The Like, Starfucker, Jail Weddings: Concert Review and Photos

The Like was just named one of our BeatCrave Favs and when we went to see them perform at The Echo for one of their residency nights, it pretty much solidified the fact that we still love The Like. Although lead vocalist Z Berg had a sprained wrist and had to have her boyfriend play guitar for her, it just gave them much more to dance around to their new pop sound. Don’t worry, their pop still also fits into the alternative rock we love as well.

Although we only managed to catch the last couple of songs for first opener Gestapo Khazi, their minimal punk rock sounds seemed to delight everyone walking in for the main act. It’s always nice to see a Long Beach band in the midst of Los Angeles musicians. There is a subtle difference in their demeanor but the stage presence erases any laid back lifestyle habits because most bands such as Gestapo Khazi are right in your face during a performance. We don’t mind that at all.

Next up was Jail Weddings – a band who had up to ten people on stage this night. With half the members from Dante vs. Zombies (one of our past BeatCrave Favs and also playing with The Like next Monday), it was hard to believe all those people managed to fit up there (and not be Canadian). With doo-wop mixed in with conversational tones, the two back vocalists danced and sang in all their glitter and their frontman covered every bit of that stage with his spastic dancing.

Finally, The Like came out on stage and they had a boy to tote for the first time in their entire existence as a band. However, even the addition to the band blended right into their look of sleek, retro and wafer-thin bodies. His hair was just a bit shaggier than the girls’. By the time The Like had taken the stage, The Echo was incredibly packed and it created a contagious energy that meshed perfectly with the ahs and oos the girls were singing to us. Z was charismatic as ever since she could move around more without her guitar, bass player Laena played those seductive base lines with ease, Annie tickled us with her sparkling organ riffs and even though she was all the way in the back, drummer Tennessee kept rolling it out with those beats.

As usual, an out of town band plays after the resident band on Mondays and we all happened to be treated to Portland, Oregon’s Starfucker. Although they had briefly changed their name to Pyramiddd, they were back to Starfucker tonight but dressed as… The Like? Well at least that’s it looked like because three-fourths of the band came out in total drag. Summer dresses, pearl necklaces and wigs were what you got from the indie-electronic band if you happened to stay a little longer. However, led by lead vocalist Joshua Hodges, Starfucker’s selling point isn’t dressing in drag. With an audience almost as full as The Like’s, it was easy to see many people came out to The Echo this night with only one goal in mind: To see how Starfucker threw it down. Although the vocals were a bit more washed into the music we liked, this is one band we love live as much as we like their albums.

Check our photos out below!

Photography by Carl Pocket