Ludo
W/ Meese, Ha Ha Tonka and Without a Face
The Glasshouse, Pomona, CA

Last time I saw Ludo, they opened for Presidents of the United States of America and riding the high tide of their Love Me Dead single, now they were about to headline the night, and I have to tell you, I was pumped. So pumped I even watched ALL the opening bands.

First up was a tiny kid from Texas going by the moniker Without A Face. Clever, if not goofy, songs. Think Dashboard Confessional at the beginning and a sense of humor. Not bad, but he definitely relied on novelty and humor (song about MySpace, for example) rather than crafting songs.

Next up was Ha Ha Tonka, which came off to me as a rival to Dear And The Headlights’ foot-stomping sing-along’s that mix acoustic and electric instruments. But, DATH better watch their backs, these guys not only have a keyboard, but a mandolin, too. AND, they did one helluva a capella jam, complete with four part harmonies. No, seriously: the DRUMMER can sing, even. They tore it up, getting the normally apathetic and stagnant kids of the Glasshouse indie scene to sing along and…well, not dance, but sway a little harder.

Meese directly preceded Ludo, and honestly, I’ve completely forgotten anything about them.

Ludo, however, made it clear from the first chord that they deserved to be the headliner. Plowing through some of their jams on their more well known album (Go-Getter Greg, Topeka), Ludo made the announcement that they would be playing the entirety of their rock opera Broken Bride straight through. Fine by me. If you haven’t heard it, you should do yourself a favor and grab the thing any which way you can.

It’s the story of a man involving the death of a spouse, a time machine, Pterodactyls, zombies, the Apocalypse, and… well, you’ll have to get the thing to find out. But, I will tell you that it is filled with epic crescendos, vivid imagery, and the live set involved gang vocals involving most of the opening acts. It is always a treat to see bands who make it known that they are doing what they LOVE to do. If they are swinging by your town, hit up the show, if they aren’t, you still have the albums.

–Jonathan Yost, Photo by Wendy Day