Scanners at Squid Joe’s: March 23, 2007
Any place named after a fish, and a slimy one with many arms and tentacles, and some dude with a generic name like Joe, should be an indication of the place and crowd. Location is always key, and Carlsbad, other than being another North County sleepy beach town, is one full of Marines (aka Jarheads), bros in their SRH gear, and aging surfers. Tonight was no exception.
I arrived to find the female half of Scanners up at the bar (actually I met one half of this half, Amina—who plays guitars and sings—outside smoking), grimacing at some Bitter and trying to find out why the beer price had arisen from $3 to $4 since the last round. Happy Hour ended at 8:30 pm, perhaps? I was amazed to find in this encounter, that I had the very first Scanners t-shirt ever made. I don’t mean the first design or style, but the very first spray-painted shirt that Sarah, the lead singer and bass player, had made for their last tour of Los Angeles. Only ten were made and I had the first experimental one, and I’ve been told to not wash it! This means Febreze will come in handy whenever donning my lovely black shirt with Scanners sprayed in white across the breasts. I was actually lucky I could fit in it—damn small UK sizes!
The male half of the band, Matt (guitar and vocals) and Tom (drums) was near the stage with the band they’d been touring with on this Rock Save the Queen Tour with Meridian UK (sponsored by UK Trade & Investment, NME, and Exolution), The Hedrons, an amazing 4-piece girl punk band hailing from Glasgow. I felt at home with friends from over the Atlantic—more at home than I would most LA bands. After some time deciding whether this gig was worth playing, the bands decided to change order and Scanners was up first, with the Hedrons up next, and some other nameless band of assholes who’d rather play Sublime in their cars in the parking lot than set up, would go on last (just in time for the rest of us to go to the parking lot and then leave).
Scanners never fails to impress, even when they’re not necessarily feeling the place. A crowd commenced after the first song and even drunk dudes with their hats turned the other way and long Dickies shorts, were “dancing” around the front of the stage. It was a crowd I was shocked to see getting into an Indie rock band from London. Yes, London is in England for the crowd member who had to verify that after Sarah announced that is where they were from. Sometimes I am embarrassed as hell to be an American.
I was happy to hear “Joy” and “Lowlife,” two of my favorite songs from their Dim Mak Records album called Violence is Golden. There was also a new song in this set that was amazing—and though I traded off hearing new songs to hear familiar songs with the keys, I was just as pleased because it had been awhile since I’d seen them, and hearing them in the car at full blast with the top down, isn’t enough. And for someone at a LA Weekly to say their lyrics are “lame,” (and not even include the correct lyrics in the article) is preposterous. Obviously, they haven’t truly listened to their songs. I’ve been a fan for a long time and nothing is better than: “Love is red sheets of pain/ A flawless disease/ Invisible chain/ Oh lover scream out my name/ Your spiraling song/ Your tortured refrain.” Fuck lame. That is intense and better than most shit out there right now. So, LA Weekly, reevaluate and do some lyric checking.
The Hedrons came on next and they garnered a huge male response, not only because they were four hot rocker chicks, but they know how to rock hard. In tight t-shirts and jeans, every boy in the joint was talking down his unit while making as close to a mosh pit as was possible in this makeshift bar/stage area. I couldn’t tell you a single song or lyric that was sung (other than one about self-indulgence), but I know they can play. And it was a loud, but enjoyable set.
After this, it was time to get the hell out of the joint. I’d had enough of the beach and its crowd. All I could think about was Alex, the representative from Sony/BMG, who I’d talked to after Scanners’ set. He slobbered over their harmonies and sound, telling me over and over how he was told there would be a pop band playing. He was thinking Backstreet Boys or something you’d see on American Idol—he was pleasantly surprised that his friend was mistaken. “What the fuck are they doing here?” he asked. My point exactly!
They will also be playing Fitzgerald’s in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, March 27th at 8 pm and a free show at Cal Poly Pomona during the noon hour. The best bet would be to see them at Spaceland in Silverlake on Wednesday, March 28th. But, you must see them while you can. It isn’t often you are hit with a talent like this.
by Lysa Pavlith