserve more notice. (Walk Like an Egyptian and Manic Monday can burn in an Eternal Flame as far as I’m concerned.) In Your Room and Hero Takes A Fall showcase their talents as musicians, and I will keep my fingers crossed that both of those songs make the setlist for the show.

Win tickets to go to go see The Bangles
  at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on Friday December 6, 2013
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-Anni Thyme-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

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