Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean
Sunflower Bean took the stage at UCSD’s Che Café Collective on March 25 to celebrate their newly-released album, Human Ceremony, as part of their world tour stretching into September.
Photos and Review By: Francesca Tirpak
A last-minute add to the bill and a classic in the San Diego scene, Buddha Trixie, the band known for its “unpolished funk” and stand-up drummer, opened up the show with an upbeat yet soulful set. Recently become a four-piece with newcomer Kenzo Mann, the boys played as a three-piece that night for a more garage-punk sound. It was a perfect start to the night and created the inviting atmosphere that permeated the room for the rest of the show.
Weaves caught the crowd’s attention at the start of their set with an ear-piercing guitar riff as the band warmed up for their first song. In a voice that could fit in perfectly crooning love songs in the Jazz Age of the Gilded Age, frontwoman Jasmyn Burke was right at home behind the sparkly microphone in the performance of half-alternative pop, half quirky punk songs. Her voice resided over the music as a commanding presence but still blended in without the harshness one would expect from such a powerful stage presence. Perfect for easy dance moves, the crowd and the band alike swung effortlessly along to tunes from their self-titled EP released little less than a year ago.
The headliners of the show that night, Sunflower Bean, opened up their set with the title song from their recently-released album, Human Ceremony, a smooth rock ballad whose haunting atmosphere slowly rose to a climax by Julia Cumming’s debut of jumping into the crowd during the rendition of “Easier Said.” By that time, the crowd was writhing and dancing along to Julia and Nick Kivlen’s enchanting voices. The band was the perfect end to the night, the crowd meshing together as one connected by an admiration for the same kinds of music.
