On Tuesday, Oct. 8, a gang of KUCR DJs ventured off the quiet UCR campus and headed west to see psych-indie sensation, Crumb, perform live at The Glass House in Pomona. For a few of us, the decision to drop all of our responsibilities and go to the concert was very spontaneous. Some of us had early classes and shifts, but we risked our sleep and sanity in hopes to hear the secrets Crumb sings of holding. The question is, was waking up off four hours of sleep and being absolutely wrecked the next day worth it?
The night began with psychedelic bedroom pop vibes from newcomer Shormey. She warmed up the crowd with her bouncy synths, raspy voice and groovy energy. As it turns out, Shormey was as energetic off-stage as she was on it. Somehow the KUCR crew ended up dancing the rest of the night away with Shormey and the lead bass player, Alex. They made the night 10 times better by being so humble, down to earth and just a tad goofy, which mixed perfectly with KUCR’s chaotic energy.
After Shormey’s solid introduction into the night, I was feeling pretty good about my decision to come to the show but was still slightly worried I might regret it in the morning. However, the next act to hit the stage, Divino Nino, made sure that there was not an ounce of regret left in my conscious. They’re groovy, soulful and psychedelic performance took me right out of my head and straight into my body as I danced alongside my fellow DJs for the next 30 minutes straight. Their set felt like you were riding a smooth wave and every time the wave crashed you would get back up and do it again until you landed on the shores of Miami, ready to party. I say this quite literally, as they randomly picked up their set with a funky 80s inspired song, where the hook “welcome to Miami” was repeated over and over again in a deep robotic tone. Yet, the highlight of the performance was when the group did a cover of “How Deep Is Your Love” by The Beegees. The crowd’s hands shot up into the air as we sang along to the lyrics from the bottom of our hearts in the most cheesy Kodak moment imaginable.
I didn’t think the night could get any better after Divino Nino but somehow it did when Crumb hit the stage. Synth, keyboard and sax player Brian Aronow kicked off the set with a smoky sax solo; then, the drums and bass kicked in and in an instant, we were taken from the strange shores of Miami into the spacey psychedelic world of Crumb. Their live renditions of hits like Nina, M.R. and Locket managed to sound even better live. You could see the passion being put into the performance and feel how the sounds of each instrument moved through the body and mind to create a trippy out of this world atmosphere. Although their set was amazing, it was extremely short because their lead singer, Lila Ramani, was recovering from a recent vocal injury. However, I’m just glad we got to see the set at all.
Overall, I think all of the KUCR DJs who attended were happy to make new friends and groove the night away with each other. So was it worth it? Absolutely.
