Show: The Life and Times
Date: January 22, 2011
Venue: The Satellite
City: Silver Lake, CA
The Life and Times
Photos by Nicolas Bates
Written by Katie J. Norris
Three-piece alternative space-rock band, The Life and Times, opened their show with love for their instruments, jamming like they were sparking the cosmos with every note they created. The band played quite well and they were incredibly on-point with their parts, despite the overall lack in dynamics. And I’m not entirely sure if the first song was all verses or all choruses, but that goes hand in hand with their unique, carefree approach to alternative music. They definitely have an indie-rock core with a flavor of a better-than-average band.
The second song stepped everything up a notch! And a sound engineer seemed to have found their way into the FOH booth to help out with some reverb-a-licious mic effects. The song itself had some clever changes and interesting rhythmic journeys, but again, it didn’t have too much in the way of contrast of instrumental force. By the third song, I was really sold. They are a very tight group and I really enjoyed the combination of hard garage-rock with a sung psychedelic melody and complimentary use of guitar distortion. The next song was relatively punk in the terms of guitar riffs, but Chris Metcalf kept a rock beat on the drums, sticking like glue to their root sound. This song was also the first to satisfy my desire for use of stops and instrumentation staggering, creating levels in the song which brought attention to the vocals. The bass player on this song played long, prominent notes that acted as harmony for the legato vocal lines—a very cool effect! It almost sounded as if someone was singing back up to Allen Epley on lead vocals.
The next song was “Exist,” by request from a relentless, screaming fan in the audience. Some cheers followed and without further ado, The Life and Times appeased their audience who chimed in on the distinguishable chorus: “Get what you need.” And the Nord Electro 2 that had been set up on stage next to Epley finally got used for the first time in their set. One thing about Epley and Eric Abert is that they seem to really enjoy taking turns; when one has the guitar, the other picks up the bass. And a song or two later, they switch it up again, including, of course, interjections of Epley’s keys, guitar and vocal-juggling act.
The next tune they played was “Day Three,” off their new album, No One Loves You Like I Do. They are on tour to promote this new album which dropped on January 17, 2012. “Day Three” is track five on the CD. It opened with some swanky variants on percussion using the kit in crafty ways. It was a powered-through performance. The next song, “Day Eleven,” was one of the most enjoyable. A simple piano line with highly delayed echo, rippling drums, and some simple distortion on electric guitar paralleling the keys is just the opening of the song. The lyrics guide the song to a deep-space rock tune, barely skimming the surface of pop. They take their time with this one, adding a break down at their own pace and eventually bringing it full circle to the lyrics again. Near the end, without fail, the song bleeds into their comfort zone of hard, garage-band rock.
They continue with the next song which starts with a melodious ballad opening as far as vocals go, but the instruments keep the alternative jam, holding the crowd on the fine line of standing on their feet for grunge rock and bobbing their heads in mild head-banging temptation. It’s an energy and a sound that fits this crowd of fans quite well. The last two songs begin with ambient guitar that build like an orchestra; an orchestra floating through the colorful abyss. “Day Two” jet lands into machine gun punk-rock riffs and the rhythm hits under slow, airy vocals. The mix is a little strange, but it works for their style. There is a slight curiosity that arises to hear just how far they might go to test their own parameters.
“Day Twelve” was their closer. This is, by far, the hot ticket on the album and in their live performance! It encompassed something for everyone and incorporated some clever transitions. The audience sang along from the beginning. The chorus was true to its word; “No, I can’t get you outta my head.” They played their demanded encore, another head-bobbing beat that wound down an interesting chordal path all the way to the end.