Griswald, Indecisive Youth & Lavish Green

Upon walking into LaSalle's on Wednesday night, I was first struck by the god-awful stench of 150 people standing in a room with no air in 100 degree weather. As if this wasn't bad enough, the band that was standing on stage had a hippie name (Lavish Green), and a horn section. My first reaction was to run from the heat and the prospect of having to listen to another weak-ass ska-reggae-jam band, but I came with a group of friends and decided to stick it out. Five minutes into the first song, I was glad that I did. Lavish Green was not at all what I expected. Once again proving the old adage: never judge a band for having a hippie name and a horn section. Lavish Green had a great sound; they combined some almost metal guitar with Latin horn lines and melodic vocals to form a finished product that made me feel as if I should have been eating carne asada in Baja, or a jerk chicken sandwich in Jamaica. It was cool — like a mini vacation, if not to another country, then at least from the sometimes bland music becoming unfortunately common. As Lavish Green left the stage, I bellied up to the bar and ordered the finest imported beer in the house. Pacifico in hand, I went off to find my friends to reminisce about red wine butter sauce and wait for one of my favorite local bands, Indecisive Youth.
As always, IY rocked. Great stage presence, great music — they have it all. I've seen them play live about 25 times, and they always manage to keep it fresh. The new songs are incredible; they still have the good time, upbeat feel of the old IY material, but have become edgier. The vocals have lost some of that vibrato so common the first album and have morphed into a smooth mix of melodic hardcore. The rest of the crowd was as pumped as I was, singing and dancing, which was definitely a common theme for the night. The only complaint that I have with Indecisive Youth is that they don't have any merchandise for fat people.
Up next was Griswald. Arguably one of the most technically-sound and proficient bands on the local scene, they came out and put on their usual blistering set. For some reason, the ladies love this band, and by the second measure of the first song, there were more swooning women in LaSalle's than at a Tom Jones show. It's got to be the music, or maybe the way they move on stage, because these guys are nothing to look at. They played a great show, which is par for the course, and wrapped up a truly stellar night of local live music. The only complaint that I have about these guys is that they have no FREE merchandise for fat people.
– Bryce Barnhart – photo by D.C. Ramirez

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