Photos By: Arlene Ibarra
By: David Israel
When Sir Sly played the Hard Rock Hotel, I happened to be standing next to Gareth, bassist for the Young Wild.
We don’t know one another, except I’ve run in to his brother and him at shows across town; he’s memorable for his head of hair, and is someone you’d remember from venue to venue. He commented how Sir Sly was hitting every note, every beat, and had put on a great performance, and lamented that his band needed to be that way.
That was a year ago, and Wednesday night at the Casbah was the first time I’d managed to see The Young Wild in action, despite ample opportunities in 2014. And, Gareth’s worries proved to be completely unfounded. The band sounded on point, and put on a solid 45-minute headlining set to an enthusiastic crowd for a mid-week show, the band’s first of 2015 after touring the country to close out last year.
The good news is that The Young Wild have been playing under their current iteration for long enough that not every review has to mention what they were previously; they are well deserving to be known for their strong vocals, danceable beats, and musical accomplishments, including opening for Switchfoot.
The set was highlighted by the two singles – Not A One, with a video I highly recommend (watch it, then watch it again and this time watch someone other than the duo with the stomp/clap second from the left), and Moment Goes, the band’s first single off of the For Now Not Forever EP. Silhouette, off of the same EP, could easily be next for the single/video treatment and sounds like it could score the next coming of age love story.
The band sounds ever better live than in their recordings, adding enthusiasm and a solid stage presence (and jokes! Did you know it was past their bed time?) that left the crowd demanding an encore as soon as the last notes sounded. The band is well worth catching at their next show around town, and will soon join the San Diego bands with nationwide recognition.
David Israel is an attorney by day, and by night attends concerts and tries not to stand in front of people shorter than he is.