Concert Review: Rebelution/State Radio @ HOB Sunset

Rebelution has come a long way in one year. The Santa Barbara-based reggae band, which last year played shows at venues such as modestly-attended dive bars in the Bay Area, headlined the House of Blues Sunset on Thursday the 15^th. If the show was not sold out, it was very near capacity, filled with fans that were into every song the band performed.

Opening the show for Rebelution was State Radio, which features Chad Urmston, formerly of Dispatch, one of the most popular and loved indie bands of the last fifteen years. State Radio’s blend of passionate, politically-minded reggae rock was poignant and delivered with precision by Urmston, someone used to performing on larger stages than the HOB provided.

His former band Dispatch recently reformed for two sold-out benefit shows at Madison Square Garden, so the fact that Rebelution was billed above State Radio at this show is an indication that they are doing very well for themselves now. Rebelution has followed in the footsteps of fellow reggae revivalist bands Pepper (from Hawaii), The Expendables (from Santa Cruz), and Slightly Stoopid (from San Diego) to amass a throng of loving fans, and it was evident at the show Thursday.

Rebelution supported the Expendables at another sold-out HOB show back in November, and they received a good reaction then, but nothing close to how they were received this time around. The band, which only has one self-released full-length album, was treated to a crowd who absolutely loved each and every song they played, singing along with the band and in some cases, drowning out lead guitarist/vocalist Eric Rachmany.

This time, the band peppered in multiple new songs, which indicated growth in their songwriting department. While most of the songs on their full-length album ‘Courage to Grow’ have similar tempos and rhythms, the newer songs change that up a bit, with faster beats and tighter musicianship. They performed songs such as ‘Safe and Sound’, ‘Green to Black’, which argues for the legalization of marijuana, and came back out amid a deafening chant of ‘REBEL-UTION! REBEL-UTION!’ to close the show with ‘Feeling Alright’. The band played even ventured out to few that were penned by ex-band member Matt Velasquez.

Rebelution is becoming a seasoned touring band, and the result of that is evident when witnessing their live show, which has a very rich, full sound accompanying the music. ‘Courage to Grow’ was a great success on the iTunes Reggae charts in 2007, and that helped gain the band more attention and a wider audience. Rebelution’s songs do not display the same punk spirit as Slightly Stoopid’s, nor do they break down into thrash metal rock outs, like the Expendables. Rebelution sticks with one kind of song: rhythmic, keyboard-driven, and relaxing. They are the perfect soundtrack to chilling on the beach with a six-pack.

If this show was any indication of their future, Rebelution is on the rise, and will only continue to amass success like their peers and friends in the Expendables. This is a good time for bands of this genre: the Expendables are getting bigger and bigger, and Slightly Stoopid recently played a sold-out show with the Expendables and Bad Brains at the newly-reopened Palladium in December. The fact that the crowd was so into Rebelution’s show this week indicates that they may be the next band of this type to break out. The crowd at the show loved every second of it, and will undoubtedly return when the band comes back into town for another night of So*Cal reggae.