Heather wanted to come with me on Saturday night, since she'd heard good things about Scarlet Symphony and was in a party mood. I love it when I don't have to drive, but we got a late start on our night and had to park on the other side of the Kava Lounge. By the time we got in to the Casbah, it was just after 10pm and Drug Wars was already tearing down. Since when do shows start on time?

I caught Zodiac Death Valley at the Soda Bar last month when they played with Scarlet Symphony, and they invited me down to shoot them again.



They sounded better tonight than last time, there's a Doors-y , desert sound to them. Their CD will be perfect for my photo trip to Anza Borrego Desert this weekend.



All five members have a ZDV tattoo, some more visible than others.






I'm not sure if it was intentional, but the CD is produced in a way that makes them sound almost reggae.  While it's a stylistic clash, it sure does make my subwoofer go boom!
 


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Apes of Wrath remind me of the NYC new wave punk sound, so I chose to process most of the images in a different way than usual.





They were handing out free CDs after the show, it looked like I was going to get a free CD from three bands!



It's very danceable music, and the snarky vocal delivery makes it very memorable too.



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By the time Scarlet Symphony took the stage, the floor was packed. I had to take all my photos from the same spot.



These guys are great subjects to shoot since they're hyper and expressive. It was tough to edit this set since there were so many unique looks from them.



Zach Wheeler plays a lot of interesting stuff for this type of rock music, including fretless bass and slapping. I don't think I've ever seen either one on this stage before. He doesn't stay still for long, though...



And neither does the crowd...



These guys can make their audience do some interesting things, like crowd surf in a really short skirt.



Sensing the crowd's rowdiness, they changed the vibe a bit.







And then worked the crowd back up into a moshing frenzy.




Too bad this audience doesn't come out for more bands.

I would have liked to get the free CD that was advertisied on the flyer, but when I went to pick one up on my way out, the merch guy demanded a ticket. SInce I got in on a guest list, I didn't have one and I didn't have the energy to find someone in the band to ask for a CD. So if anyone from this show got one and is reading this, tell me how it is.