The Big Pink, A Place To Bury Strangers, Active Child, Io Echo: Concert Review and Photos

The Big Pink returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday night and the lineup they provided at the El Rey Theatre was not in the least bit disappointing. With openers such as Io Echo, Active Child, and A Place To Bury Strangers, the crowd packed it into the music venue and prepared themselves for some hard core noise to afflict their ear drums. BeatCrave was there to cover everything from the beginning to the end. If our photos below don’t hint at how epic it was, let us tell you in our own words.

Arriving just in time for Io Echo, the crowd walked right into the familiar ambiance that goes so well with their gothic, dark, rock but ridiculously melodic songs. However, for about half of the set, leading lady Joanna sang and zombied out to a handful of new songs. Although they sounded a bit more subdued than their original material, IO Echo’s stage presence never fails to go beyond the thick cloud of fog and eerie lighting. With vocals that pierce yet soothe at the same time, IO Echo pounced with style, crashed with just the right amount of noise, and reminded us that their credibility surpasses the mere opening spots they have filled in for bands such as Nine Inch Nails, She Wants Revenge, and The Big Pink again tonight.

Active Child offered a refreshing new sense to the sounds of New Wave bands as their synthesizers played riffs that ticked our ears, vocals that knew no range, and an energy that took us back to the likes of New Order. Although Active Child could have been a bit more hyper as their band name led us to believe, the highlight of their set was when they brought out the mesmerizing and beautiful harp. Sure, one sees a cello or a bass every once in a while and if you go out to a Joanna Newsom show – you’re bound to see a glorious harp, but these New Wave kids took it to another level when they busted this beauty out. It was a memorable first experience with Active Child, to say the least.

However, when A Place To Bury Strangers took the stage, the mood was set for the concert goers with their powerful space rock tones we all at BeatCrave are such big fans of. (Exploding Head did make our Top 20 Albums of 2009.) We couldn’t recommend any other three-piece band to see if you’re looking for a massive noise rock sound in the midst of spectacular lighting. A Place To Bury Strangers have always had a way with intense sound and their live shows are nothing less than epic. Heavy, atmospheric, hitting the walls and bouncing off on to everyone could have fooled anyone into thinking this was the headliner.

The Big Pink made sure they did not disappoint as the last act of the night though. Another band who made our Top 20 Albums of 2009 list with their debut album, A Brief History of Love, set their stakes high with each dive into a different genre for almost every song. The British electro-rock duo not only managed to succeed at telling every kind of love story there is on the album but during a live set the band takes all the crescendos of electronica, reverb, drums, and vocals to an almost out of body level. We’ve all seen shows that have blown our minds completely apart and The Big Pink manages to do this with their songs whether they are completely dominating with their hit single, “Dominos” or “Velvet.”

Check some of our photos from the night below!

Photography by Carl Pocket