 "Photo: Kevin Barroga")
Thursday, the Barn boogied with the bands on stage at the Student Run Health Clinic's winter concert fundraiser. The clinic, which helps Riverside locals with basic healthcare, raised approximately $200 through donations at the show, according to organizers. With none of the rain that poured down on it last week, the Barn was nearly full, good for both the fundraising efforts and the mood inside.
The night opened with Lion vs. Goat, a duo of musicians playing and singing acoustic songs. Upbeat at times, soothing at others, the group's first songs had the audience moving in different, pleasing directions. The guitar rhythms were strong and the vocal delivery was startling. As the set progressed, more people entered the barn. By the time the next band took the stage, the place was full of energy.
Next up were two well-established bands that were trying things a little bit new. Dangeroso, a Redlands experimental indie band, was playing one of its first shows with a new name. The group was formerly called Machine Said Hail. The band was eager to get underway. Bassist Srikanth Krishna opened his band by saying, "we're going to get unnecessarily loud tonight" and despite a long set up, they did. They mingled brilliant melodies and soothing harmonies. Vocally, they were more then proficient and played well with each other on stage. Though some moments sounded similar to the band before the name change, there was still a boldness and energy that were powerful and fresh.
"They are good for their genre, they had cool progressions and stops," said Drew Barclay.
Many were eager for Yassin's mirage-like music and could not wait much longer. While first band was playing with a new name, the second was playing with a new line-up. Yassin, UCR's homegrown jazzy fusion band won the school's battle of the bands last year with a roster nearly ten-men strong. Thursday they played with three.
The first song lured and lulled with soothingly slow melodies. Adam Elabd's bass and Sam Marsey's guitar complimented each other well the whole night. The guitar radiated smooth sunset slurs of simplicity backed by an irrefutable funk beats on drums. Elabd's bass would often snag delicious solos, hushing the sound and building up the groove. After grabbing his alto clarinet two thirds into the show, Elabd, like the Pied Piper, lured the audience under a shady tree.
Soloing for a couple of minutes, Yassin then broke down to a familiar part of their show. Eddie Valencia's drumming had been marinating throughout the whole show, now it was time for the feast. With fast progressions, interesting stops and fades, Valencia exhausted jazz drumming.
Wendyam Mathias Jack Ouedraogo, a third year, remembers a suggestion he had for the band at a previous show: "You guys would be good if you had vocals." With Marsey singing most of the night, the formerly mostly instrumental band had an invigorating new personal outlet of sound.
Yassin, having lost a lot of its members because of their other commitments and because a few couldn't handle the fame, have shown what a flexible band it is. Catching the audience in a noose of light, Yassin's famous long progressions and improvising complimented well the structured framework of each song. I can only lick my lips for their next performance.
Throughout the night, the bands and musicians shook up spirits and shoes. Everywhere you looked, couples were dancing and people were moving to the music. The goal to raise $200 was also reached.
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