REVIEW: Twin Peaks, Together Pangea, Golden Daze @ the Sinclair 12/07

Photo Credit: Daniel Topete Photography

Twin Peaks returned to The Sinclair for the second time this year accompanied by two of LA’s finest bands: California rock ‘n’ roll heroes, Together Pangea, and dreamy psych ensemble, Golden Daze. The sold out crowd packed into the venue was as diverse as the line-up; there were teens, people in their 20s, 30s, and beyond. It makes sense considering Twin Peaks’ sound is a combination of classic influences (think Rolling Stones) and hints of new dirty stoner garage rock.

Golden Daze was put in charge of setting the tone for the night, and they didn’t disappoint. With three guitars and layers of ethereal, reverbed vocals, Golden Daze’s music was very substantial and full sounding, but still had an overall mellow and pleasant feel. They played through multiple tracks off their self-titled album, like upbeat tune “Salt” and criminally catchy psych pop song “Me Llamo.” It was clear that the crowd was surprisingly pleased by the set, and they even had a special affection for keyboardist who they enthusiastically cheered on between songs. Though the show was in Cambridge in early winter, while listening to Golden Daze, it may as well have been on a California beach inside a kaleidoscope.

Together Pangea continued the night with a high energy set. Their heavier rock sound contrasted with Golden Daze’s floaty, dreamy set, and yet the two bands going back-to-back worked beautifully. Once they started their set with “Looked In Too” off their latest EP, The Phage, moshing began immediately. Together Pangea triggered instant enthusiasm throughout the set as they played tracks off all their released albums and EPs. They even presented a new “love song,” as drummer Erik Jimenez put it. Songs like “Does He Really Care,” “My Head is On Too Tight,” and “River” all received approval from the audience in the forms of screaming along with the lyrics, bouncing around in the mosh pit, and crowd surfing.

The band also have recently re-released their debut full-length album, Living Dummy, on Burger Records. Together Pangea resurrected some of the old tracks during their set including “Night of the Living Dummy” (which transitioned in a cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie”), and fan favorite “Too Drunk to Cum.”

Near the end of the set, Danny Bengston was having technical difficulties with his bass. After a few silent minutes, frontman William Keegan launched into a rare and abbreviated rendition of “Love & Alcohol,” a song released at a time in the distant past when the band was still known as just Pangea.

Once the bass problem was solved, Together Pangea launched into their anthemic final song for the night, “Snakedog.” The closer, like the rest of the set, was rock ‘n’ roll in its dirtiest, loudest form, and it left the crowd sweaty, satisfied, and yet especially anxious to see Chicago’s Twin Peaks take the stage.

The crowd’s excitement could be gauged by just how much noise they made when Twin Peaks came onstage…to do their sound check. In true Twin Peaks style, members Cadien Lake James and Clay Frankel made conversation with fans in the front row as they leaned down to tune their guitars and adjust their effects pedals.

The charisma continued as they sauntered onstage (again) to play one of their legendary shows to the people packed into The Sinclair. Twin Peaks immediately launched into “Butterfly,” a single off their latest album Down in Heaven, which they have been touring since early this year. To say the crowd was crazed was an understatement. When classic Twin Peaks’ track “Boomers” was played three songs into the set, every single body was bouncing as a single, sweaty, contented mass. The “woah-oh-oh’s” of the chorus were both deafening and echoing, and consequently, completely euphoric.

Twin Peaks played tracks from all their albums including, but certainly not limited to, “Irene,” “Fade Away,” and “Holding Roses.” That’s what is especially great about Twin Peaks; they will never neglect or discredit their earlier works in favor of playing new material. It’s a flawlessly balanced mix that keeps any varying level of fan engaged and in love with the incredible live shows Twin Peaks put on time and time again.

As the band played some of their rowdier, favored songs like “Making Breakfast” and “Flavor,” the crowd surfing and stage diving increased. But instead of security guards waiting to manhandle any fan fortunate enough to reach the stage, Twin Peaks’ tour manager was waiting up front to offer a hand and lead them down the side of the stage. This, in addition to the dedicated fans (including a guy up front who was attending his 20th Twin Peaks show), created a community of good vibes during the show. Of course, like at any large club show unfortunately, there was a disrespectful anomaly or two souring the crowd a bit. Overall though, people valued the music enough (and had enough human decency) to create a fun, enthusiastic show experience.

Twin Peaks closed their set with “Have You Ever?” which also acts as the final track on Down in Heaven. It wasn’t long before the crowd was chanting for the band to come back on stage for a riotous encore, though. When the guys did re-emerge to a loving applause, they played their way through the mellower, rather heartbreaking track “I Wanted You.” As a mid-encore surprise, Twin Peaks covered “Dead Flowers” by The Rolling Stones. Considering the band is heavily influence by The Stones, it was no surprise that the cover could have easily been one of their own. “Strawberry Smoothie” brought the liveliness of the encore to its highest point and closed the night in the most energetic, feel-good manner possible. Twin Peaks proved once again that they are the kings of live shows.

– Olivia Gehrke