Allah-Las with The Babe Rainbow, Turner Hall Ballroom, 3/15/17

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

The intersection of checkered-themed and brightly colored lights made the Turner Hall Ballroom feel somewhat like a discotheque from the late 1960's, and that could very well have been the point when Milwaukee was greeted by two acts who blend together elements of music from an earlier era-- Allah Las and The Babe Rainbow.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Hailing from sunny Los Angeles California, Allah Las combine a tightly woven form of rock 'n roll with a heavy influence in surf rock and psychedelic music from the 1960's.  The band emanates a laid back vibe on stage and are very much California rockers of the old sort.  The band consisted of its core members, Matthew Correia (percussion), Spencer Dunham (bass), Miles Michaud (vocals, guitar), and Pedrum Siadatian (lead guitar), and were also joined on stage by a keyboardist and conga player.  The subtleties of the Allah Las' music is what makes them a stand-out act, as each of the band members had something unique to bring to the band's overall sound, and the band mates often traded off lead vocal duties.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Their generous set consisted of material from all three of their albums, 2012's self-titled release, 2014's Worship the Sun, and 2016's Calico Review.   The musical dexterity of the band came through on a number of stand out tracks. Allah Las can run the gamut from shorter, infectiously catchy pop ditties like "Could Be You," (a stellar track from Calico Review), to more trippy numbers like "501-415," from Worship the Sun to full blown jams like "Catamaran," perhaps the band's most well-known song off of their debut record. Throw in some groovy instrumentals like "Sacred Sands" off of Allah Las, and a well-placed Television cover, and you have an act who is reinventing a style of music from the past to make it unique and relevant today.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Opening the show was The Babe Rainbow, a quintet from New South Wales, Australia who, came to the stage wearing mock turtlenecks and high waisted pants, looking like they could have just stepped off of the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine to go into Turner Hall.  Their lead singer, Angus Dowling himself looked like Leif Cassidy doppelganger.  With a heavy emphasis on bongos, maracas and a variety of tambourines, alongside psychedelic guitar riffs and steady bass, The Babe Rainbow's colorful stage show and energetic presence was wildly entertaining.  Along with the Allah Las, The Babe Rainbow's music brought about  themes of summer beaches, surfing, and just plain having fun.   Isn't that what a good rock 'n roll show should do?

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch