We set out from 4939 around 9pm, including Aaron, Garen, and Pete. We took the 2 down to Echo Park and parked behind the big church there. It was a short walk down and to the left to get to The Echo . I haven’t been to very many of these local music venues, but they all seem to be about the same inside; and not that different than the music bars in Ohio (think Little Brothers ). While waiting outside I saw the biggest cockroach I’d ever seen. It was at least as wide as my thumb, and promptly scampered inside the bar when Aaron tried to stomp on it.

The second band had already taken the stage by the time we were ushered inside (those without tickets had to wait in the “other” line). The music was alright, but the band would definitely benefit from a live drummer – and in fact later in their set they told the crowd they were looking for one. This resulted in more than a few elbows hitting Aaron’s ribcage, but he confided he’d only join the band for one reason – to score with the blonde lead singer. She wasn’t my cup of tea (I haven’t had a blonde preference since the last century) but a few others in the group seemed to think she was something special. One in our group even spent some time after the show trying to get in her good graces while the rest of us waited outside.

The next band was better, and we all agreed were the standout for the night. They had a “happy” sound and incorporated a mellotron melody into many a song. The set was short however so they could make way for the headliner.

Dios Malos took the usual approach of making the crowd wait. And wait. And wait before they took the stage. The mood was set by a disco ball and a video projector featuring oddball spliced clips of 70s kids shows and old movies (2001, planet of the apes, lost in space, etc.) splayed out on the long upper wall of the “great hall” section of the room. The ceiling was higher in this middle room in front of the stage (the rooms were laid out much like a small medieval church) and thus allowed for a spare wall above the crowd to throw a projection on.

The music was different. I couldn’t help but think about James Dietzel. He would love this band. In fact, the uncharismatic lead singer/guitarist reminded me very much of James; if James had been born Hispanic. Every song seemed to have good moments that were destroyed by meandering and just plain weird interludes. The band had a “new” drummer that was very strange as well. He looked a lot like Billie from Green Day and insisted on rolling his eyes into the back of his head and making zombie faces with every rough blast on the skins. Pete noted that it looked like he was using the “weezer” setup (one floor tom). I believe he can be seen here (looking considerably more mellow) in the white shirt.