Los Yesterdays brought the revelry of love and the reality of loss.
Any time a band on the Penrose Record Label plays live, you’re bound to be blown away by the artistry of the skillful and soulful musicians. That’s on full display with Los Yesterdays, hailing from Pasadena, CA. Started by Gabriel Rowland and Victor Benavides in 2017, the band was founded around the common desire to create music that evoked melodies and emotions from their childhood days as young chicanos. They refer to their songs – with contemporary takes on old soul tracks – as “souldies.”
This was such a remarkable performance to see live, improved by the two wonderful opening bands. I was pleasantly surprised by the six piece doo-wop rhythm and blues band Vicky Tafoya and the Big Beat. Tafoya first got into a capella doo-wop in the late 80s, and co founded the Big Beat in 2001. Vicky Tafoya and The Big Beat’s classic sound with a bright and beautiful retro style were all the affirmations I needed, to know I was in the right place at the right time.
Los Yesterdays encompass the revelry of emotions felt in fresh love and how “we’re only human” in the emotions we can feel, in the loss of that love. With a new album on the horizon, they performed a couple of songs from that album mixed with tunes classic to them including “Tell Me I’m Dreaming” and the psychedelic, meditative-like song “Time.” The House of Blues’s urban and industrial feeling paired nicely with the bands.
