The Galaxy is not usually a place for children. However, the venue was packed to the brim with underage fare for The Donnas on Tuesday. As much as the staff tried to clean up the place, there was still evidence of their more adult events: the pentagram was hung especially high; the chains attached to the ceiling were kept mostly out of sight; the whipping was at a minimum.
This probably didn’t ease the worries of the large parental contingent attending the show; the bands’ performances probably didn’t help either.
Rooney opened the show with their unique mix of new-wave eccentricities and classic-pop sensibilities. This quintet hails from the valleys of Los Angeles, where they picked up the California sounds of the Beach Boys and the Cars. Eventually the group was discovered by Geffen, the label behind such bands as Weezer. During their short set, the band definitely showed its influences.
The song “If It Were up to Me,” had early-Beach Boys simplicities mixed with the crunching guitars and fun synths of bands like Phantom Planet or even Weezer. There was also “Daisy Duke,” an unabashed new-wave song in 21st century clothing. The girls in the audience couldn’t get enough of these fine young Turks, and even some of the fellas in the crowd looked entertained by the set. However, the band had to cut their set short in order to fit in the next band of the evening, OK Go.
As much as the band really tries hard, OK Go just isn’t that good. I will say, though, that their efforts did win over much of the audience. The members switched between instruments seemingly between every song, with only the lead singer/guitarist and the drummer staying consistent throughout the set. Because of this, one member of the band almost always was free to jump around and get the crowd into the song. This was all well and good for the 13-year-old contingent in the front of the audience, but it proved taxing for those still waiting for the Donnas to show up. These fans were probably the only ones to truly notice the calamity of the band’s two covers of the Specials’ “Nite Club” and the Smiths’ “Panic,” respectively.
The band was on for so long that many of the younger members of the audience had to leave after the set because of the late hour. This also left The Donnas with little time to play their set before curfew laws started to become a factor.
The Donnas took this setback in stride, playing faster and harder to make up for the short set. Even from the first song, “Love on the Rocks,” it was quite evident that these four young women were touring veterans. The guitarist broke into hard-rock licks that haven’t been heard since Motley Cr?e’s heyday, while the vocalist sang in come-hither poses that made all the men’s knees weak. There was not a single part of the set that was not at full-power. They simply blew the house down.
In the over-21 section, the remaining parents were visibly wincing as they watched their daughters rock out to such songs as “Take Me to the Back Seat” and “Do You Wanna Play,” but that was part of the fun of the evening.
Even with the encore, the band was only on for a disappointing 45 minutes, which left many a fan wanting more from the band’s endless arsenal of pop-rock anthems. Why can’t there be more bands like this?
