Veruca Salt at the El Rey
By Russ Allsup
When I found out one of my favorite bands, Veruca Salt, playing in town it was a happy day for this guy. The show had sold out so it was Christmas in July for me. There are bands I like and bands I love. Veruca Salt are a band I love. My friend Pat O. had loaned me their debut cd American Thighs after he had got it.
I was familiar with the first single ‘Seether’ through MTV and thought it was pretty cool. But when I heard the cd it just hit me like a ton of bricks. Great songs, and those vocal harmonies- pure heaven! The whole vibe of that cd is dreamy but at times heavy as molasses and still takes me to another place even today.
I finally did get to see the band in 2005 at the Key Club in LA and was blown away- they totally delivered and it was a great show. The only thing missing was original member Nina Gordon, who left the band in 1998. Not long ago I had heard that Nina had rejoined the band and they we’re releasing an album. The album has been released to rave reviews and the band have been on tour, with the Los Angeles date happening at the El Rey on July 11th.
I walked into the El Rey and was welcomed by the dreamy on the rock side sounds of Talk In Tounges, who played a set that the crowd appreciated. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the next band up were hometown favorites The Muffs. I’d had a crush on Muffs singer Kim Shattuck since I first saw her picture in BAM Magazine in the early ’90’s. Always wanted to see the band but it never worked out schedule-wise. They worked their magic on the audience with their unique blend of music that had flavors of pop, punk, grunge, and some good old garage rock. Glad I finally got to see them in person after reading about them for so many years.
Then Veruca Salt hit the stage and the crowd went nuts. The show was full of energy, and sounded perfect. From melodic lullabyes to rabid full out rock, they blew the L.A. concertgoers away with good songs and solid musicianship. What stood out most for me were the vocal harmonies of Louise Post and Nina Gordon. No one sounds exactly like these two when they sing together, and for me it’s just pure rock n’ roll bliss.
On top of that, they both play great guitar and each has their own style of playing that perfectly complements each other. They played a 21 song set that covered all areas of their 22 year career and left the El Rey audience completely satisfied. They also managed to do my favorite song of theirs- ‘Spiderman’.
Be forewarned, Veruca Salt are sounding better than ever. Go out and get their album, Ghost Notes. Right now. And if you get a chance to see them next time they come around, don’t miss ’em. Because they are putting on one of most solid rock n’ roll shows of any band out there right now. As the saying goes, they are in the zone.
