Contrary to the sick image I developed of We Barbarians after first hearing their music, this tight-knit indie rock band—simply identified as "Quon, Van Heule and Warkentin" on their MySpace page—came out for a benefit show at Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar last night. That totally softened my views. What this Long Beach, grunge-sounding band was really like: The lead singer is a sliver of a man who belts out huge, fevered screams that ask for gentle attention; the bass player, partial to the right side of the stage, maintained a heavier demeanor, slipping deep into smouldering grooves most of the time; and the drummer, who sported some sexy scruffy facial hair last night, you'll find most likely camouflage behind a cluster of a silvery drum set, banging away like a secret agent. No, these weren't black-stained pouty hipsters from the LBC, even if their songs all seem to be cut from the same bruised fabric. Instead, their following surely seem like the in-the-scene kind, and definitely not moody. Did I mention that We Barbarians' fans also include Long Beach poet Derrick Brown and the Cold War Kids? They were also in the audience (or on stage!).
Photos by Barbara Navarro.
We Barbarians will next play at Spaceland
on Monday, May 12.
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