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Long Beach’s Magic Lantern have finally gone and released a new sonic document after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Eagerly anticipated by those who have been biding their time waiting for the band to get on with their uber limited cassette only and CD-R releases (their Self-Titled CD-R was limited to 30), “High Beams”, the band’s latest opus [...]

Great Northern @ Spaceland – 8/10/07

Last night Spaceland saw the return of Great Northern to their home turf after many weeks on the road. Back in May I saw them play to a full house at the Echo for their record release show, and last night the east side hip-as-you-want-to-be crowd was once again packed in like tamales in a cooler.

I arrived just as The Comas were gearing up to take the stage. Not being all that familiar with these Vagrant Records deep sleepers, I was curious and expectant of good things, as they came with high recommendation. Watching the band rip through their set, led by Andy Herod who shares vocal and guitar duties with Nicole Gehweller, I began to realize something. I was hearing the soundtrack to a 1980’s teen comedy being played out of order. “Come My Sunshine,” from their recent release Spells, opened their set and represented the moment-of-change scene in which the protagonist trains himself for the obligatory showdown with the antagonist (the big game/fight/race/etc…). From there the theme continued in my head, whether it was the perfect backing to the romantic montage or the breakup scene, it was spot on. There was even the perfect song for the house-party scene, fittingly some of the members of Great Northern hopped on stage to lend a hand for that one. Now I should make clear that this is not a negative critique of The Comas performance. In fact, though I’m not sure, I think in some way it might be one of the best compliments I could give.

The stage set in a wash of red light accented by sparkling white Christmas lights, Great Northern opens with the somber “Our Bleeding Hearts.” They continued through most of the material from their Eenie Meenie debut, Trading Twilight for Daylight, with standouts including, “Telling Lies,” “Low Is A Height” and “Into The Sun,” during the latter of which The Comas returned the earlier favor by taking to the stage armed with tambourines, jingle bells and shakers.

Having been only a couple months ago that I last saw them play, it was obvious from Friday’s show that the extensive touring has sharpened Great Northern’s live set to a fine point. That is not to say that their previous showings were lacking to any degree, but I didn’t see or hear a gap, hole or pin prick in last nights tightly woven set. Of particular note was the chemistry between Solon Bixler and Rachel Stolte, Great Northern’s dueling vocalists/songwriters, which comes across in more ways than songwriting alone. Watching them onstage nothing feels fake or forced, contrary to what often happens when a band contains two strong creative personages. Apropo of the band’s sonic demeanor, rounding out Great Northern’s stage presence is the unassuming bass playing of Ashley Dzerigian and solid drumming by Davey Latter (you may have caught his profile in the last LA Weekly “People” edition).

Overall, with the more than warm reception from the crowd and the jovial interplay between bands, it was clear that this was a nice welcome home for the road weary players.

[Ed. Note: Check out Great Northern's Tour Zine to see how their entire tour went.]