It was another clear, perfect night in the greatest city in America, and San Diego’s Casbah was buzzing with music connoisseurs grabbing beers and gathering around a stage set with inviting neon lights.
We shuffled in slowly, sipping Red Trolleys as we patiently waited in anticipation for the soul-engulfing jams.
At long last, Hibou arrived with their first song “When The Season Ends” and took us all on a head-bobbing journey through skillfully decorated time. Groovy base lines and electric chords filled the room as I swayed with the beat and melted away.
I’d describe Hibou’s sound as the love child of power rock and funk rock, or maybe garage band on LSD? Really great stuff if you’re into songs that make you want to bob your head and do weird things with your arms, I know I am.
After a few more face liquifying renditions from Hibou, the twin brother led indie pop band, Cayucas, took command over the eager crowd. The Santa Monica born band immediately turned up the pace and soon everyone in the audience was hella pumped (Nor Cal slang we will never really understand)! The serenade continued with songs like “Hella” from Cayucas’s latest album, Dancing at the Blue Lagoon, as well as their previous, Bigfoot, and no one on the floor could keep still. It blows my mind how much talent these guys have and how far they’ve come since Oregon Bike Trails, this show was proof. Great vibes, great crowd energy, great musicians.
This was, in all honesty, one of the best shows I’ve been to in a while, a truly killer mashup of funk-rocky-goodness. Arguably, the best part of the performances were the look of pure joy on the faces of every musician on stage that night. You could tell both bands were having a blast up there, and it definitely translated to everyone watching.
Luckily for you, they still have some show dates left on their tour, they’ll be at the El Ray theatre in LA August 14th, so get on that! In the meantime, grab their new albums on iTunes, follow them on Spotify, and while you’re here, feast your eyes on some sick shots from the show, courtesy of photographer Morgan Klein and myself.
-Eliana Christianson
Unsigned Sunday 