Photos By: Summer Luu
By: Kayli Stix
It was a sold out show last Friday at the Casbah. Looking from the outside, the venue didn’t seem packed but don’t judge a book by its cover. Front and center were the stage’s decorations, posted up with a plastic white mannequin without a head and strobe lights.
Rose Quartz, the young dance-y synth pop quartet from Denver, opened up for the Generationals. They gave the crowd an easy intro into their set, just instrumental with minor vocals from lead singer, Ethan Converse, and guitarist/keys, Alex Anderson.
Ramping up into second gear, the duo brought on the newest members of their band, drummer Matt Tanner (formerly of Trantric Picasso) and bassist Clay Cornelius, who brought it all together. Last month, Rose Quartz released their first official EP, Axis of Love, and folks of San Diego were lucky enough to listen to the EP live. Diving into hits such as “Scarves”, “Leaving Now” and “All My Love”.
They’ve spent the last year sharing stages with bigger names such as Cut Copy, MS MR, St. Lucia, STRFKR and have been supporting the Generationals on their latest southern United States tour. Catch out for these guys- we suspect they will hit it big in 2015.
The Generationals took the stage next, toning down the lights and only putting sharp moments of colorful light on their faces. They weren’t afraid to start off by playing well-known tracks such as “Put a Light On”, “TenTwentyTen” and “When They Fight, They Fight”. It took us all back to a simpler time – maybe the 50’s or 60’s where the Beach Boys reigned supreme.
The natives of New Orleans released their newest record, Alix, via Polyvinyl Records, in September 2014. Sounds of their falsetto, synth-driven indie-pop still hold power on their fourth album. Lead vocals would switch almost every song from Ted Joyner (guitarist/keys) to Grant Widmer (guitarist/keys), creating a nice juxtaposition between both singers. There was no real lead singer…but that was the beauty of it. The crowd schmoozed and gently danced to their radiation of bright melodies and sparkly electro synths, leaving the Casbah crowd with happy and nostalgic thoughts of warmer days.