Kansas City Stars, The Americas, Lands Farther East & The Red Robot

The premature unveiling of the new Spins Record Shop coincided perfectly with a rock show of immense proportions for Redding faithful. Though the location of the venue is somewhat hidden (imagine a miniature D.I.Y.R.G.), the masses, or what passes for the masses up north, came out to support the re-vamped NorCal scene. There were no signs, no flyers on the door, and a minimal amount of records for sale. But the floor space was ample and slowly beginning to be occupied by many familiar faces in the Redding rock brigade.
Being somewhat biased on the subject, I can't personally call The Red Robot a "super-group" as they have been referred to, but as soon as they struck the first chord of their opening tune "Modern Living," the group seemed destined for that label. The newest addition to the Redding scene blends the sounds of their previous bands - Handoverfist, Jimmirig and the Mercy Mile - into a chasm of indie and punk rock that had the majority of the crowd very impressed. The dynamic of singers / screamers Mat Calderon and Tatton White lies in stark contrast to the polished, start-stop rock provided by the rhythm section.
The band ended their set after eight songs and made way for Washington's Lands Farther East. I was impressed by LFE's math-y, indie manipulations, though I suppose I expected more singing. The band seemed comfortable away from the mic and really drew in the members of the audience who were musicians, rather than the casual listeners in attendance.
The absence of a bass player wasn't anything unusual to this crowd, as Chico's own The Americas were scheduled up next. I have witnessed the rock before, but nothing at all like this duo. They have officially taken sole possession of the "Loudest Band On Earth" award in my mind, and completely blew everyone away once again with their incomparable style. Sounding like a super-amplified version of Lands Farther East, they performed a brand new song, as well as tracks off of their CD. Particularly taken with the band was the guitar player from LFE, as he could be heard shouting "You guys are incredible!" between almost each song. I walked outside midway through the set simply due to the fact that my ears were exploding, but listened with intent to the rest of their set from outside.
As the crowd began to disperse slowly, and the proprietor of the shop was selling some records, Redding's Kansas City Stars began their set. Literally legends in the local scene, the group ripped through a set of mostly blues-y rock numbers soaked with witty, cartoonish lyrics and bulky guitar riffs that left my heart at ease. Alas, Redding's scene is alive and well.
- Ryan Prado
- Photos by Shannon Ostendorf

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