Every once in a while we go to a show and we are completely captivated by a band's performance. Tonight was one of those nights. Having just been crowned best Indie Band of 2012 by the OC Weekly, Yellow Red Sparks came into Fingerprints Records and won over the crowd with their original brand of acoustic folk rock. The band was playing tonight celebrating the release of their new self-titled record out now on ORG Music.
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| Lead Vocalist/Guitarist Joshua Hanson |
The three piece band out of Southern California played ten songs in the hour long set, focusing mainly on the material from their debut album. Lead vocalist Joshua Hanson mentioned to the crowd that the Long Beach show was their second of three shows that they were playing that day. The last show of the day was a South by Southwest preview which was back in Los Angeles later that evening. Talk about a hard working indie band!
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| Bassist Sara Lynn and Singer/Guitarist Joshua Hanson |
The band's sound revolves around poetic songwriting, beautiful harmonies and folky acoustic guitars. Singer/guitarist Joshua Hanson's lyrics reveal insight of personal relationships and heartbreak. Hanson, Bassist Sara Lynn and drummer Goldy are all excellent musicians and form a tight cohesive unit. They seem to feed off of each others' energy. Sara Lynn showed her versatility tonight by switching instruments during the set and playing banjo for a few songs.
About half way through tonight's set the band played a spellbinding, unplugged version of the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" complete with an audience sing along. The band seems to enjoy connecting with their audience and encourages them to participate. Tonight's audience willingly obliged. The intimate environment Yellow Red Sparks creates, makes it easy for the audience to feel connected to the performers. Earlier in the show Joshua Hanson had requested that everyone move closer to the stage to (jokingly) "make it a little more awkward." Another highlight from the set was the band's performance of "Happiness Comes In A Box" which Hanson said was simply about, "trying to make someone happy." This poetic lament makes you feel like swaying back and forth while waiving your lighter in the air.
Below is a link for the band's video for "My Machine Gun" which is a song they performed this evening at Fingerprints. This is my favorite track from the album and it reminds me a little of the "Hallowed Ground" era of the Violent Femmes. Click to take a look.
A fan in the crowd asked singer Joshua Hanson how he came up with the name of the band. He said that he liked the idea of the color yellow being passive and the color red being aggressive, together, the two opposing colors forming a spark. With a new album out now and an official South By Southwest Showcase this spark should ignite a wildfire.
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| Drummer Goldy |
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| Sara Lynn, Me (Jody), Joshua Hanson, Goldy |
Great review and great band!
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