Jonah's Onelinedrawing, Grayscale, Driving by Braille & K'nay

This show turned out to be an emo-pop fest of sorts. The evening got started off with local act, K'nay, who rocked through the set, their best tracks being "Stuck" and "Nevermind."

Fullerton / Huntington Beach's Driving by Braille took the stage second and went through a good set, playing tracks off of their three-track EP, as well as others. This is a very good setup — perfect vocals and less hardcore music, sticking to more emo, or "post-hardcore" as they like to be called. My favorite, "Blessed are the Dreamers," caused my heart to melt as Elliot and David harmonized their vocals and guitars so well together. The closest thing they sound like is Hum, with a slow lead-in and a beautiful explosion of sound.

La Verne's Grayscale took the stage next. I'd only heard what material they'd sent me, and had never seen them live, so I had no idea what to expect. I watched as this group of So Cal emo kids rocked the entire neighborhood. They tore through a set I was pretty familiar with, playing tracks like "Pins and Needles" and "LipStick Smile," and a really sweet track called "Prom Night." Grayscale sounded tight, the musicianship was on, Danny and John where rocking out, and the band was fucking awesome as a whole.

Finally, the man of the hour, former Far frontman Jonah, stepped up. Jonah had this audience captivated as he blew through a long set. He played songs from both editions of his Sketchy EPs (available by going to www.onelinedrawing.com and clicking the "things" button), including "Crush on Everyone" and "Better Than This," which was heavily requested. He played some old Far songs, too, like "Boring Life," to which every old school Far fan sang along, and "Waiting for Sunday." The show didn't go like most Jonah shows do; there were major improvisations, like on the song "Aeroplanes," he had Mike from Grayscale join him on drums. Jonah talked about how ideas like this kept a show entertaining, and every show stays unique. Then, with Mike still seated on drums, he asked for a bassist and Nick Bartlett of K'nay to step up, along with Elliot of Driving by Braille, to cover Prince's "The Cross." A major highlight of the set was Jonah’s cover of Sade's "Ordinary Love," featuring the Deftones. No, the Deftones didn't come to the show, but Jonah had a DAT recording of the music that he played while he sang along. The set finished with the patented closer, "Tides."

If you missed this show, slap yourself for me, and slap any of your friends who also missed it. Keep your eyes peeled for info on some of these acts coming back in July.

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