Olin and the Moon @ the Echo

Happy Holidays all, and welcome to 2010. I am currently basking in the California sun, enjoying a last respite of Winter Break, tasting some of Los Angeles’ bounty before heading East again. For as many reasons as there are to hate LA, there are reasons to love it. Maybe it’s the weather, the ocean, the Lakers, or Hollywood, but LA has a lot of things New York doesn’t have. Where New York has Brooklyn, LA has Silverlake/Echo Park. Amidst skinny jean toting, beer guzzling whipsters, a local indie scene has emerged. And like most poor concert goers, everyone is looking for a free show.

For all you bargain concert shoppers, alt-country rockers, Olin and the Moon are putting the “Southern” in Southern California rock, delivering free shows at the Echo every Tuesday this January.  The music will be accompanied by beer, pizza, and bingo. The mind blowingly simple idea of a free rock show should get just about anyone a bit tingly, but Olin and his Moon brigade do come with a warning sign. Be aware of missed harmonies, awkward stage presence, low self-esteem, and general drunkenness. There are bright points to these young rockers though, and they have a generally fun sound. With a bit of polishing, Olin and the Moon could be a reputable house band, and are certainly worth a shot, if only to do something other than get stoned and watch re-runs of Planet Earth on a Tuesday night.

Multi-part harmonies have awed crowds throughout the ages. The Beatles, the Beach Boys, and recently Fleet Foxes, have all showed us how mesmerizing harmonies can be. Olin and the Moon on the other hand, showed us why bands with flat singers never make any real moves. I applaud the effort, but simply putting 4 mics on stage and letting all your members drone in is not the answer. Brian Wilson is ashamed.

Additionally, no band ever got anywhere by chronically stating self-deprecating phrases between songs. No one in the crowd wants to hear “don’t worry, we’re almost done”, or “sorry, we always play this song”. Confidence is key, and for an alt-country band playing to a crowd of hipsters, guzzling Miller Lite between every riff will not solve the problem of off-key ballads and low self-esteem.

For their first of four performances, Olin and the Moon missed the mark. But to their name, they have 3 more shows  in LA, and all of them are free. I can only imagine with a rocky start under their belt, these boys will return next week with more confidence, sobriety, and hopefully will have ditched the tin ear.

This week’s opener was Marnie Herald, who charmed the hushed crowd with a solo-acoustic performance of sad, slow, dreamy tunes. Not exactly the pump-up opener Olin and the Moon might have wanted, but still a young talent nonetheless.

Here are the Tuesday line-ups for January, 2010.

Jan. 5 – w/Marnie Herald

Jan. 12 – w/ Eleni Mandell

Jan. 19 – w/ Dusty Rhodes & the River Band

Jan. 26 – w/ The Henry Clay People

The Echo

1822 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026-3227
(213) 413-8200